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Paving the Way for EVs: How Greener Cars Will Change Road Trips and Infrastructure

Published

3 years ago

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Electric car

Adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is set to pick up in South Africa in years to come, driving changes to filling stations, road trips and how people pay to power their vehicles.

This is according to Payment24, specialists in fuel and fleet management systems, who say EVs have been slow to take off in South Africa, but that uptake is set to grow as the upfront cost of these vehicles drops and as more infrastructure becomes available to support them.

Payment24 CEOs Shadab Rahil and Nolan Daniel note that the logistics of running EVs will mean that people will plan their trips around where they can charge their vehicles, and there will be changes in the way filling stations will entertain customers while they wait to charge their cars, and how people will pay for their power.

Slow start

According to Green Cape’s Electric Vehicles Market Intelligence Report released this year, of the passenger car sales in 2019, petrol vehicle sales accounted for 299,048; diesel vehicle sales for 55,563; and there were only 72 plug-in hybrid EV sales, 154 battery EV and 181 hybrid EV sales.

Rahil and Daniel say that EV uptake in South Africa has been slow partly because the lowest-cost EVs available in South Africa are priced at around R600,000, and due to limited numbers of public charging points – particularly outside of the major metros. Daniel says: “Range anxiety has also been a factor, with concern about what should happen if a battery runs out of power during a trip. But battery technology has improved dramatically, so EVs can now be charged overnight at home, or at a high-capacity public charging station in around 20 minutes, which would power a vehicle for 100km or more. For most people, a 100km range is ample for the day.”

He says installing a public charging point can cost in the order of R1 million, making many fuel stations and other public facilities loath to make the investment when there are limited numbers of EVs on the road. With between 250 and 300 public charging stations across South Africa at the moment, there is currently around one charging station for every four EVs in the country, reports Green Cape which is one of the highest ratio of Chargers vs EV’s in the world.

EV uptake set to boom

However, EV prices are dropping and more vehicle manufacturers are entering the EV market, bringing more choice to South Africans. This charge could be lead by Chinese manufacturers who can provide affordable EVs to the African markets in near future. More EVs on the road will drive the installation of more charging stations outside of the major metros, making longer trips in EVs more feasible, and changing the face of the traditional South African road trip. “Charging EVs will definitely change the fuel station experience,” he says. “Where people could fill up with liquid fuel and be in and out in 5 minutes, with an EV they would be there for far longer – waiting their turn to charge, and actually charging their vehicles. This will drive a change in what fuel stations offer their customers in terms of refreshments and entertainment.”

EV uptake is already causing oil companies to move to broader energy provision, and is also likely to increase demand for high capacity power, creating new opportunities for small scale energy producers.

Strong business case for EVs

Rahil notes that once the initial costs of an EV have been overcome, there is a compelling case for EVs: “Not only is the technology eco-friendly, but the running costs are significantly lower for EVs than ICE vehicles. It’s almost a 1:5 ratio of EVs to ICE vehicles, with power costs as low as 25c per km for an average EV. From a maintenance perspective, EVs have significantly fewer moving parts, so maintenance is a lot cheaper. We expect to see strong adoption among consumers, fleet owners, public transport and logistics companies.” He notes that EV trucks will have significantly larger battery capacity than consumer vehicles, making electric power a compelling proposition for courier and logistics firms, who will likely embrace electric and hybrid power for everything from delivery scooters to large trucks.

Paving the way for seamless integrated payments

Says Rahil: “Payment24 is already working towards integrating EV charge point payments with fuel payments so that fleet owners and fuel stations will be able to manage all EV and ICE (internal combustion engine) payments on a single platform. This has become a must-have in North America and Europe, and will become increasingly important in South Africa in years to come.”

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Fintech

US Continues to dominate Global FinTech Landscape in Q3 2024, Witnesses Funding of $2.7B

Published

4 days ago

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October 18, 2024

By

fintech - Investors King

The US boasts of a bustling FinTech landscape with more than 7K funded companies and 137 active FinTech Unicorns. Though the US ranks first globally in terms of funding in the FinTech sector in Q3 2024, this is the least funded quarter in the past five years.

Q4 2021 was the highest funded quarter in this space, after which the funding started to experience a steady decline.

Tracxn, a leading global SaaS-based market intelligence platform, stated in its Geo Quarterly Report: US FinTech Q3 2024.

The US FinTech startup ecosystem raised $2.7 billion in Q3 2024, a 30% decline compared with $3.9 billion raised in Q3 2023 and a 40% decline from $4.5 billion in Q2 2024.

Late-stage funding in Q3 2024 fell 32% to $1.3 billion, from $1.9 billion raised in Q3 2023. Early-stage investments stood at $1.2 billion in Q3 2024, a drop of 29% from $1.7 billion in Q3 2023. Seed-stage funding, too, fell 49% to $186 million from $364 million in Q3 2023.

Three companies attracted funding of $200 million and above. Human Interest raised $267 million in a Series D round at a post-money valuation of $1.33 billion, while FLYR raised $225 million in a Series D round. Earned Wealth secured $200 million in a Series B round.

Three other companies reported $100M+ rounds, with Aven becoming the only new unicorn in the third quarter of this year, after raising $142 million at a valuation of $1 billion.

Finance and Accounting Tech, Payments and Investment Tech were the top-performing sectors based on funding in Q3 2024 in this space.

The Finance & Accounting Tech segment witnessed total funding of $643 million in Q3 2024, a drop of 34% compared to $967 million raised in Q3 2023.

