Electric cars are getting a major welcome in Europe
Rumors about a European charging network that would rise on the efforts of Porsche and several other carmakers started circulating as of last year, but now the initiative has a name: Ionity.
The high-charging network is a joint venture between big-name car manufacturers like BMW, Daimler AG, Ford and VW Group. Their goal is to spread 400 fast-charging stations across Europe by 2020.
20 new stations will open this year on major roads that run through Germany, Norway, and Austria. These stations will be positioned every 120 km on the existing sites belonging to Tank & Rast, OMV and Circle K.
Come 2018, the grid will consist of more than 100 charging stations. Each one will offer 350 kW charging points.
“The first pan-European HPC network plays an essential role in establishing a market for electric vehicles. IONITY will deliver our common goal of providing customers with fast charging and digital payment capability, to facilitate long-distance travel.”
Administration-wise, the founding partners – as in BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company and VW Group – possess equal shares in the joint venture, but other carmakers are welcome to join their effort.
As part of the VW Group, Porsche will benefit from the new network as Stuttgart plans to launch the Mission E – its first all-electric sports car – in 2019. The high-charging stations will allow drivers to juice up the EV’s battery to 80% in just 15 minutes, which is the equivalent of 400 km of electric range (roughly 250 miles).
Here’s all we know so far about the upcoming Porsche Mission E.