Enhancing the infrastructure to accommodate the growing number of electric vehicles on the roads is crucial. It was revealed by General Motors on Wednesday that they intend to expand the public availability of Level 2 chargers by nearly 40,000 units across the United States. This move is expected to effectively double the total number of chargers nationwide, according to estimates from the U.S. Energy Department.
This expansion of chargers is part of a broader initiative by the automaker involving an investment of $750 million in their expanding range of all-electric vehicles. The newly introduced Level 2 charging stations, as per the announcement, will predominantly be situated around GM dealerships. Notably, these stations will be accessible to electric vehicles from brands beyond GM. Each GM dealer will have the opportunity to have up to 10 chargers supplied by the automaker, to be set up within a 10-mile radius of their dealership. Approximately 1,000 GM dealers have already enrolled in the program, constituting around 25% of all GM dealers nationwide. The chargers will bear the Flo branding and will offer speeds of up to 19.2 kW, roughly three times faster than the Level-2 chargers commonly found at present.
According to GM’s statement, nearly 90% of the U.S. population resides within a 10-mile radius of a GM dealer, indicating significantly improved access to shared chargers in rural or exurban areas for new electric vehicle drivers. The pricing strategy for the new electric vehicle chargers, if any, will be at the discretion of the dealers themselves. Additionally, maintenance for these chargers will be handled separately. (For example, a GM dealer in Wisconsin currently charges $4.50 per hour for their charger.) A GM spokesperson mentioned that this initiative is expected to be finalized by 2026.
As per a recent Morning Consult study, 83% of car owners earning $50,000 or less do not have access to a dedicated electric vehicle charger, despite a significant interest in all-electric vehicles. Therefore, relying on “opportunity charging” at publicly available stations is likely the most common charging approach for some electric vehicle owners—and is expected to become more prevalent.
General Motors’ recent announcement marks a significant stride towards simplifying the discussion around electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, potentially making EV ownership as accessible as scrambled eggs.
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