Mercedes-Benz USA announced the rollout of their proprietary Electric Vehicle charging stations throughout North America at their headquarters in Sandy Springs. In a joint venture with MN8 Energy, MBUSA has promised a $1 billion spend for their network to deliver 2,500 chargers within at least 400 charging hubs across North America by the end of the decade.
During the roundtable discussion, MBUSA announced charging hubs will open at Buc-ee’s travel centers in Texas, Florida, Alabama, and Georgia by the end of 2023, with further expansion in 2024. Charging hubs at Simon Mall locations (including Lenox Square, Mall of Georgia, and Phipps Plaza) are planned to launch in the first half of 2024. This is a bet that Mercedes is making to make charging EVs a seamless part of daily life for consumers and commuters.
Today’s announcement also pays off a promise Mercedes made when they rolled out their EQS 580 in 2021 to build their proprietary network of charging stations.
To that end, the Mercedes-Benz charging network will have 400 kilowatts per station and the flagship hub is solar powered. When asked, Mercedes-Benz leadership admitted not all charging hubs will be solar powered. Therefore, they will utilize batteries as well as make deals with state governments to ensure the best electricity consumption and delivery methods for consumers as well as their hubs in rural locations. Consumers with certain EVs can recharge their batteries from 10% to 80% in less than 20 minutes.
“With the official launch of the Mercedes-Benz Charging Network in North America, we aim to set a new standard for a quality charging experience for the entire industry,” said Andrew Cornelia, President & CEO of Mercedes-Benz HPC North America LLC. “Our driver-first network will deliver some of the fastest charging speeds and will be openly accessible to all EV drivers from day one.”
Additionally, the charging networks will be open to all EV manufacturers and drivers. During the presentation, they promised drivers safe and reputable access. So whether that’s with an app, the Mercedes-Benz app, or a credit card, or with RFID (tap to pay technology), there’ll be multiple ways to do so.
One of the promises they’ve made is there are exclusive benefits for Mercedes drivers. For example, the current Mercedes EVs on the road today will have six months of free access to the Mercedes-Benz high power charging network. Going forward an option will be to have two years of free charging as part of the vehicle purchase.
Only Rivian and Tesla have constructed their proprietary charging networks.
With today’s announcement, Mercedes-Benz says they seek to meet the consumers’ demands of tomorrow. MBUSA says they are committed to driving the industry forward and being where people are so they can help drive EV adoption in states with high EV penetration but also help build ahead of the curve.
“At the onset of MN8’s partnership with Mercedes-Benz to build an unparalleled charging experience, we shared a vision of bringing the decarbonized future faster,” said Jon Yoder, President and CEO of MN8 Energy. “The incredible speed with which we’ve made that vision a reality, demonstrated by the inauguration of the charging experience here at Mercedes-Benz USA Headquarters and the sites that will follow later this year, is a testament to the strength of our purpose and outstanding abilities of our teams.”
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