A consortium of seven of the industry’s biggest players has announced plans to build a massive charging network that will one day span the continent.
A joint venture made up of BMW, General Motors (GM), Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis will be officially established later this year, with the first stations set to open in the United States in the summer of 2024. With a target of “more than” 30,000 stations in total across the United States and Canada, they will feature both Combined Charging System (CCS) and North American Charging Standard (NACS) connectors. The latter was developed by Tesla but has since been adopted by a number of automakers, including GM.
“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,” company CEO Mary Barra said in a statement. “The better experience people have, the faster EV adoption will grow.”
The actual number of physical locations where the chargers will be installed and what they look like – standalone, retail, service stations, etc. – remains to be seen, though the joint announcement said “initial plans” include sites “along major highways, including connecting corridors and vacation routes.”
Further, the locations will include canopies over the chargers “wherever possible,” as well as access to restrooms and food and retail locations, “either nearby or within the same complex.” According to the announcement, the network will allow for “seamless integration” with the apps and in-vehicle services offered by participating automakers.
“This joint venture will be a critical step in accelerating EV adoption across the U.S. and Canada and supporting our efforts to achieve carbon neutrality,” Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said in the statement.
The first stations are expected to be online in the U.S. next summer, and in Canada “at a later stage.”
