Dive Brief:
- General Motors and EVgo, an electric vehicle charging operator, opened their 1,000th fast charging stall Tuesday as part of a collaboration that began in 2020 to install 3,250 fast chargers in major metro areas.
- The announcement of the installation — in the Chicago suburb of Woodridge, Illinois — came on the heels of news that GM is one of seven automakers that have formed a joint venture to install 30,000 high-powered chargers in North America.
- “The availability of fast charging infrastructure is key to widespread EV adoption and consumer confidence in all-electric transportation,” said Cathy Zoi, CEO at EVgo, in a press release. “We look forward to further expanding our charging footprint with GM in the coming years to realize our vision of Electric for All.”
Dive Insight:
General Motors has committed to spending $35 billion on electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles through 2025, investing in new battery plants, renovating assembly plants, partnering with electric utility companies and working with states and cities to make EV charging accessible to apartment residents.
EVgo is one of GM’s preferred EV charge point operators, the automaker said in a press release. Last year, the two companies partnered with Pilot Travel Centers to install 2,000 fast-charging stations at up to 500 Pilot and Flying J travel centers across the U.S.
“It’s imperative we expand public charging infrastructure to complement the rapid expansion of our breakthrough EV portfolio,” Hoss Hassani, GM vice president of charging and energy, said in the press release announcing the milestone. General Motors will supply up to 175,000 EVs of its various brands to Hertz in one of the largest purchases of battery electric vehicles by a fleet customer, the companies said.
Alex Keros, director of EV infrastructure at General Motors, said in a LinkedIn post that “these key milestones are really important for the industry. We need to continue and accelerate this journey!”
EV adoption is growing in Illinois, according to a press release issued by GM and EVgo. The state set a goal of having 1 million registered EVs by 2030 and created incentives for vehicles and charging infrastructure.
