400 ultra-fast charging stations for electric vehicles on the way for Europe  

Elektrek reports that Ford and a group of German car manufacturers are rolling out a network of fast charging stations in Europe - 5 major automakers join forces to deploy 400 ultra-fast (350 kW) charging stations for electric vehicles in Europe.

BMW, Daimler’s Mercedes, Ford, and Volkswagen’s Audi and Porsche announced today that they are creating a joint-venture with the goal of a “quick build-up of a sizable number of stations in order to enable long-range travel for battery electric vehicle drivers.” ...

The new network will be based on Combined Charging System (CCS) standard technology and each station will feature not only both level 2 AC chargers and level 3 DC chargers, but also the new ” ultra-fast high-powered chargers” and, like the ones of the Ultra E project, they will be able to deliver up to 350 kW – more than twice the capacity of the current best charger, Tesla’s Supercharger at 145 kW. 400 sites are apparently just the “initial target” of the joint-venture and deployment will start in 2017.

The automakers confirmed that every vehicle using the CCS standard will be able to use the new network – meaning that they will create an independent network. It reflects recent comments made by Porsche executives regarding the deployment of their new 800 volts charging system being compatible with other vehicles, like Tesla’s.

Tesla currently has just over 260 Supercharger stations in Europe, but it plans to almost double that number before the Model 3 arrives in Europe in 2018. Some good healthy competition in charging station deployment is likely to accelerate adoption.