BMW, Ford, Daimler's Mercedes, and Volkswagen's Porsche and Audi formed a joint venture for 400 "ultra-fast" charging stations for electric vehicles along European highways. The chargers run on Direct Current (DC), which is used as an electronic power supply. The new DC charging network delivers more charge to electric cars at 350 kW than Tesla's best Supercharger at 145 kW. The European network is based on Combined Charging System (CCS) standard that is compatible with all current and future electric vehicles created by the companies involved in the joint venture as well as Fiat-Chrysler and Hyundai. Construction starts in 2017 and is projected to finish by 2020.
Daimler's Chairman of the Board of Management Dr. Dieter Zetsche told reporters that by 2025 Mercedes will produce "more than 10 fully electric passenger cars." Volkswagen released a statement that this year their electric vehicles will have a range between 250 and 310 miles. BMW is set to release the i6 electric crossover in 2020, which will have a range of 300 miles.
As individual companies produce a variety of electric vehicles, the multi-company venture for a sustainable highway charging system will provide the infrastructure needed for an increased electric mobility consumer base. The current cooperation exhibited by these various companies is set to fuel their future competition by providing a strong market base of consumers. Mark Fields, president and CEO of Ford Motor Company told reporters, "a reliable, ultra-fast charging infrastructure is important for mass consumer adoption...this charging network will make it easier and more practical for customers across Europe to own electrified vehicles."
Competition in charging stations is speeding up their adoption. Tesla is set to release the Model 3 in 2018, and until then is doubling its current 260 Superchargers throughout Europe. The Ultra E project also announced their construction of 25 charging sites along TEN-T, the trans-European transport network.
In the United States, there will be 95 DC networks across East and West coast high-traffic corridors. The Department of Transportation and the Obama administration announced that it will give loan guarantees equal to $4.5 billion to companies that build charging stations along the 48 corridors designated by the government in early November.
As electric vehicles and charging stations are constructed with more and more frequency and efficiency. The joint venture project to create a charging network throughout Europe is "another major milestone clearly demonstrating that competitors are combining forces to ramp-up e-mobility," according to Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. The companies involved in the joint venture project agree on the necessity to work together in order to make electric mobility more feasible for consumers through stable infrastructure and a variety of vehicle options.
- https://electrek.co/2016/11/29/ultra-fast-charging-electric-car-network-bmw-mercedes-ford-vw/
- http://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/11/bmw-vw-ford-daimler-team-up-for-electric-vehicle-charging-network-in-europe/
- http://www.wsj.com/articles/bmw-daimler-vw-and-ford-to-build-auto-charging-station-network-1480426777
