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Seven global car manufacturers including General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV are joining forces to install at least 30,000 fast chargers for electric vehicles across North America.
The new stations will support both Tesla Inc.’s North American Charging Standard and the competing Combined Charging System, with the first chargers opening in summer 2024, according to a joint statement Wednesday.
The venture is backed by GM, Stellantis, Hyundai Motor Co, Kia Corp, Honda Motor Co Ltd, Mercedes-Benz Group AG and BMW AG. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that the companies would collectively invest at least $1 billion in the effort.
Fast charging in the US is becoming more competitive as networks open up to Tesla’s plug design, which has quickly become the standard. GM, Ford Motor Co., Rivian Automotive Inc. and Mercedes all said they would adopt Tesla’s Supercharger network in North America, even as they announced plans to build their own stations.
Electrify America, majority-owned by Volkswagen AG, said in June that it will offer Tesla charger connectors within its North American network by 2025.
Expanding charging availability is crucial as electric vehicle adoption accelerates and automakers stretch for lofty sales goals. GM plans to build 1 million EVs in the US in 2025. Ford is shooting for 2 million annual production by 2026. Stellantis expects half of all sales to be electric by 2030.
Stellantis Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares said that while expanding charging infrastructure is a “common interest” of all automakers to improve adoption and EV profitability, they’re wary of Tesla’s dominance.
“We don’t want those usages to be manipulated to the point where they would be a marketing tool in the hands of our competitors to conquest our customers,” Tavares said on a call with reporters Wednesday to discuss quarterly earnings. “That’s something we need to be strategically mindful of.”
The yet-unnamed joint venture will open its first stations in metropolitan areas and along major highways in the US, according to the statement. The companies did not provide additional details on when they planned to complete the 30,000 charging stations.
Last year, Electrify America operated 3,737 ultra-fast connectors in the US, second to Tesla’s 13,878, according to BloombergNEF. The new charging joint venture by seven automakers plans to almost double this base of installed fast chargers.
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