South Africa’s public electric vehicle charging network is set for a major upgrade, with just one big operator adding 150 new charging stations over the next year and three months.
Among Rubicon’s first partners for its rollout was Audi, for which it installed the country’s first 200kW charging station at the Mall of Africa.Rubicon plans to expand its charging network to around 150 sites by the end of the year. Another 100 are set to come online in 2024, putting its total at 250.
This 25kW Delta DC fast charger at Castle Gate Shopping Centre in Pretoria added about 40% capacity to our Volvo XC40 Recharge Twin’s battery pack in about an hour and a half. This Delta DC 100kW charger at an Engen fuel station on the R21 southbound was installed by Rubicon for Audi. It added about 60% capacity to a Volvo XC40 Recharge Twin’s battery in roughly 50 minutes.
Blandford told MyBroadband that the Umhlanga branch had already sold out all its models. Its sub-R800,000 price also makes it one of the most affordable EVs in South Africa.Blandford said Rubicon had observed increased charging activity at its stations over the past few months. Three times that we visited a 22kW AC charger at Woodlands Boulevard Mall, there were other EVs — including an Audi e-Tron, BMW iX1, and a Volvo XC40 Recharge — already charging or waiting to charge after our turn.