Mercedes has opened its first branded charging center in Germany, the fourth of thousands of hubs that it plans to set up around the globe in the coming years. The company wants 2,000 of its own charging stations operating worldwide with over 10,000 fast-charging points by the end of the decade.
The inaugural Mercedes-Benz Charging Hub, to use its official name, is located in Mannheim in the Rhine-Main-Neckar region of Germany, one of the country’s most important transport corridors. It’s open to all drivers, regardless of their EV’s brand – though Benz drivers get a cheaper tariff and even free charging for the first few months – and has six charging points, each capable of delivering 300 kW of power.
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And unlike some other stations, which choke down the power output when many cars are trying to juice-up at the same time, Mercedes says the Mannheim hub can always deliver the maximum energy available because of the intelligent charging management and the fact that each charger only has one port.
“Charging has to be as easy as refueling,” said Dr. Volker Wissing, Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, at the hub’s opening. “This is the only way we can increase the willingness to switch to climate-friendly electric cars. I am particularly pleased that [this hub] is open to all users.”
The hub has been specially designed to cater for all shapes of EVs, including larger electric vans like the Mercedes eSprinter, and has a canopy covered with solar panels that keeps the bad weather out and harnesses the good weather. Drivers also have opportunity to get out of their car and rest at a special Mercedes hangout located nearby.
From 2024 Mercedes will open more European charging hubs in Germany, Italy, Spain and France, each of them developed by the automaker’s energy partner, E.ON. But its ambitions stretch to other continents, too. Charging stations in Atlanta in the U.S., and Chengdu and Foshan in China, are already operational, and both countries will get more stations before the end of this year.
