DETROIT— General Motors and EVgo have partnered to triple the size of EVgo's U.S. fast charging network in the next five years, aiming to solve one of the major roadblocks to electric vehicle adoption.
GM and EVgo will add more than 2,700 fast chargers to cities and suburbs starting next year. The expansion will target about 40 metro areas and will make EV charging more accessible and convenient, GM says.
The broader network will increase charging access for drivers who live in multi-unit homes, rent their homes and can't install chargers, or lack access to workplace charging, GM and EVgo said in a joint statement Friday. The companies declined to provide financial details of the partnership.
The partnership "is a proof point that we believe very strongly that [EV sales and EV charging] have to come together. In order to have confidence to have an EV as your only vehicle, you have to know there's robust and fast charging available," GM CEO Mary Barra told reporters Friday.
"Our relationship with EVgo will bolster the public fast charging network available to EV customers ahead of increased market demand and reinforce our commitment to an all-electric, zero-emissions future," Barra said in the statement.
The partnership with EVgo is the latest step in GM's path toward electrification. The automaker plans to invest $20 billion in EV and autonomous vehicle programs through 2025 and launch 20 EVs globally by 2023. This month, GM teased a roster of 12 upcoming EVs in its Sustainability Report. Most of them will be powered by GM's proprietary Ultium battery, which will be developed with LG Chem.
Last year, GM partnered with Qmerit to help EV owners obtain quotes to install chargers at their homes, and in March, GM said it would expand workplace charging by adding 3,500 charging plugs at GM facilities in the U.S. and Canada.