Top automakers in US want to counter Tesla's EV charging dominance with a new company
Driving Change: Tesla to rollout budget model for Asian markets The seven collaborating companies include General Motors, Stellantis, Hyundai Motor and its Kia affiliate, Honda, BMW and Mercedes. These companies represent almost 50 percent of the vehicle sales in the US market - a possibility that could lead to antitrust concerns.
White House has welcomed the new initiative by top automakers with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying, “We think this is an important step forward….It's creating new union jobs for installation and maintenance." US has a total of 30,000 fast-charging machines and the Biden administration has set a target of hitting 500,000 chargers by 2030, an almost four-fold increase. Tesla accounts for over 60% of the US EV sales and is the largest network of fast chargers in the country with around 18,000 superchargers.
Tesla's lead in developing charging stations in the country has led to the company setting standards. For instance, GM, Mercedes and others will start using Tesla-developing charging technology from 2025.
GM has earlier said that it could save around $4000 million if it gets access to Tesla's charging networks. However, other automakers like Stellantis, Hyundai, Honda and BMW have not commited to using Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) and plan to used a rival system known as Combined Charging System (CCS).
The new venture by top automakers will support both charging standards but it will compete against Tesla and other established charging companies like Vokswagen's Electrify American and EVGo. (With inputs from Reuters)
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