GM to Install 40,000 EV Charging Stations in North America

General Motors Expands EV Charging Infrastructure

General Motors has announced plans to install as many as 40,000 electric vehicle chargers throughout North America. This represents a substantial investment of approximately $750 million, aimed at bolstering the charging network and encouraging wider adoption of GM’s electric vehicle lineup.

Dealer-Led Deployment

The initiative will involve providing charging equipment to GM dealerships across the United States and Canada. Rather than installing these chargers directly at dealerships, they will be tasked with identifying optimal locations within their communities and overseeing the installation process.

Each dealership will be allocated up to 10 Ultium charging stations for deployment. GM will also assist dealers in securing available incentives and funding opportunities to facilitate the installation of these charging stations.

Leveraging Community Connections

According to Alex Keros, GM’s lead architect of EV infrastructure, the decision to partner with dealers stems from their established presence and strong relationships within their local communities. He emphasized the benefit of utilizing their existing network and local knowledge.

“Dealers are already pretty active in their communities, have great relationships, they know them well and so why not leverage them?” Keros stated in a recent interview.

Ultium Chargers: An Open Network

The newly installed infrastructure will be branded as Ultium Chargers. However, unlike Tesla’s exclusive Supercharging network, GM intends for its 40,000 Level 2 chargers to be part of an open, accessible network.

Keros clarified that GM has no intention of pursuing a proprietary network approach to increase electric vehicle sales. The company’s goal is to contribute to the overall growth of the charging infrastructure.

“Our view of the world is, ‘everybody in,’” he explained. “We want to make sure that we’re growing the ocean.”

New Ultium Level 2 Smart Chargers

GM is also introducing three new Ultium Level 2 smart chargers, developed in collaboration with EV charging company CTEK, for both residential and commercial applications.

Two of these units will offer 11.5-kilowatt capacity, while the third will provide 19.2 kW, specifically designed to efficiently power vehicles like the electric GMC Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq. These chargers will be utilized within the Dealer Community Charging Program and will also be available for individual home use.

Advanced Charger Features

These chargers will incorporate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The higher-capacity unit will feature a customizable display screen.

Furthermore, the stations will be capable of load balancing, intelligently managing energy distribution to the vehicle while considering other household electrical demands. This ensures safe and efficient charging.

Ultium Charge 360 App Integration

GM’s Ultium Charge 360 app will provide users with real-time charger status updates, charging schedule settings, and detailed insights into their charging patterns and history.

The app currently supports searching for chargers across seven North American networks, including Greenlots, Blink, FLO, ChargePoint, EVgo, EV Connect, Greenlots and SemaConnect. GM has not yet detailed how the charging experience will differ for GM versus non-GM vehicles, but confirmed compatibility for all EVs.

Availability and Financing

The charging units are scheduled to become available next year, coinciding with the launch of the community charging program. Customers will have the option to include the cost of a charger in their GM Financial lease or purchase agreement.

Investment in Electric Future

This initiative is part of GM’s broader strategy to launch 30 electric vehicles globally by the end of 2025, backed by a $35 billion investment in EVs and automated technology through that year.

“When you look at the strong portfolio, the fact that we’re going to have affordable EVs, really affordable EVs for people and we’re also working on the ecosystem they need because for a lot of people it’s going to be their only vehicle — they need to have a reliable charging infrastructure,” stated chair and CEO Mary Barra during a recent media briefing.