Europe: Major Carmakers Join Forces To Setup High-Powered Charging Network

BMW, Ford, Audi, Porsche and Daimler have collaborated to further their EV ambitions

With electric cars featuring in the future plans of nearly every car manufacturer, it was only a matter of time before we saw a collaboration of this nature. BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company, Audi and Porsche have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create the highest-powered charging network in Europe. The goal? To make long-distance travel easier for battery electric vehicle owners.

The high-powered charging network will offer power levels of up to 350 kW which is said to be significantly faster than the most powerful charging system deployed today. The idea is to make charging an electric vehicle (EV) as convenient as refueling at a regular fuel station.

The joint venture will begin its work in 2017 with the initial target set at around 400 sites across Europe. By 2020, that number will increase to the thousands and the network will focus on connecting major European highways first.

This decision is a sow-the-seeds move to enable quicker adoption of electric cars. The primary issues buyers have with electric vehicles is their limited travel range and long charge times. With a high-powered charging network, these shortcomings can be countered to a large extent, if not solved entirely. Additionally, all of these brands are developing electric cars of their own and need to set a strong foundation of charge points to motivate buyers.

It’ll be a while before we can expect something similar in India, but if you’re in the market for an electric car, check out our review of the Mahindra e2oPlus here.