Mercedes to build its own electric vehicle charging network
BNN Bloomberg
Mercedes-Benz says it will build its own worldwide electric vehicle charging network starting in North America in a bid to compete with EV sales leader Tesla.
The German luxury automaker said at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas Thursday that it will start building the North American network this year at a total cost of just over 1 billion euros (US$1.05 billion). When completed in six or seven years, the network will have 400 charging stations with more than 2,500 high-power plugs, the company said.
Networks in Europe and China and other markets will follow, with completion of the full network by the end of the decade, when the company intends to sell all electric vehicles depending on market conditions. The full network will have more than 2,000 charging stations and over 10,000 plugs worldwide, Ola Källenius, chairman of Mercedes-Benz's management board, told reporters.
The company said the Mercedes-branded network will be open to owners of all electric vehicles, but Mercedes owners will be able to reserve charging ports and get preference over other makes.
