BMW and Mercedes-Benz, two of the world’s biggest luxury carmakers, announced on Thursday that they will begin operating their first batch of joint super-charging stations in China next year. They plan to expand the network to more than 1,000 facilities with roughly 7,000 charging piles by 2026. The two companies are establishing a 50:50 joint venture for the daily operations of the power infrastructure, which will also be available to electric vehicles from their competitors. BMW and Mercedes car owners can access online reservations to ensure their charging experience. This move is expected to allow the German majors to share the cost of building charging piles and accelerate the expansion of their charging networks, potentially leading to improved customer satisfaction and increased EV sales. Chinese EV maker NIO has recently announced similar plans with Geely and Changan Automobile. According to figures compiled by Shanghai-based consultancy LandRoads, BMW reported sales of 78,568 battery EVs in China for the first 10 months of this year, while Mercedes-Benz reported 20,595. [Caixin, in Chinese]
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