(Credit: Flikr)General Motors, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis have announced a joint venture to install more than 30,000 electric vehicle charge points across North America.
Public and private funds will be leveraged to speed up the installation of these new chargers, which will be available in both urban and highway locations. By implementing the North American Charging Standard (NACS) and Combined Charging System (CCS) connectors, requirements outlined by the U.S. National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program will be met or exceeded. This means charging stations accessible to all EV customers, regardless of brand. The venture aims to be the leading network provider of high-powered charging stations in North America.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory expects that 182,000 DC chargers will be needed to support the number of EV vehicles predicted to be on the road by 2030. EVs are also expected to exceed 50% of total U.S. sales by 2030, so rapid expansion of the charging grid is crucial. This joint venture follows the announcement of the recent expansion of the Tesla Supercharger Network, which Ford, GM, Rivian, and Mercedes-Benz have all joined.
The first charging stations are expected to open in the U.S. during the summer of 2024. The charging network is to be powered solely through renewable energy sources.
The creation of this charging network and general expansion of EV charging availability is necessary to meet rising consumer demand. Further, the overall growth of the EV charging grid should come as a comfort to customers considering an EV purchase.
All members of the joint venture emphasize the elevated EV customer experience that will be made possible with the expansion. Chargers will be installed in convenient locations, near restrooms, food service, and retail operations. EV adoption is a necessary step towards decarbonizing North America, and increasing charging access should help accelerate this transition.
“GM’s commitment to an all-electric future is focused not only on delivering EVs our customers love, but investing in charging and working across the industry to make it more accessible,” said GM CEO Mary Barra. “The better experience people have, the faster EV adoption will grow.”
