The Volkswagen Group evaluates the development of its global fast charging network. By the end of 2022, a third of the 45,000 fast-charging stations planned for 2025 had been connected to the grid – around 15,000 in total with a capacity of up to 350 kW.
In 2021, the company announced on Power Day that it will work with partners to build a fast charging network that can be used by all electric vehicles around the world. By the end of 2023, around 10,000 HPC charging points will be available in Europe and 25,000 worldwide. The Wolfsburg-based company relies on joint ventures and partnerships, notably Ionity, Ewiva, BP, Iberdrola, Electrify America and CAMS.
As announced on Power Day, Volkswagen and its partners plan to expand the fast charging network to a total of 45,000 high-power chargers by 2025: 18,000 HPC charging stations in Europe, 10,000 in North America and 17,000 in China . In Europe, the charging infrastructure will be expanded through the fast-charging joint venture Ionity (with the participation of the Audi and Volkswagen passenger car brands and Porsche on the Volkswagen Group side), through the expansion of the Ewiva joint venture with Enel in 2022 (focusing on Italy) and through Strategic partnership with BP and Iberdrola (focus on Spain).
According to its own information, BP alone wants to build around 8,000 fast charging points across Europe. “A Flexpole fast charging station from Volkswagen Components will be used for this purpose, among other things,” the Wolfsburg-based company announced. In April 2022, the parties opened the first joint charging station in Düsseldorf and announced at the time that “the first step will be to install up to 4,000 fast charging points at gas stations within the next 24 months”. In Germany, these will be Aral Sea fueling stations at BP sites in the UK. By the end of 2024, the above-mentioned 8,000 fast charging points will be connected to the Internet in European countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom.
In the US, Electrify America, a subsidiary of Volkswagen of America, is responsible for the expansion of the group’s electric infrastructure, and in China it is the joint venture CAMS. The latter was co-founded in 2019 by Volkswagen Group China, JAC, FAW and Star Charge. In mid-2022, the joint venture announced that it has built 760 fast charging stations and more than 7,000 charging points in 100 Chinese cities so far.
Thomas Schmall, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Group Technology and CEO of Volkswagen Group Components, commented on the interim results as follows: “Volkswagen started many years ago to create this global fast charging network. We are now one of the pioneers in the field of electric vehicles. We We have 15,000 fast charging points in North America, China and Europe to prove this.” To do this, the company relies on close cooperation with partners from the industry and energy sector. “We see charging not only as a prerequisite for electromobility, but also as a strategic business area with high potential in the future. We intend to expand it further in the future.”
Audi and Porsche’s approach to premium charging infrastructure was not mentioned individually in Volkswagen’s interim report. Audi has announced further locations for its fast-charging concept charging centers in 2022. Another variant will be tested in Zurich based on the findings of the pilot site in Nuremberg. Salzburg and Berlin are planned as the first regular locations. Porsche partners with Iberdrola to open charging centers in Spain. However, these are the more “classic” fast-charging stations along important arterial roads, rather than urban HPC charging stations combined with special lounges like Audi’s.
