“It is essential to be able to offer users of electric vehicles HPC charging stations (fast charging) on a daily basis, far from the main roads”explains Volkswagen Group France, which announces the arrival of its own charging network Electrify France by VGF networks.
Since 2020, the German group had already installed seven fast charging stations in its French concessions as a test. Volkswagen is now announcing its ambition to develop a real charging network in France, with 150 stations planned by the summer of 2024, for a total of 300 charging points.
Stations hosted in concessions
They will all be housed in Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Audi, Seat, Cupra or Skoda dealerships, in “complementary to large high-power charging networks”which Volkswagen estimates “already widely established”. This initiative is therefore quite different from the more traditional fast-charging networks Electrify America and Electrify Canada of Volkswagen Group of America.
By relying on its network of dealers, which has more than 700 sites across France, the Volkswagen group plays the card of simplicity. This strategy allows it to deploy a large number of stations fairly quickly. We remember in particular that Renault had become the largest charging operator in the country by equipping its points of sale with terminals when the Zoé was launched, although their access was not really public.
The French manufacturer also plans to deploy a real fast charging network via its network of dealers, in the colors of its subsidiary Mobilize. However, and unlike Volkswagen’s Electrify France, the Mobilize Fast Charge network is precisely aimed at sites less than five minutes from a motorway exit or an expressway. Mobilize plans to install relaxation areas there, to accommodate customers of the charging network.
Unfortunately, Volkswagen does not detail the infrastructure of its future network, which promises “a very qualitative customer experience”. We just know that “each station will be provided at least a charging point with a guaranteed power in all circumstances of 150 kW, the largest being up to 12 ultra-fast charging points”. By way of comparison, Ionity’s fast charging stations currently reach 350 kW of maximum power and will soon increase to 400 kW.
Charging stations will be open to all electric vehicle users 24/7. We do not yet know the rates that will be charged, nor the authentication and payment methods offered.