Mercedes-Benz Partners with Starbucks to Build Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Along US West Coast
TapTechNews July 17th news, Mercedes-Benz announced a collaboration with Starbucks to install 400-kilowatt high-speed electric vehicle charging stations in 100 Starbucks stores along Interstate 5 that runs through the west coast of the US. This is part of its global 2,000 charging hub plan with a total investment of 1 billion US dollars (TapTechNews note: currently about 7.28 billion Chinese yuan).
Last year, Mercedes-Benz opened its first charging station in Atlanta, equipped with a luxurious waiting area and 400-kilowatt high-speed charging facilities provided by ChargePoint. This collaboration with Starbucks marks a new stage in the construction of its charging network. The two companies said that in the future, they will seek more cooperation opportunities in key market core urban areas, charging deserts, and important tourist corridor areas.
It is worth noting that Starbucks only provides the parking lot and does not bear the construction cost. And Mercedes-Benz is not the only one to bear the 100 billion US dollars investment, half of which is taken care of by MN8Energy, a new energy company under Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
At the time of this collaboration announcement, most automakers are re-examining their electrification plans due to the slowdown in the growth of electric vehicles. Mercedes-Benz also announced that it will continue to sell fuel cars after 2030, having previously stated that it will only sell electric vehicles.
One of the major challenges in building charging stations is finding suitable site partners to accommodate the required charging equipment. In addition to the charging piles, most DC fast-charging devices also require equipment such as transformers and distribution cabinets, which are usually placed in weatherproof metal cabinets and are bulky.
Compared to refueling, charging an electric vehicle takes longer. Therefore, Mercedes-Benz chose to set up charging stations at Starbucks so that car owners can enjoy coffee while charging instead of waiting idly.
Other automakers have similar ideas. ElectrifyAmerica, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, has installed many charging piles in the parking lots of large retailers such as Walmart and Target. Tesla once planned to build a supercharging station with 62 charging piles in Santa Monica and equipped with a restaurant and a movie theater, but as of 2024, it has not started construction yet.
In addition to Mercedes-Benz, Volvo also collaborated with Starbucks in 2022 and announced the installation of 15 charging stations on the highway connecting Seattle and Denver.