Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are the talk of every major automaker, and yet none of them can agree on the best battery type to power an electric car. Even if a new power source can come to light, like the growing popularity of hydrogen fuel cells, consumers are still wary about BEVs and recharging them. It’s a shame, because this would be the best time to purchase a new BEV, with the cost of manufacturing BEVs dropping, leading to lower sales prices. If anything, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are more popular, because at least consumers don’t have to worry about finding a place to charge up when on the road when every highway exit has a gas station or two. Enter IONNA, the joint venture between seven automakers hell-bent on constructing a new nationwide BEV charging network across America, and their latest investor, Toyota.

It’s about time someone decided to do something about the BEV charging problem. Unless it’s a Tesla, finding a charging station, or a fast-charging station is a problem on its own. In 2021, the House passed a huge U.S. infrastructure package for BEVs, setting aside $7.5 billion to build a network of electric vehicle charging stations. Since then, nothing has really happened. There was some talk of Volkswagen and General Motors working together to build more BEV charging stations in America, and the change in city infrastructure to support more BEV charging stations has gotten the attention of big names in the industry, but it doesn’t seem like anyone really wants to do anything about it. Until now.

In 2023, seven automakers – the BMW Group, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz Group, and Stellantis NV – entered into a joint venture to develop a new, high-powered charging network for North America. In 2024, IONNA was approved to begin operations by regulatory authorities, and now we’re finally getting somewhere. The problem is, it could be too little too late. According to IONNA, the plan is to deploy 30,000 BEV chargers by this summer (2024). That will officially double the amount of charging stations currently in operation. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, as of July 2023, there are 32,000 DC fast chargers available to the public in the U.S. right now.

However, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates we will need 182,000 DC fast chargers by 2030 if we want to be able to power all the BEVs planned for production by 2030. It’s a tall order to meet, and right now we’re looking at less than half of that by the end of the year. To make more charging stations, IONNA needs more money, and that means getting the attention of investors and other automakers. Luckily, news is already starting to spread, with Toyota Motor North America announcing its commitment to join the seven other automakers of IONNA as an investor in the project.

“We are excited to announce our support of IONNA to deploy DC fast chargers throughout the U.S. and Canada…We believe this will not only promote the adoption of BEVs and increase customer confidence in the technology, but it will provide our Toyota and Lexus customers with access to IONNA’s rapidly growing charging network in North America.” - Ted Ogawa, president and CEO of Toyota Motor North America

Another chapter in the story to build a nationwide BEV charging network begins, and this time, it might actually have a solid ending. Keep in the know about what’s new with BEVs and charging stations when you follow along with us on NowCar social media.

Photo Source/Copyright: Stellantis Media