Check in and plug in

May 19, 2022

Environment

As the interest in electric vehicles soars, a growing number of venues are offering electric vehicle charging points.

According to the most recent AutoTrader Car Industry Report, searches for electric vehicles (EVs) grew by 110% to half a million in 2021. This is good news for a brand like Toyota that’s investing heavily in EVs, with 2030 the target date for halving the cost of its batteries and electric drivetrains to make electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and even fuel cell vehicles more accessible.

Speaking at the Toyota State of the Motor Industry (SOMI) event earlier this year, CEO Andrew Kirby and Senior Vice President of Sales Leon Theron revealed that with its range of Lexus Hybrid models and the locally built Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, Toyota already controls 70% of the new energy vehicle market.

“We have a clear roll-out plan, starting with hybrid, then plug-in hybrid, and later electric. Our aim is to have a 40% hybrid vehicle mix in our passenger vehicle range by 2025. We are very serious,”

Leon Theron, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at TSAM

As more electric models hit the road, the demands on charging infrastructure are increasing, and drivers of new energy vehicles will be pleased to know that the number of electric vehicle charging stations is on the rise.

Eendracht Hotel & Apartments, situated in Dorp Street in the heart of the oldest part of Stellenbosch, recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and marked the occasion by installing a 22kW DC Electric Vehicle charging point on its property for convenient on-site charging for guests. It’s one of the first hotels in South Africa to do so.

The Eendracht EV point is connected to GridCars, a nationwide network that can be utilised by all EV car manufacturers available in South Africa via an RFID card and an app system. Both Type 1 and Type 2 points are available, with a maximum charging capacity of up to 22kW DC power. A countrywide network of live publicly available charging points can be found on GridCars’ website.

Eendracht’s partner hotel, Montagu Country Hotel in Montagu also recently installed an EV charging point. Both establishments are members of Cape Country Routes, a group of owner operated and managed accommodation and activity establishments in the Western and Eastern Cape.

  Eendracht’s partner hotel, Montagu Country Hotel in Montagu also recently installed an EV charging point.

Sky Villa Boutique Hotel in Plettenberg Bay will also soon offer on-site charging. “Part of our mandate is to ensure the protection of the complex ecologies at our various properties, and we do strive to make all our properties as green as possible,” says Paul Duverge, Managing Director of Raw Africa Boutique Collection (formerly Cape Summer Villas Boutique Collection). “A long history of eco-tourism principles, policies and practising ‘responsible tourism’ has led us to the next step, and that is the decision to have an EV charging point installed at one of the Collection’s premier hotels, Sky Villa Boutique Hotel. The charger is being installed by E’langa, an Electric Vehicle charging solution-driven company based in Kempton Park, South Africa and with offices in Australia.”