Funding raised by the Payments sector fell 22% to $573 million in Q3 2024 from $737 million in Q3 2023. Investment Tech companies raised a total funding of $547 million in Q3 2024, 18% lower than the $669 million raised in Q3 2023.

The third quarter of 2024 was weak in terms of exits. None of the companies from the US FinTech sector went public in Q3 2024, as against one IPO each in Q3 2023 and Q2 2024.

The number of acquisitions too, fell to 48 in Q3 2024 from 54 in Q3 2023 and 62 in Q2 2024. ShareFile was acquired by Progress at a price of $875 million, and Stronghold Digital Mining was acquired by Bitfarms for $175 million.

Among US cities, San Francisco and New York City together accounted for 50% of the total funding raised by the sector in the third quarter of this year.

FinTech startups based in San Francisco raised $750.2 million, while those headquartered in New York City and Santa Monica raised $610.1 million and $225 million.

Y Combinator, Techstars and a16z are the overall top investors in this space. Y Combinator, Castle Island Ventures & Plug and Play Tech Center were the top seed-stage investors in Q3 2024, while Curql, Redpoint Ventures and Brewer Lane Ventures took the lead in early-stage investments.

The US government is taking several initiatives to stimulate investment and innovation in the FinTech sector, which could give a boost to these startups in the coming years.

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E-commerce

South Africa, Tunisia Record Job Losses as Jumia Shuts Down Outlets Over Diminishing Returns, Hopes on Nigeria, Others

Published

5 days ago

on

October 17, 2024

By

Jumia - Investors King

Africa-focused e-commerce retailer Jumia Technologies has announced its decision to shut down its South African online fashion retailer Zando and its Tunisian operations by the end of the year.

The development, Investors King gathered, followed diminishing returns in the countries which has been having significant impacts on the firm.

Francis Dufay, the Chief Executive Officer of the retailer giant, expressed strong confidence in Nigeria’s market, saying the firm will refocus on more profitable markets such as Nigeria.

Dufay said Jumia is aiming at more profits, hence, its decision to implement aggressive cost-cutting measures, which include reducing its workforce, exiting the everyday grocery and food delivery sectors, and scaling back delivery services unrelated to its core e-commerce business.

He said the trajectory of the South Africa and Tunisia did not align with the strategy of the group, citing complex macroeconomic conditions, a competitive landscape, and limited medium-term growth potential in these regions.

Stressing that the group’s exit plan is the right decision, Dufay emphasised that the move will allow the company to concentrate its resources on the other nine markets including Nigeria, where growth prospects are more promising.

Jumia’s remaining markets include Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria.

Dufay maintained that success in these regions could help recover volumes lost from the closures in South Africa and Tunisia.

Giving more facts on the level of shortage Jumia incurred in South Africa and Tunisia, he noted that Zando and the Tunisian operations contributed only 2.7% of total orders and 3% of Gross Merchandise Value during the first half of the year.

Zando.co.za, founded in 2012, has established itself as a prominent online fashion platform in South Africa. Meanwhile, Jumia’s Tunisian operations have been running under the Jumia brand for a decade, offering general merchandise.

Dufay confirmed that there are no plans to sell either operation, which will hold clearance sales before their shutdown.

Findings by Investors King revealed that no fewer than 110 persons will lose their jobs in the affected countries once the closures take effect.

Although some employees may be relocated within the company’s other divisions.

This decision comes shortly after South Africa’s largest online retail group, Takealot, announced the sale of its fashion subsidiary, Superbalist, amid rising competition from fast-fashion e-commerce giants like Shein and Temu. Dufay acknowledged that the growth potential in South Africa is increasingly challenging due to the highly competitive environment.

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Telecommunications

MTN, Telecom Firms Urge Government Support for Tariff Hike Amid Economic Downturn

Published

5 days ago

on

October 17, 2024

By

Telecommunications - Investors King

MTN Nigeria and other telecommunication companies have requested that the federal government support their plan to increase tariffs to ensure business continuity.

The request was made due to the current economic downturn that has hindered the operations of many companies.

During a panel session at the 30th Nigerian Economic Summit on Tuesday in Abuja, titled Navigating Business Growth in a Volatile Environment, MTN’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Modupe Kadri, highlighted that Nigeria’s economy, impacted by foreign exchange fluctuations, has affected the effective functioning of the telecommunications industry, including MTN.

Kadri noted that with the current economic situation, the electricity and fuel sectors have experienced increases.

He therefore said for the telecom sector to remain viable, the federal government must allow similar adjustments in the telecom industry.

According to him, the telecommunications industry is also facing challenges because much of their equipment is heavily import-dependent. Despite this, the sector has not received regulatory approval to adjust its prices for over a decade.

“For ten years now, telecommunication companies haven’t been permitted to increase prices, and this regulation is not providing us with a level playing field to operate. If we are to stay in business, this policy must be reviewed, similar to how electricity and fuel prices are adjusted to reflect current economic realities,” he stated.

“Our business is mainly dependent on foreign exchange, so customers need to understand that for them to receive the services they desire, it costs money,” he added.

He noted that just like the electricity and fuel industries contribute to the nation’s GDP, the telecommunication industry also contributes to the nation’s GDP, and similar measures should be applied across sectors.

“The telecommunications industry contributes 16 percent to the GDP, and it is not something that you can mess around with,” he reiterated.

Kadri therefore sought government intervention to increase tariffs to ensure business continuity.

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