Audi has started negotiations with other German and US car makers about developing a shared network of EV chargers to rival Tesla’s Supercharger network.
Since Audi officially announced their plans of launching an all-electric crossover with a driving range of more than 500km (310 miles) that can be recharged to 80 per cent full in 30 minutes using a 150-kW charger, the company now must come up with the plan about the infrastructure.
Siegfried Pint, Audi’s Head of electric powertrains, said to AutoNews they “will come up with a charging infrastructure in the U.S. and Europe at least, with the same plug.”
Tesla has offered to let electric models from other manufacturers to use their Supercharger Network, provided that the other companies will pay their share in the running costs. So far, Tesla’s Supercharger network counts 554 charging stations worldwide with a total of 3,161 chargers.
Audi though is not interested because Tesla is using their own charging standard (much like what Apple does with their chargers) instead of the SAE Combo2 plug used by most companies.
Scott Keogh, head of Audi of America, told reporters that Audi is still negotiating and no decision has been taken up to this point. But the German manufacturer will stick to the use of the common charging standard.
“It would be naive for everyone to invest in building their own little world”, Keogh said. “It would be inefficient, expensive and not a smart way to go from a consumer point of view.”
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