So get this: BMW, GM, Stellantis, Hyundai, Kia, Honda, and Mercedes… are all joining forces to make a run at Tesla’s NACS ‘charging standard’. The plan is to create at least 30,000 of their own EV charging stations. Stations with “an elevated experience”.
These new charging stations…
Will theoretically accept either the Tesla NACS, or the non-Tesla CCS charge ports. Perhaps there may even end up being a new ‘standard charging connector’ created amongst the allianced brands… who knows where it’ll go. Extra points though – for getting the word ‘sustainable’ in the photo above. That’s a nice touch… as if the energy just toots itself out of thin air. But clearly…
One of the primary motivating factors here:
Is to combine powers in an attempt to beat Tesla… who has heavily run-up the scoreboard at this point. See when Tesla opened up it’s charging stations to other makes & models earlier this summer, it really changed the game. And let’s not overlook that it ALSO opened up Tesla up to billions of dollars in US government funding (cha-ching)… which is why Tesla did it. Along with the fact that it has widened Tesla’s lead & made it more insurmountable for challengers to catch up.
So not only is BMW, GM, Stellantis, Hyundai, Kia, Honda, and Mercedes…
Concerned about Tesla having a monopolized grip on the EV public charging infrastructure in the United States (as they should be)… but these guys ALSO really ‘want in’ on those billions of Biden Bucks that are being handed-out to develop the EV infrastructure. And additionally – they’re also opening-up investment opportunities for outside investors. Who could be interested? I dunno, perhaps companies like Black Rock, Exxon, Amazon, Starbucks… hell anyone who has something to gain from pushing EV adoption & corralling people like cattle into ‘the transportation of the future-future-future’. <–Read that last part as an echo. For less predatory investors like Starbucks or some bread & soup restaurant for example, there will be a captive hungry/thirsty audience while travelers are charging, and there is obviously value in that. It’s all part of the elevated experience. Or you could just sit in your electric BMW & play video games like illustrated in the photo below.
It’s interesting that GM joined this alliance…
Because GM announced earlier this summer that GM was adopting the Tesla NACS charge ports on their EVs. General Motors CEO, Mary Barra, made the announcement with Elon Musk on Twitter. Which was funny, because GM pulled all advertising from Twitter as soon as Elon Musk took controls. Mary Mary, why ya buggin’? Meanwhile, Honda is probably just having to follow GM on a leash because Honda’s new EV is just a rebadged GM product. And if you’re wondering where Volkswagen/Audi is… remember… they were forced by the American government to create Electrify America charging stations after they got busted for Dieselgate.
Yep, the current automotive industry…
Is equal-parts amusing & frightening to watch. But hey – just be really thankful that the US government is there every step of the way to help sort it all out. It’s really cool that the Biden Administration is handing out billions of dollars to very large contributors I mean COMPANIES like GM. And we can rest assured that those companies will continue to have their customers’ best interests in mind… & not a political party’s. A future of ‘sustainability’ is definitely modeled by handing out billions of dollars when you’re trillions in debt.
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