GM and EVgo step up fast-charging network to ease urban EV ownership, electric ride hailing

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The charging network EVgo has already planned, with a partnership with General Motors, to effectively triple the size of EVgo’s charging network by 2025. 

This week that project was given an upgrade, with plans to build 500 more than the original target of 2,750 charging stalls. With a total of 3,250 DC fast-charging stalls by that time, EVgo plans to reach 52 metropolitan markets, versus 40 previously planned.

The buildout could come a bit sooner than expected as well. EVgo, which claims to be the largest public fast-charging network in the U.S., and is offering Tesla connectors at some stations, says that it has more than 2,000 sites in the engineering and construction stage.

Chevrolet Bolt EV charging at EVgo station

EVgo is a DC fast-charging network that’s focused mostly around major-metro charging locations, more than the long-distance road-trip waypoints that VW’s Electrify America or Tesla’s Supercharger network provide. EVgo has been testing reservations as a way of making sure those potentially busy sites are available when people need them. And the GM push fits right in with that, allowing fast-charging options for those who live in multi-unit dwellings and those who don’t have reliable charging options at home or at work. 

According to EVgo, the new stations can deliver up to 350 kw, which is good enough to restore up to 150 miles of range in 8-12 minutes.

2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV at EVgo fast-charging station

Also this week, EVgo announced an expanded discount program with Uber, that will give ride-hailing taxi drivers a discount of up to 30% versus pay-as-you-go rates on the network.

“Growing the geographic footprint of our collaboration with EVgo to even more metropolitan areas will be key to making fast charging accessible to more customers,” said GM’s VP for infrastructure, Rick Spina, in an EVgo release that points out GM’s plans to offer EVs at a range of price points.

With the 2022 Chevy Bolt EV, GM currently has one of the most affordable electric vehicles on the market. The company has suggested that a future successor to the Bolt EV might be built on the company’s Ultium propulsion strategy—making a future entry EV from GM perhaps more able to take advantage of that high-power charging hardware.   

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