SEVEN CAR MANUFACTURERS JOIN TO CREATE A CHARGING NETWORK

By Anne Bourgoin

BMW Group, Mercedes-Benz Group, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Stellantis have joined forces to create a charging network joint venture. The initiative will give consumers access to 30,000 high-powered charging points, located in urban areas and along highways across North America. Electric vehicle (EV) owners of all makes will have access to these stations equipped with CCS (Combined Charging System) or NACS (North American Charging Standard) charging systems.

The first stations, scheduled to be operational in the summer of 2024, will first be deployed throughout the United States.

The main objective behind the initiative is to build the first reliable, high-powered charging network in North America, by offering world-class customer service, which features multiple powerful direct current (DC) charging stations, comfortable facilities (with the addition of a canopy, for example), on-site dining and nearby retail outlets.

By 2030, a network of 182,000 DC fast chargers will be needed to meet the needs of the 30 to 42 million EVs expected to roam throughout the United States.