A new charging company is poised to join the heating EV market in North America. BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis announced together on July 26 that they will establish a joint venture of charging network in the region. The first stations are expected to open in the US in 2024.
According to a joint statement, the seven carmakers will form a high-powered charging network offering both the Combined Charging System (CCS) and North American Charging Standard (NACS) connectors. The US government requires CCS connectors for charging stations to receive federal subsidies. NACS is the connector developed by Tesla.
The new charging company aims to install at least 30,000 charge points across North America, with the first stations being slated to come online in the summer of next year. The deployment will start in the metropolitan areas, connecting corridors and vacation routes in the US and expand to Canada later, according to the statement.
The automakers said they plan to form the joint venture in 2023 and will use public and private funds to install the charging facilities.
The news came as Tesla's NACS seeing growing adoption since May. Tesla Supercharger has the highest market share in the US DC fast charging market. Data from the US Department of Energy showed that Tesla operates 2,056 charging stations in the US and Canada, providing 22,270 charging ports as of July 28.
The seven carmakers who will establish the joint venture are all traditional car companies. GM and Mercedes-Benz have said they will adopt NACS starting next year.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said of the JV that a charging network at scale is vital to protecting freedom of mobility for all. A strong charging network should be available for all and under the same conditions, he added.
US National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that the country will need 182,000 DC fast chargers to support 30 to 42 million EVs by 2030.
