Counting the accelerated speed of transition to electric mobility, majority of fossil fuel retailers in several countries like Africa are now establishing alliance with EV players in the electric mobility space to offer services to support electric vehicles.
One such recent example is that of Zuva installed charging stations in Zimbabwe at its sites.
The first site was launched on the 30th of June.
It is located on Piers Road in Borrowdale, next to Harare’s premier shopping center, Sam Levy’s Village.
Zuva installed charging stations will allow people to charge whilst they shop.
The charging station is equipped with a 60 kW DC fast charger with CCS 2 connector.
They had to upgrade the supply to the petrol station to accommodate the new DC fast charger.
The 60 kW DC charger will allow one to charge the BYD E6 for example, which has a 70 kWh Blade battery, to full in about one and a half hours.
There are several brand new all-electric vehicle models now officially on sale in Zimbabwe, such as the BYD T3 van and the BYD E6.
There are also several dealers now bringing in used electric vehicles from Japan and the United Kingdom, but sales remain low.
Potential customers interviewed have indicated that they would consider buying EVs if there was an extensive charging network.
Zuva installed charging stations account for over 80 in numbers across Zimbabwe that currently only serve internal combustion engine vehicles.
Stating another such example is that of TotalEnergies Kenya partnered with Ampersand to roll out battery swapping and charging centers at TotalEnergies’ sites in Nairobi, starting with three sites, which are TotalEnergies Hurlingham, TotalEnergies Dagoretti, and Mountain View.
Growth of Zuva installed charging station network and their feasibility in the long run is still a topic of debate as it would go a long way in helping to establish a widespread charging network in Zimbabwe.