Mercedes-Benz to Launch U.S. Charging Network

LAS VEGAS – Mercedes-Benz has confirmed it will launch its own charging network, complete with up to 30 350-kW chargers per site, across North America, Europe and China starting this year, as the German automaker strives to make electric-vehicle ownership easier and more accessible.

Each of the new Mercedes-Benz charging sites are planned to offer faster electric charging than existing sites and will be accessible by any electric-vehicle owner at any time, but only Mercedes-Benz customers will be able to book and reserve a charging bay, guaranteeing them a space.

Announcing its charging park plans at CES in Las Vegas, Mercedes-Benz’s head of research and development, Markus Schaefer, says the automaker will roll out the green energy-powered sites simultaneously across North America, Europe and China. Plans are for 2,000 sites across the three continents by 2027, he tells Wards.

In North America, which will see the first Mercedes-Benz charging sites, some 2,500 chargers across 400 individual sites are planned. They will be situated at “regular intervals near major roads and cities,” said Schaefer.

Each site will offer between four and 30 high-powered 350-kW chargers and will be covered, provide food services and equipped with surveillance to ensure safety when charging at night.

The Mercedes-Benz charging network will compete with the Tesla Supercharger network and the Electrify America network backed by Volkswagen.

“We are progressing. We have moved extremely fast, lightning fast, in a couple of months to get this all done and sealed and all the contracts in place,” Schaefer says. “The plan is to open the first sites this year.”