By the end of the decade, more than 10,000 fast-charging stations are to be installed in North America, Europe, China and other core markets, as the car manufacturer announced on Thursday at the CES electronics trade fair in Las Vegas. The USA and Canada are the first countries where the brand with the star will be setting up its own charging stations with its US partner MN8 Energy from this year. The two companies will each share the investment costs of a good one billion euros. Mercedes-Benz is calculating a low single-digit billion euro figure for the global network, explained Group CEO Ola Källenius.

"This is another building block in our strategic journey," said Källenius, referring to the planned expansion of the e-car range. With the charging stations, which are accessible to all manufacturers but offer advantages to Mercedes customers, the company wants to make it easier for car buyers to switch to e-cars. "We don't want to sit back and wait for it to be built. That's why we are building a global fast-charging network ourselves." The business model, which is expected to be profitable within five to seven years, is not based on subsidies. Nevertheless, Mercedes is examining whether it could make use of the US government's subsidy package, the Inflation Reduction Act, which is controversial in the EU, said Head of Technology Markus Schäfer.

OVERCOMING RANGE ANXIETY

The lack of charging options and therefore the fear of being left stranded with an empty battery is still deterring many people from switching to electric cars. In the USA, consumers are slower to embrace electric cars than in Europe. The Mercedes charging station network is a contribution to reducing range anxiety, said MN8 Energy boss Jon Yoder. More than 400 charging parks with over 2,500 high-power chargers (HPC) are planned in North America by 2027. They will be open to all car brands, but Mercedes customers will be able to reserve them for a fee and get their turn without having to wait. Locations are being sought in large cities or conurbations - in places where Mercedes customers like to spend time, such as luxury shopping malls.

Talks with partners are still ongoing for Europe, said Källenius. The company's own charging network is intended to complement the provider Ionity, which German car manufacturers founded with partners in 2017 for fast-charging stations on freeways. Ionity now operates around 430 locations in two dozen European countries and is aiming for more than 1,000 stations with around 7,000 charging points by 2025. Compared to the demand in Europe, this is not much: the consulting firm McKinsey estimates that there will be at least 3.4 million charging points by 2030. The car manufacturers' association ACEA considers twice as many to be necessary. The infrastructure will be driven forward in the coming years by many players, including the oil companies, said Källenius.

Volkswagen subsidiaries Audi and Porsche have also started to offer charging stations under their own brands. Audi is testing charging stations in Nuremberg and Zurich, which offer a service area with its own lounge. Together with the Spanish energy supplier Iberdrola, Porsche opened the first of 35 planned fast-charging stations in Spain.

(Report by Ilona Wissenbach. Edited by Christian Götz. If you have any queries, please contact the editorial team at frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com)