Electrify America Steps In After Tesla Gives Up on Adding New DC Chargers on a Whim
- by autoevolution
- May 03, 2024
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3 May 2024, 20:55 UTC
• By: charging in North America to simply call it quits.
But Tesla might have just given rivals a shot at defeating it at its own game. Fast charging can be a great business, especially if the electricity you're selling comes from renewable sources like solar, hydro, or wind. Then, there's NEVI – a $5 billion federal funding program that aims to make fast charging as convenient as filling up with gas.
Dieselgate-born Electrify America has been helping non-Tesla buyers to fast charge their rides. It even struck deals with automakers for complimentary charging sessions.
Photo: Electrify America on YouTube
Sadly, its network didn't perform as well as the company's that gave us the Model Y. Many chargers were left offline for days even though drivers reported them. The pedestals were often mislabeled, and that confused people who tried not to occupy a 350-
kW
stall with their ride that can only draw power at a rate of 150 kW tops. There were also many software issues and weird corporate decisions that hindered the network's potential. Not having a dedicated team that could fix the equipment in a timely manner really was a minus.
In a nutshell, almost everyone thought Electrify America would fail because it appeared after someone got punished for their wrongdoings and didn't inspire prospective customers that something would eventually change for the better.
Well, it's 2024, and the DC charging leader just said it's tired of carrying the torch. In a surprising but welcoming move, Electrify America announced that it intends to add 25 percent more fast chargers to its American and Canadian networks by the end of 2024. That represents about 1,000 individual pedestals. The VW-owned company already has around 4,000 DC fast chargers online.
Given that Electrify America saw the number of charging sessions double from 2022 to 2023, we believe the company could have established even more ambitious targets for itself. However, that's good enough. It's great to see other companies contributing to eliminating range anxiety for good. It's also a sign that even though EV momentum has slowed down a bit, other key players are making moves in the right direction. Drivers won't have to rely only on Tesla and its network of over 15,000 individual high-power chargers.
Finally, Electrify America also upgraded many of its chargers. If you were a customer before the recent changes, maybe it's time to pay the station a visit. Your EV might be happy there.
See this, Ionna? Now's the right time to bring some of that Ionity-inspired excellence to North America.
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