General Motors is committed to launching 20 electric vehicles by 2023 in North America as part of a $20 billion investment into electrification and self-driving technology spanning the next five years. And to ensure future owners of its EVs will have places to charge their vehicles away from home, the automaker has teamed up with EVgo to roll out thousands of fast chargers.
EVgo has one of the biggest network of fast chargers in the United States, with the current tally coming in at 800 chargers spread across 34 states. EVgo and GM now plan to expand that figure by more than 2,700 over the next five years.
The chargers will be located at convenient places, such as grocery stores and other retail outlets, meaning owners could plug their vehicle in to charge while they run into a store. The chargers will be DC fast chargers offering rates up to 350 kilowatts. This means that most electric vehicles on sale today and in the near future could be charged to around 80% capacity in less than 30 minutes. And in keeping with EVgo's current policy, all chargers will use 100% renewable energy.
“We are moving quickly to bring new EVs to market that customers will love,” GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra said in a statement issued last week. “We know how important the charging ecosystem is for drivers, one that includes access to convenient and reliable public fast charging.”
GM has already confirmed the identities of 12 future EVs. The first of these will be the Bolt EUV compact crossover SUV due in mid-2021 as a 2022 model. Also in the list is the Cadillac Lyriq due for a reveal on August 6 and a production start in 2022, and the Hummer EV due for a reveal this fall and a production start a year later.
