COMBUSTION cars are what gave birth to travelling without the worry of being stuck in the middle of nowhere.
Then came the Electric Vehicle (EV).
Tesla has been in the lead with its Model 3 being the most sold EV in the world, due to its range – but that’s in countries excluding Mzansi as we have our own problems, Eishkom being one of them.
But Audi South Africa, in partnership with GridCars, seems to be solving the problem as they have finalised the installation of 33 EV charging stations across the country.
These represent a total of 70 charge point connectors and expands on the existing network in the country.
According to the duo, the chargers range in their charging capacity from 22kW (AC) to 80kW (DC) and 150kW (DC) ultra-fast charging and are immediately available to all South African electric vehicle drivers, regardless of model or brand ownership.
“Audi is committed to ensuring that customers of any electric vehicle can comfortably travel the country, with the reassurance that the EV charging infrastructure is in place to support their progressive choice of mobility.
“With the public Audi EV chargers now formally in operation and available, our project in ensuring that there are active state-of-the-art EV chargers at key destination and lifestyle venues across South Africa, is tracking well and we are excited to officially encourage all early adopters of electric mobility to utilise these charge points. This is a huge encouragement towards the adoption of EVs in South Africa as it’s a positive indication towards a growing public EV charging network in our country,” said Head of Audi South Africa, Sascha Sauer.
The live 150kW (DC) public chargers initiated by Audi are the first for the South African market and will enable +/- 340km driving range in approximately 30 minutes.
These chargers have been strategically positioned along national roads to support long-distance travel:
1. N1 – Colesburg, Caltex, Northern Cape
2. N2 – Mosselbay, Langeberg Mall, Western Cape
3. N3 – Tugela North, Engen, KZN
4. N4 – Riverside Mall, Mbombela, Mpumalanga
The live 80kW (DC) fast charging stations, enabling +/- 185km in 30 minutes can be located at:
1. N1 – Ventersburg, Caltex, Free State
2. N1 – Richmond, Caltex, Northern Cape
3. N2 – The Crags, Engen, Plettenburg Bay, Western Cape
4. N3 – Tugela South, Engen, KZN
5. N4 – Alzu Petroport, Mpumalanga (Audi has upgraded the existing unit from DC 60kW to DC 80kW. GridCars has also installed a new EV charging unit at Kranskop Engen, Limpopo).
These publicly accessible charging stations are new and incremental to the current EV public charging network in South Africa and can easily be located on the GridCars live online map.
