EVgo announced today that it is expanding its integration of Tesla connectors at charging stations in the US.
It will give more charging options to Tesla owners.
Tesla Connector
In the US, unlike most other electric automakers using the CCS or CHAdeMO standards, Tesla is using its own proprietary connector, and it has yet to offer a CCS adapter.
It does offer a CHAdeMO adapter, but the EV charging station market is mostly moving toward CCS.
Therefore, it limits some of the charging options for Tesla owners to mostly Tesla Supercharger and Destination charging stations.
Most people agree that those Tesla proprietary charging networks are some of the best in the world, but other third-party networks are starting to grow and become viable options.
Tesla and EVgo
Last year, EVgo announced that it will deploy Tesla connectors on their nationwide charging network in the US.
It was a big announcement as the first third-party charging network to directly support Tesla vehicles, which represents up to 80% of the market in the US. Those chargers are 50kW max and rode off the CHAdeMO line in the EVGO stations.
Today, EVgo announced an expansion of its partnership with Tesla to over 600 charging stations:
“EVgo will deploy more than 400 integrated Tesla connectors at existing EVgo stations, with an additional 200 connectors reserved for new stations planned for 2021 in key cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Denver, Dallas, Austin, Washington D.C., Salt Lake City, and Miami.”
Cathy Zoi, CEO of EVgo, commented on today’s announcement:
“EVgo’s expansion of integrated Tesla connectors underscores our commitment to delivering convenient and reliable fast charging to all EV drivers. EV drivers seek efficiency and convenience in how they charge their vehicles, including the ability to shop while they charge. Today’s exciting announcement will make it even easier for Tesla drivers to top up while they grocery shop and run other errands, while driving greater utilization across our growing charging network.”
EVgo’s charging network is also being integrated into Tesla’s navigation system in order to easily route owners to charging stations.
EVGO confirmed to Electrek that they “integrate these Tesla connectors through an EVgo-designed custom solution attached to the chargers so customers don’t need to bring an adapter with them to the station.” They will continue to be 50kW max for the immediate future.
The company has now over 800 fast charging locations in the US.
It recently announced a deal to go public through a SPAC deal with Climate Change Crisis Real Impact I Acquisition Corporation (“CRIS”) (NYSE: CLII),
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
