General Motors is ramping up its efforts to put everyone in a new all-electric vehicle by beefing up the EV charging infrastructure throughout the U.S. and Canada, recently announcing plans to install 40,000 new Level 2 charging stations. The new EV charging station installations will begin next year.
The new initiative will work to provide access to EV charging stations in underserved, rural, and urban areas, and is part of General Motors’ recent announcement to invest almost $750 million towards the expansion of EV charging infrastructure through the Ultium Charge 360 ecosystem, which, in addition to public charging stations, also includes home charging and workplace charging.
The latest installation announcement includes the General Motors Dealer Community Charging Program, wherein GM will coordinate with its dealer network to deploy the Level 2 charging stations in key locations, such as “workplaces, multi-unit dwellings, sports and entertainment venues and college and universities, among others.”
The initiative is intended to make it easier for EV customers to find convenient charging stations along a given route, while also opening up the option to pay for charging services through the GM vehicle mobile apps. Customers will also have access to a further 85,000 charging stations already in place throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Interestingly, the charging stations will be available to all EV customers, rather than only those with a General Motors electric vehicle.
GM customers will also have an opportunity to install their own Ultium-branded chargers, either at home or commercially. General Motors is partnering with vehicle charging specialist CTEK to offer a total of three smart charging solutions, including an 11.5 kilowatt / 48-amp charger, an 11.5 kilowatt / 48-amp premium charger, and a 19.2 kilowatt / 80-amp premium charger.
Each of these charging solutions comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities, as well as dynamic load balancing and the ability for over-the-air updates that keep the charger up-to-date. Customers can also use the system to set their own charging schedule and record charging habits. The first of these customer-bound Ultium chargers will be available next year, the cost of which can be rolled into a GM Financial lease.
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Useless if it isn’t at least a DC charger for stop and go on the road.
These are destination chargers, much easier to spread around and install in populated areas especially for restaurants, stores, and parks that may not have the money to install $10k+ chargers on their land.
Every little bit helps.
GM is already partnering with other companies anyway to get those larger DCFC chargers built out.
Nah just sounds like the typical old cheap gm.
Did anyone tell you about the contest? There is a contest to see who the biggest nuthugger on this website is the finalists are you and C8.R I hope you win I’m rooting for you.
I love that people think they have to resort to name calling and mockery just to assert their so called dominance.
That is school ground stuff, it doesn't really help any of your positions.
This is good news
Eh.
If GM gives me a 19.2 kW EVSE for free, I can put one at my home. I already have a 7.2 kW EVSE that I built and installed myself in 2014 before they announced the Chevy Bolt.
Now Ctek?..what happened to Qmerit?..
They were supposed to be the company to send me qualified electricians to install my level2 charger for my '22 Bolt EUV...After waiting 6 weeks I pulled a permit and did it myself. Maybe Chevrolet will kick me back the cost!
QMerit is the company to assist with finding and scheduling qualified installers in your area.
Ctek is the company going to be building these Ultium Chargers for GM.
Our dealer arranged for QMerit to contact us the week after we bought our Bolt EUV. Two weeks later the outlet was installed by a very capable area electrician.
Why do none of these stories ever include the most important point, how much is it going to cost me? Also, why do none of these stories ever tell the battery replacement cost, mechanic replacement battery labor cost, diagnostic fee and disposal fee? Are journalists so stupid that they just take whatever dog-food is shoveled at them and print incomplete stories? !!! When I called the Chevy dealer about this they told me the total cost would be somewhere in the range of at least $16,000 for a Bolt battery replacement.
Level 2 chargers require 3 to 8 hours to fully-charge an EV. I don't imagine that very many US motorists would be willing to wait that long away from their homes; I certainly am not. The motoring public will never fully accept EVs in this country until range reaches the 500-mile mark---and more importantly---charge time is roughly equal to the time it now takes to fill one's gas tank at the pump.
Additionally, charging stations will have to be widespread and numerous; imagine having to wait a couple of hours just to have access to the few chargers already out there. Something else to consider is the cost of using any of the public charging stations; many motorists are under the incorrect assumption that these are free of charge (no pun intended), which is far from true.
This is going to require a fundamental change in battery technology. Lithium ion isn't going to get us there; a much better---and currently (again, no pun intended) undeveloped---battery will be needed. And while I'M FULLY AWARE that EVs are definitely where we are headed, IMO, manufacturers are rushing headlong into attempting to cram unacceptable technology down the public's throat at this time, and it will not be accepted. Buyers will become disenchanted with their purchases due to shortcomings of EVs now on the market.
These are Opportunity chargers/Destination chargers. These chargers are meant for Businesses/Hotels and homes not for long distance charging location stops.
These chargers cost 1000s of dollars to install rather than the 10s of thousands for high powered DCFC stations.
Obviously these will be destination chargers. You stop for the night and plug in at your hotel. No one is going to use a level 2 charger for trip charging. I drive a Volt which can only accept level 2. The only time I charge away from home is when I go to Disney World. I can get there on battery, charge at their level 2 and get home on battery.
As far as battery replacement, 16k is crazy. Lots of shops will do it for about 5 k but with a 100,000 mile 8 year warranty in non carb states why would you worry about that. Its a non issue.
non issue?? Uh, maybe some of us keep our vehicles longer than 8 years and don't want that "Balloon" payment. With a gas engine there is no "balloon" payment like that after 8 yrs. Sure things break, but usually not to the tune of 5K.
Orly, john?
You'll "Use a level2 charger" for "trip charging" when there's no other charger available anywhere within your remaining EV's range. Some of you 'experts' that post on this clueless site don't seem to have any grasp of reality. And the reality is that this country, as well as EV development, is YEARS away from practicality.
The only clueless people are the people who don't plan their trips.
I thought the epitome of American driving is spontenaity and adventure and the freedom of going where you want and when you want.
Tough to do in an EV.
Ask the majority of drivers today. No one cares about the adventure these days. it's all about going from A to B as fast as possible with as little stops as possible. At least with EVs it'd slow you down just a little and let you explore areas you may have just skipped over.
Why do I get the feeling this is going to be one massive train wreck???
Because that's exactly what it is, and will be.
The mentality of the motoring public in the US has been shaped over the past 100 years, and is not likely to change to the limitations of EVs---as they currently exist---any time soon. Those technical limitations will eventually be solved, but it will likely take several years before any EV will be able to be used as ICE vehicles can be used and thus universally accepted.
In the meantime, all the auto manufacturers will continue to be hell-bent on beating their rivals to market with EVs with limited range, long recharge times, and ridiculously high battery replacement costs.....that no one wants.
I guess this is the type of article I'm interested in, however, no MSRP given, nor whether you are forced to use their electrician to install it.
I get the sizing: Apparently ANY GM ev from here on in will have a 11.5 kw car charger, and the premium models (Caddy, GMC Hummer) will have 19.2 kw.
Meanwhile no one I know has asked for anything bigger than the 7.6 kw charger the 2017 bolt ev and 2019 Premier Volt had, due to the fact that Public Docking stations are almost NEVER larger than 7 kw, with the majority 5-6, and some 3 kw. But, Whatever.... There'd be more complaints if they were TOO SMALL rather than TOO BIG.
As I've stated before... Much more work for unemployed electricians.