Still doubtful about where the industry is heading?
Volkswagen with Audi and Porsche, BMW, Daimler, and Ford are all boarding the same ship, one that plans to disperse quick-charging stations throughout Europe.
Infrastructure, be it a network of roads and highways or train tracks, cutting a well-defined territory from its center to the outskirts works similar to your heart, veins, and arteries: it gets stuff where it's needed.
People have been a part of that stuff for enough decades now, but traditional ICE-powered cars are making room for EVs and PHEVs.
"There are two decisive aspects for us: ultra-fast charging and placing the charging stations at the right positions. Together, these two factors enable us to travel in an all-electrically powered car as in a conventional combustion engine vehicle."
Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG
What the joint venture wants is to build a "sizable number of stations along important highways all over Europe," using the standard CCS (Combined Charging System) tech which promises charging times equal to "a fraction of the time of today’s BEVs (battery electric vehicles)."
The vast charging network should beget projected power levels of up to 350 kW and a primary target of 400 sites located in Europe.
Works are scheduled to begin next year and three years' time – aka by 2020, this milestone year in the history of car electrification – "customers should have access to thousands of high-powered charging points."