The electric car debate and outrage: A reflection

Lewanika Timothy | Wednesday October 16, 2024 12:10

Walking into the warehouse, the first candy that catches the eye is the four-wheeled machines that are the green friends of the environment. Machines that make no sound as the ignition runs, luring the mind to ponder for minutes without end on the marvel of engineering that created cars than can run on electric current.

As the spell of science wears off, one longs to cast the eyes on the tools that created these friends of the environment but then there’s a glitch. Questions rush to the fore and the euphoria slowly wears off. Is it rational kicking in or intuitive inquisitiveness? Maybe a mixture of both, as the mind has a “wait a minute” a moment.

Automobile plants are the pride of developed economies. They have been flaunted online on TV ads as the green litmus tests for a flourishing, job creating economy. At the warehouse in Commercial Park is not the usual automobile plant that one is used to for sure, but things are best left to the specialists to explain.

BITRI project engineer and specialist, Patrick Sebudubudu, explaining the scenic display of electric cars in an empty warehouse this week, told attendees that the assembly plant was still in its early stages where semi-knock down kits were ferried into the country and minor assembly additions were added to the cars by his team of specialists. These additions included door fittings, car seats and minor car parts.

“The eMobility programme will be implemented in three phases,” he said.

“The first phase focuses on capacity building, the second on retrofitting, and the third will establish an assembly plant to scale-up electric mobility by engaging the private sector.

“Currently, the programme is at the semi knockdown stage, with aspirations to shift to a complete knockdown process, thereby building local and regional value chain linkages in the near future.”

As the tour went on, social media caught ablaze with comments delivering punch after punch almost accusing government of embarking on a deception spree. As the negative comments snowballed, it was evident that the real bone of contention was public doubt over the integrity of government to deliver such a project at the eleventh hour of a contentious election.

Inside the assembly plant one could not avoid but ponder on the emptiness that would remain if the buses and cars produced were evacuated. In fact as the launch ended and a few props were moved out, the hollow emptiness that remained left the mind with even more questions to ask.

It is no doubt that an electric car is here and running in Botswana but the question is the process that got them here and whether anyone can produce more electric cars going forward and what cost.

According to Ditshupo Maje, the national eMobility Coordinator, jargon or technical language is the dividing factor between those that are praising government for a breakthrough and those that see the development as a political ploy.

According to Maje, the project description has been clear that the current assembly plant only works with semi-knock down kits which come with major configurations leaving the technical team to only add the final specs.

“Let’s make it clear that the assembly plant will grow,” he told state television on Wednesday.

“Currently we only assembly semi-knock off kits that come with major configurations and the technical team here adds the final specs.

“As time goes on we expect that the industry will grow and Botswana will set itself up as a regional giant in the EV`s space.”

The locally assembled SUVs are powered by a 150-kilowatt electric motor, delivering a peak torque of 320 Newton meters and a travel range of approximately 520 kilometres on a full charge. The town buses can cover a maximum distance of 250 kilometres. The SUVs can be fully charged from zero to full capacity in just 20 minutes using fast-charging systems.

There appears to be another reason for the incredulity which greeted the electric vehicle programme.

In the early 2000s, Botswana and South Africa had a trade face-off that ended with the closure of the Hyunda assembly plant in Gaborone. The collapse of Hyundai created many “experts” on the matter, who felt that South Africa – unwilling to share the vehicle assembly market place within SACU – had dealt Botswana an unjust and robust elbow to its tender industrial abdomen.

South Africa reportedly filed a rules of origin complaint against the Hyundai plant arguing that because it used semi-knocked down kits, the cars it produced did not qualify for favourable SACU duty provisions. This, the experts say, was due partly to South African workers questioning why Botswana-made vehicles were competing in their market and also due to Big Brother’s “traditional” desire to see all SACU-bound FDI end up in Gauteng. The situation had meant that Botswana supports South African jobs across many industries, including vehicle assembly, through an import bill, which is dominantly supplied by South African producers.

The difficulty of launching a vehicle assembly plant in the country is known to those who saw the Hyundai plant close its doors 24 years ago. In addition, some of those who worked there, know what a fully functioning assembly plant looks like, including what is involved in semi-knocked down kits.

Launching the vehicles this week, President Mokgweetsi Masisi, said authorities were well-prepared to avoid the pitfalls of the past around rules of origin and semi-knock down kits. For the president, the launch was the fulfilment of a 2019 promise to establish electric vehicle manufacturing in the country.

The graduation to completely knocked down kits, which arrive as boxes of components to be assembled from scratch, is the next phase for Masisi. The president has said he sees the opportunity for Botswana to learn from that and incorporate components from the local value chain into developing its uniquely home-made vehicle.

Meanwhile, many Batswana, at least on social media, are highly sceptical. Those who aren’t are questioning why the electric vehicle dream is coming ahead of many other basic aspirations such as water, electricity, land, education and health.

The fifth administration has its hands full ahead of the general elections.