Volkswagen, BMW And ChargePoint Team Up For EV Fast-Charging Station Network

The world's top two auto manufacturers, BMW and Volkswagen, have teamed up with one of the world's biggest electric vehicle (EV) charging station maker, ChargePoint, to build up a new corridor of fast charging stations all across the United States. Last year in January, the two German manufacturers announced more stations would be built that'd be compatible with CCS in collaboration with ChargePoint.

The Project, also known as the Express Charging Corridor Initiative, included installation of 95 DC fast-charging stations along side major East and West Coast corridors. The automakers state the corridors have been designed to meet the rapidly growing demand for Electric Vehicle fast chargers and also to aid adoption of EVs in the U.S. according to autoweek.com.

Along the East Coast, the DC fast chargers will be on some of the most heavily populated regions, primarily along that of Interstate 95, this will enable a vehicle to travel from Boston via New York City and Philadelphia, and also to Washington D.C. that is on the West Coast. The charging stations will primarily be placed along Highway 101 and Interstate 5, connecting Portland, San Francisco Bay area, San Diego and Los Angeles. Other charging stations are reported be placed along other heavily traveled zones, including the Hamptons, Cape Cod, Lake Tahoe, Napa Valley, the Jersey Shore and Sonoma, reports arstechnica.com .

To provide easy access to public facilities, the chargers are to be placed 50 miles apart in areas where restaurants, shopping centers, rest areas and other facilities are located. The main plan here is to eliminate the "range anxiety," a fear of driving to a place having no alternate way to charge their vehicle. The expansion of these charging stations is also going to help the carmakers combat Tesla's network of stations.

Now, with so many new charging spots, long-distance travel will definitely be far easier and also the fear of being stranded will be eradicated. Drivers can locate stations easily either using the ChargePoint mobile application or website. The drivers may also find the spots by using the in-vehicle connectivity provided by both the carmakers.

Each location is to offer a 50 kW or 24 kW DC fast-charging station along with the SAE Combo connectors that is used in both the BMW and Volkswagen EVs. Many locations are also to offer CHAdeMO connectors for vehicles working with this type of charging port, according to greencarreports.com.

"The Express Charging Corridors extends the power of existing ChargePoint network not only to simplify long-distance travel for EV drivers but also to encourage more people to make EV their primary vehicle," says CEO of ChargePoint, Pasquale Romano. There are 4,109 charging outlets1 and 881 DC fast-charging stations for Electric Vehicles all across the nation, according to the Department of Energy.