Audi South Africa has announced a partnership with GridCars to install ultra-fast charging stations across the country. This makes it the first electric vehicle brand to invest in this technology through publicly accessible sites. The 150kW public chargers initiated by Audi will be the first for the South African market.
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“The charge points will provide up to 150kW of direct current (DC) charge to electric vehicles; meaning that an Audi e-tron 55 (with a 95kWh battery) will charge from 10% to 90% in approximately 30 minutes. As part of this, Audi will invest in setting up 70 new EV charge connectors across 33 sites in order to expand on the existing public charging network in South Africa, for all-electric vehicle drivers,” Audi said in a statement.
Sascha Sauer, managing director of Audi SA, said: “The investment and partnership with GridCars demonstrates our brand philosophy that the ‘future is an attitude’.
“As we prepare for the arrival of our e-tron range, we understand that there is more to be done as an automotive brand than simply providing the product, we also have to enable and partner with those who can empower the transition to an electric future with ease and understanding. Our public chargers are new and incremental to the current EV charging network in South Africa.”
Project already underway
The automotive maker has already commenced with the installation of the local charging investment project since December 2021 and will continue into this year. The investment includes:
- Four 150kW (DC) ultra-fast charging stations, enabling +/- 340km in 30 minutes. These are planned for placement along major highway routes such as the N1, N2, N3 and N4.
- Five 80kW (DC) fast-charging stations, enabling +/- 185km in 30 minutes, also planned for location on major highway routes such as the N1, N2, N3 and N4. One of these chargers will close a long-standing gap (Richmond) in the route between Johannesburg and Cape Town.
- Twenty-four 22kW (AC) fast-charging stations, enabling +/- 100km in about one hour, at public lifestyle and recreational venues across the country and as part of Audi’s destination charging strategy.
- A total of 70 connectors will be available from the above charging stations, further growing the public charging opportunities for all EV drivers.
The project will carry on through early 2022 in time for the planned retail launch of the Audi e-tron range in quarter one this year. This investment is over and above the charging stations installed at the ten Audi e-tron dealerships which will offer additional ten 50kW to 75kW (DC) chargers with 20 connectors.
As part of Audi’s e-tron launch efforts, a full e-tron model range will be available for sale in the next two months, through Audi’s ten e-tron dealerships nationwide. This includes the e-tron 55 SUV, e-tron 55 Sportback, e-tron S Sportback, and the pinnacle of the line-up, the e-tron GT and RS e-tron GT.