The automaker will add more than 2,700 quick chargers in the next five years along with its EVgo partnership. The chargers will be installed in a variety of areas in cities and suburbs, including grocery stores, retailers and other “high-traffic” locations, with the aim of allowing people to charge their cars while running errands, the company said in a statement. of press. The car takes less than half an hour to fully charge.
The strategy contrasts with Tesla’s own fast charging network, known as the Supercharger, which originally focused on providing fast charging capacity along interstate routes to facilitate long-distance units. GM Executive Director Mary Barra said in a call to reporters that the focus on metro areas was the result of customer feedback and a desire to tap into a base of underserved leads who live in apartments without access to personal garage charging systems.
But the Tesla network only charges its own vehicles, while EVgo pumps can charge a variety of vehicles (including Tesla (TSLA) Models).
EVgo already has more than 800 charging locations, and some of the new chargers will launch in early 2021, the two companies announced Friday.
Barra said in a statement that the expansion “would strengthen the public fast charging network available to EV customers prior to rising market demand and would reinforce our commitment to a fully electric, emission-free future.”
GM has been expanding its fleet of electric vehicles for sale in recent years. A new version of the Bolt EV will be released later this year, the company recently said, and the GMC Hummer electric truck will launch next year. A crossover SUV version, called the Bolt EUV, will debut in the summer of 2021.
GM announced in March that it has created a new electric vehicle battery that offers up to 400 miles of range and will be cheaper to produce than current batteries. That’s a little less driving range than any car Tesla offers. Tesla claims a 402-mile range for the latest version of its Model S Long Range Plus sedan.
Electric cars don’t need fast chargers all the time, of course. The vast majority of the time, electric cars are charged at home or at work, using chargers that can take anywhere from six to eight hours. Quick chargers are different. They are designed to quickly fill a car battery, not entirely, which would stress the battery, but generally up to 80%, so people can get back on their way.
In addition to GM and Tesla, Volkswagen is working on a cargo network in the US It is being financed thanks to an agreement VW reached with US regulators over the automaker’s diesel emissions scandal. Electrify America expects to have nearly 500 fast chargers in the United States by the end of the year.
– CNN Business’ Peter Valdes-Dapena contributed to this report.
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