BMW, Daimler, Ford and VW Group to build super-fast charging network

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Written by Jason Barlow
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Big, big news today: four car industry giants, BMW, Daimler, Ford and the Volkswagen Group, have confirmed that they are joining forces to deliver a fast-charging network for electric vehicles across Europe.The quartet is forming a joint venture to build a network said to total around 1,000 charging points, sited on major routes all across Europe. Today"s statement talks of power levels up to 350 kW", which is significantly faster than anything currently available. Around 400 ultra-fast charging sites are planned initially, and the network will be based on the Combined Charging System (CCS), which suggests that this solution will become the industry standard going forward."The goal is to enable long-distance travel through open-network charging stations along highways and major thoroughfares, which has not been feasible for most BEV (battery electric vehicles) to date," the jointly issued statement says. "The charging experience is expected to evolve to be as convenient as refuelling at conventional gas stations."Although joint ventures are commonplace in the car industry, this sort of collaboration is unprecedented, and drew predictably effusive comments from the various parties involved. BMW Group"s Chairman, Harald Kr ger said: "The joint project is another major milestone clearly demonstrating that competitors are combining forces to ramp up e-mobility."Daimler"s CEO, Dr Dieter Zetsche, added: "The availability of high-power stations allows long distance e-mobility for the first time and will convince more and more customers to opt for an electric vehicle."

Date written: 29 Nov 2016

More of this article on the Top gear website

ID: 5934
 

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