MORE electric cars are coming the mzansi way- and yes, despite loadshedding!
This follows today’s announcement by Audi South Africa that 43 additional electric vehicle (EV) charging stations will be available online across the country, as part of long term investment.
These chargers can accommodate a total of 57 EV cars simultaneously, at varying capacities, regardless of model or brand ownership. This is in addition to the brand’s contribution of 70 EV charging connection points nationwide a year ago, when Audi was the first to bring ultra-fast chargers to South Africa.
In partnership with ‘tech friends’, the latest rollout includes the very first DC 200kW ultra-fast charger in South Africa, which is installed at the largest shopping mall ever built in a single phase – Mall of Africa – enabling compatible cars to ultra-fast charge.
The EV battery of an e-tron GT can be recharged within 15 minutes.
The solar photovoltaic (PV) system installed at Mall of Africa is one of the largest of its kind in the Southern hemisphere, making this installation a progressive statement towards sustainable charging.
Asked what rationale was used in that some of the provinces will not benefit from this rollout, Audi SA responded:” This rollout compliments the existing chargers nationally. When you access the map via the link provided, you will see all the provinces do have some representation of chargers, at varying numbers.”
“The rollout of our second phase of EV charging stations is the next step in realising our vision of sustainable mobility and living our mantra that the ‘Future is an Attitude’,” says Sascha Sauer, Head of Audi South Africa.
“EVs are the future of mobility and we’re investing not just in hardware infrastructure, but in making electric mobility simpler and more widely available for South Africans, thus enabling the local EV market to grow.
By fulfilling our promise from early 2022, we’re demonstrating our commitment to helping take SA into the future of mobility”.
The partnership between Audi, GridCars and Rubicon includes a roaming agreement, which allows billing cards to be interoperable across the two networks, making charging even easier, seamless and accessible for Audi e-tron customers and users of other EV brands
The rest of this second phase of infrastructure investment comprises four 100kW (DC), eight 60kW (DC), five 25kW (DC) and twenty-five 22kW (AC) fast EV charger installations at convenient locations across the country to serve all EV customers. The commissioning of the first and second phase of charging infrastructure means that Audi and partners GridCars and Rubicon, have installed 76 fast and ultra-fast EV chargers across South Africa, representing about 28% of public charging stations in the country.
“While load shedding is a reality to which South Africans have become accustomed, it is worth pointing out that our charging network also capitalises on solar installations, where possible, to keep the charging stations optimally operational,” says Sauer.
“With a range between 350 and 480km the Audi e-tron models typically do not require a charge every day, so depending on driving style and daily commuting distances, owners will be able to find their nearest charging station and charge their vehicles regularly, with ease”.
The newly added 43 chargers are spread across the provinces as follows:
| Gauteng | 15 |
| W Cape | 11 |
| E Cape | 10 |
| KZN | 4 |
| Mpumalanga | 2 |
| Free State | 1 |
| Total | 43 |
All 76 Audi-branded charging stations are part of the charging network that can be accessed here: https://www.chargestations.co.za/oemportal/audi/
