Audi has a good following in South Africa. According to Autotrader’s 2021 Mid-Year Car Industry Report, it is the 5th most searched brand in South Africa.
I have also been a fan of Audi cars for a while. My eldest brother had an old 500 over a decade ago. It was in very good condition for its age and it drove like a dream. It was a big car, very spacious and very comfortable. Later on, one of my best friends had an Audi A3, one had an Audi Q5, and one still drives an A5 to this day. My friend with the A5 is due for an upgrade and I have been pushing him to switch to electric.
Earlier this year, Audi South Africa announced that it would be bringing 6 electric vehicle models to South Africa in Q1 2022. Audi has now announced the South African pricing for the e-tron range and is now taking orders for delivery in Q1 next year. Now my friend has an option to get one of the models in the new e-tron range if he wants.
The e-tron range for South Africa includes:
- e-tron 55 SUV
- e-tron Sportback 55
- e-tron Sportback S
- e-tron GT
- RS e-tron GT
Pricing starts from around R1,990,000 ($123,000) for the e-tron 55 Advanced and R3,300,000 ($204,000) for the Audi RS e-tron GT. Specialist e-tron dealerships include Bryanston, Rivonia, Sandton (in Johannesburg); Centurion, Hatfield, Menlyn (in Pretoria); Century City, Clairemont (in Cape Town) and Umhlanga & Audi Centre (in Durban).
South Africans have access to a very good charging network. In fact, South Africa has one of the highest ratios of public EV chargers to EVs in the world. One of the leading players in this industry is GridCars. GridCars has partnered with several OEMs, including Audi, to provide EV owners with access to a nationwide charging network. EV owners and users can now drive comfortably around South Africa using the charging network along the major highways, such as from Johannesburg to Durban and from Johannesburg to Cape Town.
For a very long time, South Africans only had a few EV models to choose from. It’s really good to see Audi bringing all these models to South Africa. The Audi RS e-tron GT joins its cousin, the Porsche Taycan, which has been available in South Africa since mid-last year. I hope the other cousins from the ID. side of the family, such as the ID.4 from VW, will also be offered to customers in South Africa very soon.
The Audi e-tron range in South Africa. Images courtesy of Greg Blandford, Director Energy and E-Mobility at Rubicon
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