Audi officially launched its first electric vehicle (EV) line-up in South Africa on Tuesday evening, with prices ranging from R1.75 million to R3.3 million.
The “Night of Progress” event at the Zeits MOCCA contemporary art museum in Cape Town provided 170 industry players, media, celebrities, and VIPs with their first hands-on experience of the top-of-the-line RS e-tron GT. It launched alongside three e-tron 55 derivatives, the e-tron 55 Sportback, e-tron S Sportback, and e-tron GT.
Audi has seen incredible success with this line-up in other parts of the world, with more than 52,000 units sold across the range. In 2021, the company saw fully electric deliveries grow 58% year-on-year.
It aims to become the leading electric vehicle manufacturer within the premium automotive market in South Africa. That includes a plan to grow the e-tron model range locally with at least one new electric model each year.
With Audi joining Porsche in the EV market in South Africa, Volkswagen Group’s only other mainstream brand that is yet to launch an EV in the country is Volkswagen itself. The company has also partnered with GridCars. It says the partnership is an investment in building South Africa’s largest and fastest electric vehicle public charging network.
As part of this plan, it is rolling out 70 new public charging connectors at 33 locations in the country. Four of the locations will provide 150kW ultra-fast charging, the fastest yet in the country. These will be installed along major highway routes, in addition to five 80kW chargers.
The remaining 33 stations will provide 22kW chargers and will be installed at public lifestyle and recreational venues.
These chargers will help support Audi e-tron and other electric car owners who require a boost in their day-to-day travels. Of the five models and seven e-tron derivatives available in South Africa, the most affordable will be the e-tron 55 First Edition, starting from R1.745 million.
This model comes with 300kW of power and can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 5.7 seconds. Its top speed is limited to 200km/h. Audi also claims drivers will get a maximum range of 441km on its 95kWh battery.
Thee-tron 55 First Edition will launch in the second half of 2022, while the other models are available at retail. All the e-tron models will be supported by a 5 year/100,000km maintenance plan and 8 year/160,000km battery warranty.
Source: mybroadband
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