General Motors plans to install 40,000 electric vehicle chargers at 1,000 dealers across the country as part of its new Dealer Community Charging Program. EVs of any brand will be able to power up at the stations, not just GM's own Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles.
GM dealers in Michigan and Wisconsin have already started to install their charging stations. Dealers in Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Ohio, and Washington will begin installation in the next few months.
Forty thousand chargers is a significant amount for just one company, considering the federal funding for a nationwide charging network will support 500,000. GM's mini network hopes to reach as many drivers as possible, placing them in both urban and rural areas that may have very few chargers or none at all (charging "deserts").
“Nearly 90% of the US population lives within 10 miles of a GM dealership," GM says. "Combined with their exceptional ability to service EV drivers across North America, our dealers are now helping to make charging possible across much of the continent.”
Renovating a dealership to support EVs can cost up to $300,000 for electrical upgrades, equipment costs, service center modifications, and installation. So some dealers have been hesitant to make that investment. If EV adoption is low in a community, especially in urban areas, it's an even harder sell. Still, GM says it's "giving each of its EV dealers up to 10 Level 2 destination charging stations and working with them to deploy."
The chargers will be branded with GM's new Ultium battery platform "Ultium 360." Opening the chargers to all EV drivers will benefit GM by raising awareness of its Ultium platform beyond just GM customers, which is another part of GM's long-term strategy, which includes providing batteries to other brands like Honda.
Charging company FLO will manufacture the charging equipment in its Michigan facility, which GM selected in support of developing a North American EV supply chain. “Together, FLO, GM and GM dealerships will bring reliable charging to drivers from curbside to countryside," says Louis Tremblay, FLO president and CEO.
This is not GM's first major investment in charging infrastructure, although it is the company's largest in terms of number of charging stations. In July, GM and Pilot gas stations announced a partnership that will bring 2,000 chargers to 500 Pilot stations nationwide. A separate partnership with EVgo and GM will implement 3,250 fast chargers throughout the US by the end of 2025.
“GM is taking a comprehensive approach to help put everyone in an EV,” says Hoss Hassani, vice president of GM EV Ecosystem. “This includes great vehicles, accessible and reliable charging infrastructure. Combined, these efforts will manifest our all-electric future.”