JLR rivals pledge to develop Europe-wide EV charging network

Electric Vehicles

HOT on the heels of Jaguar Land Rover’s pledge to commit part of its future vehicle development to electric cars, so its German rivals have thrown their combined weight behind a new infrastructure development programme.

BMW Group, Daimler, Ford and Volkswagen Group (including Audi and Porsche) have announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create the highest-powered vehicle charging network in Europe.

The goal is the quick build-up of a sizable number of stations in order to enable long-range travel for battery electric vehicles (BEV). The partnership said this was an important step towards facilitating mass-market BEV adoption.
 
The projected ultra-fast high-powered charging network will be significantly faster than the most powerful charging system deployed today. The build-up is planned to start in 2017 with an initial 400 sites targeted across Europe.

By 2020, drivers should have access to thousands of high-powered charging points. The goal is to enable long-distance travel throughout the continent – something EV drivers have previously only dreamed about.

The charging experience is expected to evolve to become as convenient as refueling at conventional petrol stations.
 
The network will be based on Combined Charging System (CCS) standard technology. The planned charging infrastructure expands the existing technical standard for AC- and DC charging of electric vehicles to the next level of capacity for DC fast charging with up to 350 kW. BEVs that are engineered to accept this full power of the charge stations can recharge brand-independently in a fraction of the time of today’s BEVs. The network is intended to serve all CCS equipped vehicles to facilitate BEV adoption across Europe.

Harald Krüger, chairman of BMW, said: “This high-power charging network provides motorists with another strong argument to move towards electric mobility.

“The BMW Group has initiated numerous public charging infrastructure projects over the last years. The joint project is another major milestone clearly demonstrating that competitors are combining forces to ramp-up e-mobility.”

The various manufacturers intend to make substantial investments to create the network.

While the founding partners – BMW, Daimler, Ford and VW – will be equal partners in the joint venture, other automobile manufacturers will be encouraged to participate in the network to help establish convenient charging solutions for BEV customers. The JV is also open for co-operations with regional partners.

Jaguar has backed up the launch of its first true EV, the i-Pace, with a pledge that half its model range will have an EV option by 2020.

It has also challenged the government to support the development of the UK’s battery innovation industry by backing new infrastructure and design programmes to prevent technology from going abroad.

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