Who says competitors can’t work together. Seven of the world’s largest automakers are teaming up to build national EV charging infrastructure across North America.
When asked about making the switch to electric vehicles many car owners have a fear of running out of power between destinations. Gas stations are plentiful and most drivers can quickly fill up, top off, or squeeze in a couple dollars of petrol to get them to their next destination.
EV charging stations aren’t as plentiful. Those of us living in metro areas see Tesla charging stations in mall parking decks, Targets, and behind Lowes, but they are small in number and are virtually non-existent in rural areas.
The Magnificent 7 Team Up
BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai, KIA, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis are creating a joint venture to build more than 30,000 EV charging stations in the US and Canada.
30,000 charging stations are a lot, but to give you an idea of how much US territory there actually is: there are 51,000 charging stations in the US. There are more than 150,000 gas stations in the US.
The extra charging stations will bring much relief to nervous drivers, but some drivers in rural areas may be looking at their energy gauges with concern. I know many EV users who still prefer driving their gasoline powered vehicles for long trips because they are queasy about charging locations. Also, superchargers are hard to come by. The convenience of pumping gas and rolling is still a barrier to many car buyers even as EV deliveries have exploded.
A Better Charging Experience
The 7’s plan is to roll out only fast charging or supercharging stations to get drivers on their way. Analysts and businesses are predicting greater EV adoption as range and charging times improve.
The better experience people have, the faster EV adoption will grow.
GM CEO Mary Barra
The charging experience isn’t the best. Most charging stations require their own app to operate and isn’t as simple as paying someone or the pump money to get some juice. Recently, Tesla has announced plans to open its supercharging network to Ford, Volvo, and other manufacturers. Really, if the EV market is real, charging should be standardized the same way we have standard octane levels for gasoline. Can you imagine fueling up your car and having to drive to specific stations?
The 7 have announced plans their charging stations will use renewable energy to juice up customers’ cars. What’s unknown is whether or not they’ll actually be using renewable sources or buying energy credits.
No date has been set for the rollout, but here’s hoping they get these stations built soon. There’s no such thing as a free energy lunch, but cutting down on car exhaust fumes will go along way for humans remaining on Earth.