Audi South Africa, in collaboration with Rubicon, has installed 43 new electric vehicles (EV) charging stations across the country. These chargers can accommodate a total of 57 EV cars at varying capacities at the same time, regardless of model or brand ownership. This is in addition to Audi’s contribution of 70 EV charging connection points across the country a year ago when it was the first to bring ultra-fast chargers to South Africa.
The most recent rollout includes the first DC 200kW ultra-fast charger in South Africa, which is installed at the Mall of Africa, the largest shopping mall ever built in a single phase, allowing compatible cars to charge ultra-fast. An e-tron GT’s EV battery can be charged in 15 minutes*. The solar photovoltaic (PV) system installed at the Mall of Africa is one of the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, making this installation a forward-thinking statement in the direction of sustainable charging.
The remaining infrastructure investment in this second phase consists of 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. With the completion of the first and second phases of charging infrastructure, Audi and its partners GridCars and Rubicon have installed 76 fast and ultra-fast EV chargers across South Africa, accounting for approximately 28% of the country’s public charging stations.
“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, Audi South Africa’s Head.
“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 delivering on our promise in early 2022, we are demonstrating our commitment to guiding SA into the future of mobility”.
A roaming agreement between Audi, GridCars, and Rubicon 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.
According to Greg Blandford, Director of Rubicon Energy & E-mobility, as public interest in electric vehicles grows, so will the push to integrate charging infrastructure, renewable energy, and energy storage systems. “Rubicon is fully immersed in and committed to the advancement of renewable energy and the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in South Africa. The global adoption of artificial intelligence, smart devices, greener technologies, and carbon-cutting initiatives has emphasised and accelerated the adoption of electric vehicles. “The increasing availability of EVs in South Africa, combined with rising fossil fuel costs, will be a major catalyst for EV adoption,” he says.
“While load shedding is a reality that South Africans have grown accustomed to, it is worth noting that our charging network also makes use of solar installations, where possible, to keep the charging stations operational,” Sauer says.
“With a range of 350 to 480km, the Audi e-tron models typically do not require a charge every day, so owners will be able to find their nearest charging station and charge their vehicles regularly, with ease,”
says Audi.
The newly added 43 chargers are distributed as follows across the provinces:
- Gauteng – 15
- W Cape – 11
- E Cape – 10
- Mpumalanga – 2
- Free State – 1
All charging times are estimates because charging time is not linear and is affected by factors such as a vehicle’s state of charge, onboard charger, battery capacity, and other variables such as ambient temperature, driving style, and so on.