Mercedes-Benz to Launch Electric Vehicle Fast-Charging Stations This Fall
Mercedes-Benz has revealed its plans to introduce a high-power charging hub network in the last quarter of 2023, offering charging speeds of up to 400kW. This surpasses the capabilities of any electric vehicle currently available in the market. The initial launch of these stations will take place in Atlanta, Georgia (the company’s US headquarters), Chengdu, China, and Mannheim, Germany. Mercedes-Benz aims to establish 400 hub locations with 2,000 chargers in the United States and an additional 2,000 chargers worldwide by the conclusion of 2024.
Earlier this year, Mercedes-Benz announced plans to work with ChargePoint to build a “Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging Network.” The first installations included both CCS and Tesla’s NACS (North American Charging Standard) connectors and would be open to non-Mercedes EVs.
Now, the company has said that “depending on the region, charging stations currently offer up to 400kW of charging speed via the respective standard charging systems CCS1 (North America), CCS2 [Europe], NACS [Tesla] and GB/.T [China].” It promised that each vehicle could be charged at its maximum capacity using intelligent charge management to keep waiting times to a minimum. The hubs will be located in “main traffic areas and selected Mercedes-Benz dealerships,” the company added.
Last month, Mercedes announced that it would introduce NACS to its North American electric cars. Until then, it will give owners access to the Tesla Supercharger network via a CCS-NACS adapter arriving in 2024 (Tesla currently has about 1,847 Supercharger stations in the U.S. with 20,040 Supercharger ports — nearly two-thirds of all DC Fast EV charging ports).
Mercedes-Benz’s agreement with Tesla is independent of its own branded charging network. Last month, the company announced plans to partner with six other automakers, including BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Stellantis, to create a network of 30,000 new EV fast-charging stations across North America starting in the summer of 2024. They also offer both CCS and NACS connectors.
