AIDC, GridCars and Lebone Renewables take charge of the future

AIDC, GridCars and Lebone Renewables take charge of the future Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC), GridCars and Lebone Renewables signed a Memorandum of Agreement on Thursday, 13 October 2022 at AIDC offices in Rosslyn. With similar interests in Electric Vehicles (EV), the parties signed the agreement with a mandate and wish to co-operate in areas of mutual interests. Signed by AIDC’s Acting Senior Manager for Business Development, Mr. Asanda Mzinyati, GridCars’ Managing Director, Mr. Winstone Jordaan, and Lebone Renewables’ Prof. Phinda Madi, the MOA will provide a framework of cooperation and facilitate collaboration between the parties, on a non-exclusive basis. Areas of collaboration include roll out of EV charging infrastructure, skills development initiatives linked to charging infrastructure and supply and support of EV charge station hardware. Mzinyati said there has always been synergy between AIDC and GridCars. “One thing that makes people reluctant to invest in electric vehicles is the unavailability of infrastructure. Our partnership with GridCars and Lebone Renewables will allow us to solve the problem. We are excited about the relationship formed and we look forward to working together”. Echoing Mzinyati’s words, Jordaan said that the aim is to make the EV infrastructure accessible. “The partnership will focus on the roll out of EV infrastructure, the diversification of the EV value chain and skills development initiatives related to EV infrastructure and other areas of interest we can identify in future. It is important to note that the EV market is growing rapidly, and it is predicted to grow even further, which makes it important for us to roll out EV infrastructure as soon as we can”. Lebone Renewables’ Prof Phinda Madi thanked the AIDC for creating a platform for the parties to meet and being the catalyst for the agreement. “There has always been keenness to work together. When Lebone Renewables started out, it was out of frustration caused by the reoccurring power cuts in Soweto. So as a problem-solving means, we looked into renewable energy, hence solar energy.” Present at the signing ceremony were delegates from AIDC, GridCars and Lebone Renewables who were taken on a tour at the Automotive Supplier Park and test drives of EV vehicles brought in by GridCars.