Mercedes, for example, opened its first charging point in Mannheim last November. The new charging park in the Rhine-Neckar region is conveniently located at an important junction in southwest Germany. The maximum charging speed at the first German Mercedes station is 300 kilowatts. Advantage compared to many other charging parks: each charger only has one connection to ensure that the maximum energy reaches the charging vehicle. The charging points in Mannheim are just the beginning, because by the end of the decade the Swabians are planning to have more than 2,000 of their own charging parks with over 10,000 fast charging points worldwide. Mercedes relies on the energy expert Eon as a partner to set up and operate its own fast charging network.
“Charging should be as easy as refueling. This is the only way we can increase the willingness to switch to climate-friendly electric cars,” says Federal Transport Minister Dr. Volker Wissing, “We need a committed automotive industry that pulls together with us and, in addition to delivering electric vehicles, also contributes to the forward-looking expansion of the charging infrastructure. I am particularly pleased that it is open to all users.” Mercedes does not want to limit its own fast charging network to Europe or even Germany. After Atlanta / USA, Chengdu and Foshan / China, Mannheim is the fourth fast charging park with a star. In Europe, Mercedes is opening additional charging parks in Italy, Spain and France from 2024, in addition to additional locations in Germany.
Premium competitor Audi is taking a similar approach. The car manufacturer from Ingolstadt put its fifth European charging location into operation in Munich in the fall. Others exist in Zurich, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Salzburg and Berlin. Project manager Bastian Geretshauser: “We not only offer up to 320 kW charging power per charging station, but also ensure constant charging power using the Power Cubes, which consist of used lithium-ion batteries from former research vehicles and begin a second life phase as buffer storage. Thanks to this temporary storage, we achieve an impressive amount of energy of 1.05 megawatt hours. In theory, we could charge 60 vehicles without interruption before the charging performance slowly decreases.” Just like Mercedes, all vehicle brands are welcome at Audi. At 0.35 euros per kWh, Audi drivers charge significantly cheaper than drivers of a third-party brand who pay 0.50 euros. Debits are made using a debit or credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
Last year, Porsche also put its first charging station into operation: the Charging Lounge in Bingen am Rhein, not far from the A60 / 61 motorway junction. The Stuttgart-based company wants to turn more of its own stations into a Porsche experience along important European transport routes. The six Hyperchargers with a maximum charging speed of 300 kW are just the beginning. Further Porsche Charging Lounges are planned in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “This ambitious ramp-up requires a powerful and dense fast charging network,” says Oliver Blume, CEO of Porsche. “The exclusive Porsche Charging Lounges make an important contribution to this: barrier-free, modern and sustainably designed, they complement the Ionity network.”
Like Volkswagen, BMW has so far forgone its own charging network and instead relies on the merger of various car manufacturers with Ionity. There are currently over 630,000 charging points available in Europe; 120,000 of them in Germany. Ionity was founded as a joint venture by the automobile manufacturers BMW Group, Ford Motor Company, Hyundai Motor Group, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche. By the end of next year, more than 7,000 charging parks offering charging speeds of up to 350 kW are expected to be opened in 24 countries. That would be more than four times as many as in 2021.
All car manufacturers are trying to catch up with electric pioneer Tesla with their own branded charging parks, which currently offers the largest network worldwide with more than 50,000 superchargers. As with the competition, the Superchargers with charging speeds of up to 250 kW are primarily located on main roads near popular drop-off points. Since the end of 2021, Tesla began opening its exclusive charging network to third-party brands. The current Tesla app is required, as a charging card or paying with a credit card is not possible at Superchargers.
