7 Automakers Unveil Joint EV Charging Network

­The single-best ingredient for beating range anxiety is sufficient infrastructure. If it’s not there, it’ll be that much harder to convince people to give up arguably a far more convenient solution. And that’s led a septuplet of automakers to launch the Avengers of public charging networks in North America.

BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis formed a joint venture to install “at least” 30,000 DC fast chargers along US and Canadian highways (and in cities).

This jives nicely with the Biden administration’s plans to build out the first-ever national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers along America’s highways and in communities, but more importantly, it leverages a portion of the $5 billion in formula funding provided by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program “to build out charging infrastructure along highway corridors – filling gaps in rural, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach locations while instilling public confidence in charging.”

Several companies have already jumped into the EV infrastructure space – of course, Tesla has its Supercharger network, Electrify America has a nonproprietary network, and GM, itself, already has a dealership EV charging network.

The new joint venture will follow suit, with chargers amongst routes to popular vacation destinations and metro areas, amongst other places.

More importantly, it will incorporate the “Plug and Charge” stand the Federal Highway Administration is promoting, and the stations won’t require a new charging station app.

“The better experience people have, the faster EV adoption will grow,” said GM CEO Mary Barra.

The fruits of the joint venture will first appear next summer, while all 30,000 will hopefully be in place by 2030.