BEIJING, December 4 (TMTPost)—Mercedes-Benz Group AG  and BMW AG will first join hands to gain foot in the electric vehicle (EV) charging market in China, which has already been a global leader with more than 1.1 million available public EV chargers, accounting for two thirds of the world’s total.

Credit：Mercedes-Benz

 Mercedes and  BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., a joint venture between BMW and Brilliance Auto, announced they they agreed to create a 50:50 joint venture venture in China to operate a high-power charging network and to provide Chinese customers with premium charging services. The two companies said they will apply the expertise gained from global and Chinese charging operations, as well as the in-depth understanding of the Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) market, to deliver fast, convenient, reliable and tailor-made charging solutions for the Chinese market. The cooperation is intended to elevate customer public charging experience.  

Under the agreement,the venture aims to establish a network of at least 1,000 high-power charging stations with around 7,000 high-power charging piles by the end of 2026, adopting state-of-the-art charging technologies. The stations are expected to start operation in 2024 in regions with higher sales of NEVs and with further stations to be installed nationwide.The premium charging network will be open to the broader public, while it is intended that customers of Mercedes and BMW will be able to enjoy a series of exclusive features, such as plug & charge and online reservation for a seamless digital experience. The joint venture intends to procure electricity generated from renewable sources, where conditions allow, to create a sustainable and eco-friendly charging experience.

The deal is subject for regulatory approval. Neither Mercedes nor BMW disclosed where the first charging stations will be built yet.This is Mercedes’ latest effort to step up building its EV charging network worldwide.At the CES expo in January, Mercedes unveiled plans to invest billions of euros to establish 10,000 fast-charging hubs in North America, Europe and China by 2030. The plans include initial construction of 25,000 charging pints at 400 locations in most U.S. states and Canada by 2027. EV charging network ChargePoint and Goldman Sachs spinoff MN8 Energy will work with Mercedes to build out the charging hubs across North America, with the investment of over one billion euros.  In mid November,Mercedes launched its first EV charging location in the United States with the help of ChargePoint. Since then, two charging locations in China started business, and the German auto giant said in late November that it opened the fourth charging hub as well as the first in Europe, located in Mannheim, a city in southwest Germany.

The new venture marks a move for German auto giant’s catching up to Tesla, though it will still fall behind the U.S. EV maker. Tesla has more than 1,600 Supercharger stations and over 10,000 Superchargers in China. The company said in April that it is starting to open Supercharger network to non-Tesla electric in China, two months after it began to open some stations in U.S. The first batch of stations it planned to open include 10 Supercharge stations, which located in Beijing and Shanghai for 37 EV models, including vehicles made by BYD, Nio, Xpeng and Polestar. Tesla also opened 120 destination charging stations to other EV brands initially.