A concerning obstacle hindering the integration of electric vehicles in South Africa is the lack of supporting infrastructure, especially public charging stations. However, by partnering with GridCars, Audi has taken the first steps to avail chargers on a wide scale for the public.

Earlier this year, Audi announced that it had partnered with electric vehicle infrastructure supplier, GridCars for a project with the intent of expanding the existing EV infrastructure within South Africa. A year ago, the electric vehicle-owning minority were restricted to charging their cars at home or a dealership. Now, Audi has expanded the minuscule charging pool by installing a total of 33 electric vehicle charging stations which can be used by any electric vehicle owner regardless of the brand or the model of the car. These 33 charging stations consist of 70-point connectors spread across South Africa.

The chargers consist of four ultra-fast 150 kW DC chargers situated along national roads to assist with long travel. The ultra-fast chargers enable users to recover around 340 km worth of range within 30 minutes and can be found at the Colesburg Caltex, Northern Cape (N1); Mosselbay, Langeberg Mall, Western Cape (N2); Tugela North, Engen, Kwa-Zulu Natal (N3); Riverside Mall, Mbombela, Mpumalanga (N4).

Five of the thirty-three charging stations are 80 kW DC chargers able to provide the user with roughly 185 km of range within 30 minutes. These stations are found at; Ventersburg, Caltex, Free State (N1); Richmond, Caltex, Northern Cape (N1); The Crags, Engen, Plettenburg Bay, Western Cape (N2); Tugela South, Engen, Kwa-Zulu Natal (N3); Alzu Petroport, Mpumalanga (N4).

Of the newly operational charging stations, twenty-four of them consist of 22kW dual (AC) charging stations. They are not as powerful as the aforementioned station and are only capable of generating approximately 100 km worth of range within an hour. These charging stations located near lifestyle venues and points of interest across South Africa, such as; Hazendal Wine Estate, Stellenbosch; Franschhoek Motor Museum, Franschoek; Thesen Island, Knysna; 84 on Main, Dullstroom; Cornubia Mall, Mt. Edgecombe; Protea Hotel by Marriot, Clarens; Village Mall, Haartebeespoort Dam.

All of the stations are available to the public and can be viewed on the GridCars live online map.

“ Our mission is to continually increase EV charging points across the country in order to drive South Africa’s Green e-mobility revolution forward. The only way to achieve this mission is through consistent and meaningful partnerships that enable the transformation of the automotive industry, helping customers embrace the electric future of mobility,” — Winstone Jordaan, GridCarsManaging Director 

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