GridCars is replacing ageing chargers across its national network with new 120kW units, in a refresh that will bring some of South Africa’s earliest public charging sites up to a standard capable of serving modern electric vehicles. GridCars was registered in 2009 and started out trying to build electric vehicles rather than charge them, abandoning that plan when local funding for automotive start-ups proved unavailable. It is now the country’s largest public charging operator and took on a new shareholder in January to fund faster expansion. At that point its Charge Pocket app listed 445 charging sites, 650 chargers and more than 1 200 connectors. “The chargers being refreshed have played an important role in building South Africa’s early public charging network,” said Jordaan in a statement on Thursday.