Four of the world’s top carmakers have agreed to invest in thousands of fast-charging sites across Europe to boost mainstream acceptance of electric cars, the companies said on Tuesday.
Spurred by the success of US rival Tesla, which has received huge pre-orders for its Model 3 car, German rivals Volkswagen, Daimler’s Mercedes, BMW and Ford Motor Co’s European division have entered a joint venture to develop 400 charging stations.
Overcoming “range anxiety” — the fear of running out of power before reaching a charging station — is key to widespread consumer acceptance of electric vehicles (EV), which so far have filled only a niche market.
Photo: Bloomberg
A memorandum of understanding for the joint venture was reached late last week.
Government regulators have also been pushing electric vehicle infrastructure projects.
In the US, it remains to be seen how an administration of president-elect Donald Trump will embrace such projects. The White House earlier last month, and a week before the presidential election, announced efforts to spur development of EV charging infrastructure.
After the German government agreed to help the auto industry with electric car subsidies, pressure has built for Germany’s carmakers to accelerate the development and rollout of electric car infrastructure.
German Minister of Economics and Energy Sigmar Gabriel, a potential challenger to Chancellor Angela Merkel next year, has called for Germany to become a leader in electric vehicle technology.
Electric vehicle infrastructure will also get a boost from Volkswagen’s diesel emissions settlement, which calls for investment in EVs, and Daimler recently announced that it would invest 10 billion euros (US$11 billion) in EVs.
Scarce charging points, as well as higher prices for electric cars compared with combustion models, have stifled mass-market demand, despite sales incentives that often include government assistance.
“The availability of high-power stations allows long-distance electric mobility for the first time and will convince more and more customers to opt for an electric vehicle,” Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsche said.
A goal is to make charging an electric vehicle as convenient as refueling at conventional gas stations, the automakers said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Executives across the industry predict electric cars will become increasingly popular due to advances that make batteries cheaper and more powerful. Also, the VW emissions scandal has sparked a regulatory backlash against diesel-engine vehicles.
Diesel-powered vehicles accounted for 52 percent of new passenger cars sold in Europe last year, although they are a small fragment of the US market.
The joint venture, which is open to other automakers, is to fund the establishment of charging sites beginning in the first quarter of next year, the carmakers said.
After reaching the initial goal of about 400 charging sites along major highways in Europe, the group aims to have “thousands of high-powered charging points” on the continent by 2020, the statement said.
In September, ChargePoint Inc, the world’s largest electric vehicle charging network, said the US divisions of Volkswagen and BMW are collaborating on charging networks on the two US coasts.
The European network will be based on so-called combined charging system technology, enhancing existing AC and DC charging standards and allowing for ultra-fast power levels of up to 350 kilowatt-hours.
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