Mercedes-Benz is launching its own electric car charging network

After declaring some years ago that it didn’t want to get into the fuel business, Mercedes-Benz is backing up its bet on an all-electric future by setting up its own global electric car recharging network with an estimated 10,000 charging points. These will offer recharging power up to 350kW and will be open to all, although bookable in advance by Mercedes owners.

The first examples of the new $5 billion network will open first in North America this year, although speaking from Las Vegas on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show, Markus Schäfer, Mercedes-Benz’s chief technical officer, says that Europe will also get its first branded charge station this year, though he won’t say where.

The network, which is being set up in North America with existing charge specialist Chargepoint and electrical energy investment company MN8, which is backed by Goldman Sachs, will offer preferential reservations and pricing to Mercedes-Benz owners.

Mercedes is already a partner in the Ionity network of high-energy fast chargers, but Ola Källenius Mercedes chairman, has in the past expressed his dissatisfaction with the speed of expansion of that particular network. The Ionity fast charger company is also owned by Ford, BMW, Hyundai and the Volkswagen Group, with BlackRock’s Global Renewable Power platform joining two years ago.

That non-car making investment also coincided with the announcement of a $785 million expansion of the European network, with the target of expanding its then existing 385 stations to 1,000 containing 7,000 individual chargers by 2025.