WATCH | Why the combustion engine isn't going to disappear... anytime soon

It seems electric vehicles are all the rage at the moment, one was even awarded the title of 2020 South African Car of the Year. For now, there are only two fully-electric vehicles on sale in Mzansi: the Jaguar I-Pace and the BMW i3. 

Mercedes-Benz and Audi are readying their sport utility EVs, namely the EQC and e-Tron for local introduction, but with the coronavirus halting production, car launches and life as we know it, it could be a while before we see other EVs in the country. 

Thing is, we have thousands of models powered by efficient internal combustion engines (ICE) that will be around for many years to come. We're not like some other countries: Quartz reported "that Norway will phase out conventional cars by 2025, followed by by France and the United Kingdom in 2040 and 2050, respectively". 

Jason Fenske, the man behind the popular YouTube channel 'Engineering Explained' delves into making a case for ICE and looks at four spheres: namely the environment, science, consumer and cost. 

The batteries that power electric vehicles also have short comings with regards to those four topics, but just why are manufacturers continuing to spend money and develop ICE if the future is electric? 

Well, that's where this helpful video comes along and explains just that:

Engineering Explained said: "Why are car manufacturers still improving and spending money on combustion engines in the year 2020?

Should all development research be going into electric cars and electric vehicle technology? Unfortunate news if you think ICE transportation is going away in the near future to be solely replaced by electric vehicles (EVs). 

The internal combustion engine is still incredibly relevant today, and can still use further improvements in order to reduce global emissions.

"In this video we'll discuss scientific issues facing electric cars, environmental problems with ditching combustion engine research, how cost impacts customer decisions and manufacturer profits, and ultimately how consumer choice plays a large role in this industry. If you've ever wondered why combustion engines are still being developed, this video breaks down all the details", they said.