VW Charging Network Is in a Global Race with Tesla
VW reveals that it has over 15,000 high-power charging (HPC) points for EVs worldwide by the end of 2022.
The automaker is focusing on North America, Europe, and China in its station-building efforts, with plans to operate 10,000 points in North America, 18,000 in Europe, and 17,000 in China by 2025.
VW's Electrify America arm has recently started work on increasing the number of larger charging hubs with 20 individual charging points.
Volkswagen is one of just a handful of automakers, in addition to Tesla, that has been investing in its own network of EV chargers. In addition to establishing Electrify America as part of its settlement following the diesel crisis, Volkswagen also embarked on a mission of being the only automaker to create a network of high-power charging (HPC) points for all EVs regardless of brand.
The automaker says more than a third of its planned 45,000 high-power charging points had been connected to the network by the end of 2022, with 15,000 HPCs now online.
As a part of this plan, first revealed during Power Day 2021, Volkswagen and its partners plan to operate up to 25,000 HPCs worldwide by the end of 2023.
The automaker has teamed up with BP on building 8000 charging points in Europe, which are being installed with help from Ionity, launched by VW, Audi, and Porsche in Europe. This part of the network is receiving Flexpole chargers produced by its own subsidiary, Volkswagen Components, so the automaker is not relying entirely on outside contractors for the station hardware. Wolfsburg is also collaborating with Iberdrola in Spain to build chargers along the main traffic arteries in the country. The goal is to have 10,000 HPCs in Europe by the end of 2023.
"Volkswagen started creating this global fast-charging network years ago. We are now among the trailblazers in electric mobility, and we have 15,000 fast-charging points in North America, China, and Europe to prove it," said Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group board member for technology and CEO of Volkswagen Group Components.
By 2025 the automaker wants to operate 10,000 in North America, 18,000 HPC stations in Europe, and 17,000 in China.
By comparison, Tesla is still further ahead at the moment with over 40,000 individual Superchargers worldwide.
Volkswagen's US efforts, under Electrify America, have recently started experimenting with new station types, including those that feature megawatt-level battery energy storage systems (BESS). Ranging from 1.5 to 3.0 MWh in capacity, these types of stations are aimed at rural, remote locations due to a lack of sufficient grid infrastructure nearby, and are helped by solar panels designed to bring in an extra 66 kW of generation potential. VW already operates 150 stations with BESS in the US, albeit with smaller storage capacities.
EA's efforts have also turned to charger reliability efforts, which is still a major issue with chargers of all types.
Electrify America has also increased efforts to build large charging hubs in the style of gas stations, with customer lounges inside and DC fast-charging points for up to 20 EVs. This type of station has been notably absent from the landscape, with a handful of companies only now turning to building stations of this type. However, progress in this area is still expected to be quite slow in the first half of this decade, as station operators focus on creating larger numbers of smaller stations to cover a wider geographic area.
