BMW, Volkswagen to expand charging station network

With the languishing sales of electric vehicles, automakers are starting to address one of the biggest obstacles to their wider acceptance - the lack of charging stations.

BMW and Volkswagen yesterday announced a plan to install 100 high-speed charging stations on busy corridors this year on the East and West Coasts, like Interstate 95 between Washington and Boston The New York Times reported.

The stations would form part of a fast-growing network run by ChargePoint, the largest in the US, and which would be compatible with nearly all electric vehicles on the road.

BMW and Volkswagen are following the lead given by Tesla Motors, which had its own network of high-speed chargers in the Northeast corridor and in California, but its proprietary connectors worked only with Tesla's cars.

However, according to some analysts, even 100 new stations would hardly start providing the infrastructure needed to give electric vehicles broad acceptance.

According to Eric Lyman, a senior analyst at TrueCar, there were over a 100 gas stations only in Santa Monica.

He added, it would be extremely difficult to reach the level of convenience of gasoline, which was a system that had developed over a century to put stations on nearly every commercial corner.

Meanwhile, in the first phase of the project, the companies were aiming to build nearly 100 so-called direct current fast charging stations, which were expected to be available by the end of the year, PC Mag reported.

The stations would be located along Interstate 95 on the East Coast from Boston to Washington, DC and on the West Coast in Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego, not more than 50 miles apart. The companies  plan to build the stations at convenient locations such as rest stops, shopping centers, and restaurants.

Each station would be expected to include up to two 50 kW direct current Fast chargers, or 24 kW direct current Combo Fast chargers compatible with BMW and Volkswagen electric vehicles and other models besides. At a 50 kW station, the BMW i3 and the Volkswagen e-Golf could charge up to 80 per cent in 20 minutes and would take 30 minutes at a 25KW station.

The locations would additionally include Level 2 chargers, which were compatible with all electric vehicles and offered up to 25 miles of range per hour of charging.

"A robust network of conveniently located [direct current] Fast charging stations will go a long way toward increasing electric vehicle adoption and making electric vehicle ownership even more enjoyable," Robert Healey, head of EV infrastructure at BMW of North America, said in a statement.

"The express charging corridors are another important step in the development of the US e-mobility infrastructure that makes longer distance travel a real option for consumers, particularly along the most heavily trafficked portions of both coasts."