ROSSLYN, South Africa – Nissan will participate in the Department of Transport's Smarter Mobility Conference being held in Gauteng over October 1-2. The event brings together mobility thought leaders from business and governments to discuss how the transition to electric and smart mobility can be accelerated.
Smart mobility is here and has already been adopted by major cities globally. The time has arrived for emerging markets to invest in their transportation infrastructure. It has been proven that smart cities are a catalyst for social and economic development where technology has been used to deliver quality service that does not cause harm to the environment culminating ultimately to a better quality of life.
The World Bank reports that "a country's growth of measured gross domestic product is directly reduced by poor public transport infrastructure." Emerging markets are now required to rethink their transportation systems and investigate new ways of planning and providing transport systems.
As a pioneer in the automotive innovation space, Nissan joins other original equipment manufacturers (OEM) at the summit. Nissan was the first OEM to introduce an electric vehicle into South Africa- the Nissan LEAF in 2010. The latest version of this electric vehicle supports Vehicle-to-Grid technology (V2G). Nissan Energy is an innovative and flexible solution which combines second life Nissan LEAF batteries and solar panels to generate sustainable power.
"Nissan is committed to its sustainable development goals," said Kabelo Rabotho, Marketing Director Nissan South Africa. "We have worked with Filadelfia School in the community of Soshanguve to improve its access to reliable electricity and increase its use of renewable energy."
This is just one way that Nissan is contributing to the Electric Vehicle Ecosystem. In the coming decades, it won't be a question of if the public will adopt EV, but when. The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) noted that 2015 saw the adoption of 1.5 million electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids worldwide, about 0.1% of cars on the roads globally. By 2040, this number will skyrocket to 35% of all cars on the road. Africa is urbanising faster than any other continent, at a rate of 4% every year, compared to the global average of 2%. Its rapidly growing urban population continues to strain existing infrastructure - transport and energy.
"To accelerate the adoption of smarter mobility across the continent, we are launching the inaugural Smarter Mobility Africa summit at the Sun Arena at Time Square on 1 and 2 October 2019," said Ben Pullen, Co-founder and CEO of Generation.e.
Not only is this the first Smarter Mobility Summit but Generation.e will also be launching the Electric Vehicle Road Trip Africa (EVRT Africa) which will see 12 state of the art vehicles set out on an unprecedented road trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town over eight days to demonstrate that it is in fact possible to adopt intelligent mobility.
About Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
Nissan is a global full-line vehicle manufacturer that sells more than 60 models under the Nissan, INFINITI and Datsun brands. In fiscal year 2017, the company sold 5.77 million vehicles globally, generating revenue of 11.9 trillion yen. On April 1, 2017, the company embarked on Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, a six-year plan targeting a 30% increase in annualized revenues to 16.5 trillion yen by the end of fiscal 2022, along with cumulative free cash flow of 2.5 trillion yen. As part of Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022, the company plans to extend its leadership in electric vehicles, symbolized by the world's best-selling all-electric vehicle in history, the Nissan LEAF. Nissan's global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, manages operations in six regions: Asia & Oceania; Africa, the Middle East & India; China; Europe; Latin America; and North America. Nissan has partnered with French manufacturer Renault since 1999 and acquired a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors in 2016. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance sold 10.76 million vehicles combined in calendar year 2018.
For more information about our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit nissan-global.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and see all our latest videos on YouTube.
About Nissan in South Africa
Nissan South Africa is the operational hub for Regional Business Unit South, serving Nissan's key South Africa market and 45 other countries in Sub Saharan Africa, including Angola, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria as well as the key Southern African markets of Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland. In South Africa, the company offers a range of 24 vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands, including the popular locally-produced Nissan light commercial vehicles - the NP200 half ton pickup and NP300 one-ton Hardbody - produced at the company's Rosslyn plant, north west of Pretoria. Nissan made history locally in 2013 with the introduction of Africa's first electric vehicle, Nissan's flagship Nissan LEAF. As well as boasting zero emissions leadership, Nissan is also a leader in the crossover segment. Among its product offerings are the all-new Nissan Qashqai and X-Trail, as well as Juke. The Datsun brand has re-established Nissan in the entry-level market where the tailor-made Datsun GO is breaking new ground in the ‘riser' market segment. Infiniti continues to make a mark in the luxury segment. Nissan is one of the top five automotive companies in South Africa. For more information visit our website at http://www.nissan.co.za
# # #
Contact
Patience Dumisani
GM, Communications
Tel: (012) 529 5000
Mobile: 079 074 0922
patiencedu@nissan.co.za
