Africa Automotive September-October 2023 digital issue

September-October issue l 2023
any other consumer electronics product than what is
typically thought of when buying a car. In addition to
this, the ownership is taking that form too; many EVs
now offer over-the-air updates to keep a car’s systems
up to date, whereas, for example, many traditional
automakers would have had to do this during a service
and have been known to require hefty fees to update
satellite navigation maps, something that is becoming
standard to update for free remotely. Several vehicles
now come with features that can be purchased or
subscribed to at a later date.
With this transition to cars looking more like a
mobile phone than a traditional car, major technology
companies have taken an interest in the car market and,
rather than supplying small components, are looking at
providing the whole car.
Huawei was an early example of this approach and
started selling its SERES SF5 in China in 2021. After
many years of exhibiting automotive-related technology,
Sony has entered a joint partnership with Honda to
provide vehicles with production scheduled for 2026.
Other examples that have announced projects include
Xiaomi, Baidu (a joint venture with Geely), Foxconn, and
others. Apple scaled back a fully autonomous car project,
but rumors continue on an electric car project.
One of the key issues Tesla had initially was not with
the core vehicle technology but the scaling up and
quality control of manufacturing cars in large numbers,
something that traditional automakers tend to do very
well. This will be a big part of why these tech companies
have often partnered with traditional automakers or
other large manufacturers with experience. This sort
of approach could see another key shift in how the
automotive market is structured, with traditional OEMs
manufacturing the vehicle and tech companies providing
the software and integration. The benefit for the end
user would be a well-built vehicle that integrates
seamlessly with all of their other electronic devices.
Charging infrastructure growth required to meet EV
demand
The global EV charging infrastructure market is growing
steadily. According to IDTechEx, there were nearly 2.7
million public charging points worldwide in 2022. Nearly
960k chargers were installed globally just in that same
year. IDTechEx estimates that 222 million chargers will
be needed by 2034 to support the growing global EV
fleet. IDTechEx also predicts that the cumulative global
investment in global charging infrastructure will exceed
US$123 billion by 2034 (hardware cost alone).
There is undoubtedly a huge push to build global public
DC fast charging networks. China is leading the race
with 1.797 million total public chargers deployed, taking
70% of the global market share. The US government is
Electric Vehicles
providing more than $5 billion in funding and incentives
to build a coast-to-coast fast charging network under
The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI)
Formula Program. The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure
Regulation (AFIR) in the EU is similarly driving the
growth of public charger installations by mandating a
station every 60km along highways. IDTechEx forecasts
DC fast chargers to exhibit a higher growth rate in the
coming decade, although AC chargers will dominate by
unit volume in terms of deployment.
The Global EV charging network remains fragmented,
with many charge point operators battling for market
share across regions. Leading automakers recently
adopted Tesla’s North American Charging Standard
(NACS) charging connector for their US models. Tesla
operates the largest global public DC charging network,
and in North America NACS outnumbers CCS (combined
charging standard) two to one, which explains the
switch to Tesla’s standard. Furthermore, the network
is more reliable and has 20-70% lower deployment
costs than their competitors due to in-house design
and manufacturing of components. From a technical
standpoint, Tesla’s connector is lightweight, supports
both AC and DC through shared pins, and can support
higher amperage due to immersion-cooled cables.
IDTechEx’s outlook is that cars and EV supply equipment
supporting CCS in the US will make up less than 50%
market share by the end of the decade, although it will
remain the dominant standard across EU+UK regions.
Electric trucks to become a standard goods transport
method
The electric truck market in Europe and the US is
very much still in its infancy; data from the European
Alternative Fuels Observatory (EAFO) suggests there
were only 1,607 electric truck registrations in the EU27
countries in 2022, while estimates for the total number
of electric medium and heavy-duty trucks on the road in
the US is under 3,000 vehicles. However, all of the major
OEMs have ongoing electric truck projects, and this work
is intensifying, with all manufacturers recognizing the
transition to zero-emission powertrains has begun. In
2022 sales of electric heavy trucks in China reached an
all-time high, totaling 25,072 units, an increase of 140%
on 2021.
Model availability has grown nearly 65% from 2021
until the end of 2022 (from 182 models to 299). Globally,
the most robust model-availability growth comes from
heavy-duty truck (HDT) models, which reflect 95%
growth from 2021 to 2022 (57 models to 111 models)
as the technology advances. Medium-duty truck (MDT)
models grew 50% year-on-year between 2021 and 2022.
Zero-emission heavy-duty trucks have shown preliminary
promise in urban freight and short hauling operations
under 150 miles per day.
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