The Electrify America charging network, developed by Volkswagen in North America, will receive colossal financial assistance from Siemens. What help to forget the dieselgate of the German manufacturer?
If the Ionity network in Europe is developing, notably at the initiative of the Volkswagen group, its equivalent across the Atlantic is slightly different. Indeed, Electrify America is the result of investments from Volkswagen, but the German giant was forced to build this network, following dieselgate. Justice had ordered him to create this network, with a starting bet of 2 billion dollars, to be spent between 2016 and 2026. The arrival of funds from Siemens will mark the arrival of the first external investor in this fast charging network. And it was time, since Volkswagen had been looking for a partner since last year.
Siemens invests, alongside Volkswagen, $450 million in Electrify America, bringing the valuation of the network to nearly $2.5 billion, and at the same time offering itself a seat on the company’s board of directors previously owned exclusively by Volkswagen. The two entities did not specify the precise sum contributed by Siemens, but it would be of the order of at least 100 million according to our colleagues fromElectrek.
The largest DC charging network open to everyone in the USA
Of course, the major investment by Siemens is aimed primarily at developing the network substantially, with a charging infrastructure that will be increased to 10,000 charging stations spread over 1,800 sites by 2026.
Electrify America represents the vast majority of DC fast charging points available for all non-Tesla-branded electric vehicles in North America, with Tesla Superchargers currently only available to Tesla customers in the United States. -United. In Europe, some sites of the firm of Elon Musk are open to all vehicles (including competing brands) with a Combo CCS charging port, but across the Atlantic, it is a proprietary format charging cable that is used.
We can also mention the competitor Charge Point, with 18,000 charging points in the United States but only 400 fast DC charging points. It is therefore necessary to turn to Electrify America for Ford Mustang Mach-e, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and other Rivian R1Ts that wish to recharge quickly in the USA and Canada. In its press release, Volkswagen reaffirms its strategy of electrification not only at the level of vehicles but also of the charging infrastructure.
Volkswagen versus Tesla
By 2025, Volkswagen plans to have around 45,000 fast charging points available worldwide, and even send a spade to Tesla, which has not yet made all its Superchargers available to vehicles from other brands : ” Iinvests, like no other car manufacturer, in the development of fast charging networks open to the public around the world“. And knock, Elon.
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