South Africa's long-awaited Electric Vehicles White Paper was released on Monday, with Minister Ebrahim Patel emphasising that the value of SA's electric vehicle market will be realised only if our national energy mix seriously accelerates our renewable energy capacity.

The Electric Vehicles White Paper, which was finally released on Monday and provides the long-term strategy for SA to transition to electric vehicles, makes the argument for a strong shift to more renewable energy, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel said.

"The grid has to become greener, not only for purposes of general climate change and to ensure a wider source of energy, but also because the value of the domestic market transitioning to electric vehicles will only demonstrate itself if the charging infrastructure can pull energy that is a lot more renewable than currently is the case," Patel said at a media briefing on the Electric Vehicles (EVs) roadmap in Pretoria on Monday.

The EVs White Paper, which was approved by the Cabinet last week, aims to ensure South Africa becomes part of the global shift from internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) to new-technology vehicles (which include battery electric vehicles and hybrids).

SA's transport sector is the second biggest polluter after the power industry -- accounting for 13% of the country's CO2 emissions, with road transport accounting for 91.2% of these transport emissions.

In addition, SA's automotive manufacturing industry is seriously at risk if the country...