Mercedes wants to accelerate the take-up of electric cars by building a high-power global charging network before the end of this decade.
The company announced at CES in Las Vegas this week that it will install more than 10,000 charging stations across Europe, China and other markets, but that the program will start in North America this year. It plans to install more than 400 charging hubs with a total of 2,500 chargers across the region by 2027 with the help of MN8 Energy and Chargepoint.
Mercedes says the charging hubs will be located in major towns and cities and close to big retail sites and the company’s own dealers. But you won’t have to be familiar with a Mercedes showroom to buy one. Like Tesla’s Supercharger network, the Mercedes charging points will be open to those driving other brands of car, though it looks like only Merc drivers will get the chance to reserve spaces in advance.
Related: Mercedes-Benz Opens First EV-Exclusive Dealership In Japan
The company says the charging hubs will offer between 4 and 30 charging stations depending on location, with each offering up to 350 kW of power. That’s a hell of a lot of demand for juice, but Mercedes claims intelligent charge-load management will enable vehicles to charge at their maximum rate without overloading the system, and avoid huge waiting times.
Charging points will provide protection from the weather where possible (a particular bugbear of ours), and will also come with surveillance cameras and food outlets and restrooms nearby. And there’ll be no messing around with passwords and account numbers: Plug & Charge tech means your car will handle the billing.
Tesla’s Supercharger network has always been a big selling point for the brand, even if most drivers charge at home, and news that a big name like Mercedes is putting its might behind a charging infrastructure program will certainly help persuade some additional drivers make the switch to EVs.
But the Germans aren’t being wholly altruistic here. They might want to fast-track the take-up of electric cars, but they’ll also be hoping that repeated exposure to the MB brand might persuade a few to head down to a Mercedes dealer when it’s time for a new EV.
