The German carmaker has announced even more electric car chargers have been installed across South Africa, increasing the footprint of the charging network.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks of electric cars is the charging station network. However, despite constant naysayers on social media, South Africa’s charging network has grown substantially over the past few years. There are far more EV chargers than you’d assume.

A few brands have invested heavily and partnered with energy supply specialists, and in the latest announcement, Audi South Africa in partnership with Rubicon, have added 43 extra charging stations. These 43 chargers can charge 57 cars (some have more than one cable) and are brand neutral, meaning you can plug any electric car into one of these chargers. Last year saw Audi South Africa add 70 charging points across the country.

One of the 43 is a monster DC 200 kW ultra-fast charger – the first of its kind in South Africa. It can be found at the Mall of Africa and something like the Audi e-tron GT which has the hardware to support this fast charge, could be topped up in as little as 15 minutes. Loadshedding? Well, that’s taken care of, thanks to Mall of Africa’s extensive solar panel array which provides a backup.

“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 Sascha Sauer, Head of Audi South Africa.

So, what’s on offer? Phase two of the charging investment consists of four 100 kW DC chargers, 8 60 kW DC chargers, 5 25 kW DC chargers and 25 22 kW AC chargers dotted around the country. Together, Rubicon, Gridcars and Audi South Africa have contributed 28% of public charging stations in SA.

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.

All 76 Audi-branded charging stations are part of the charging network that can be accessed HERE

The newly added 43 chargers are spread across the provinces as follows: