Another Corporate Partnership Springs Up to Improve the Public Charging Network

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

We recently reported that the American EV charging network is woefully underdeveloped in most states, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a significant effort underway to improve the situation. The most recent development involves General Motors and EVgo, which are partnering to build 400 ultra-fast chargers across the country.


It’s important to note that 400 chargers means 400 plugs, not charging stations. In any case, the locations will be considered “flagship destinations,” offering 350kW DC fast chargers, better lighting, and security cameras. The partners plan to locate the charging locations near amenities like restaurants and shopping destinations.


EVgo will employ its prefabricated chargers to reduce costs by up to 15 percent and installation times by up to half. The chargers already have stalls and other gear attached, making it much easier, cheaper, and quicker to spin up new locations.

While it’s a step in the right direction, 400 new charging plugs won’t exactly put a significant dent in the country’s EV infrastructure problem. That said, other companies are working toward similar goals, with major travel centers, automakers, and charging networks coming together to build new locations and charging points across the country.


Even with a more robust charging situation in the U.S., owning an EV may still be a hassle for people who can’t charge at home. Public charging locations are great, but a more substantial effort needs to be made to reach apartment dwellers and urban residents who don’t have a dedicated parking spot or driveway location to install a charger.


[Images: refrina, Tada Images, Jonathan Weiss via Shutterstock]


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Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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  • Zerofoo Zerofoo on Sep 13, 2024
    If you want private companies to care for chargers, then those chargers must be privately owned. Financial incentives keep gas stations open - the same is true for EV chargers. I don't ever expect that "public" chargers will be any better maintained than a public restroom.
    • FreedMike FreedMike on Sep 14, 2024
      I think the overwhelming majority of chargers ARE privately owned.
  • Ise65810017 Ise65810017 on Sep 14, 2024
    As a person who grows food I do hope we use other fuels. Crop failure is a great fear amoung my freinds. The climate change is a really big issue for us. It is true there not yet a good way but the public has to be will to use different methods instead of keeping on doing the same thing hoping for different results.
  • Steve Biro I’ll try one of these Tesla driverless taxis after Elon takes one to and from work each and every day for five years. Either he’ll prove to me they are safe… or he’ll be dead. Think he’ll be willing to try it?
  • Theflyersfan After the first hard frost or freeze - if the 10 day forecast looks like winter is coming - that's when the winter tires go on. You can call me a convert to the summer performance tire and winter tire car owner. I like the feel of the tires that are meant to be used in that season, and winter tires make all of the difference in snowy conditions. Plus, how many crazy expensive Porsches and Land Rovers do we see crashed out after the first snow because there's a chance that the owner still kept their summer tires on. "But...but...but I have all wheel drive!!!" Yes, so all four tires that now have zero grip can move in unison together.
  • Theflyersfan One thing the human brain can do very well (at least hopefully in most drivers) is quickly react to sudden changes in situations around them. Our eyes and brains can quickly detect another driving dangerously, a construction zone that popped up while we were at work, dense fog out of nowhere, conflicting lines and signs on some highways, kids darting out between cars, etc. All of this self driving tech has shown us that it is maybe 80% of the way there, but it's that last 20% that still scares the crap out of us. Self driving computers can have multiple cameras feeding the system constant information, but can it react in time or can it work through conflicting data - think of construction zones with lines everywhere, orange signs with new exit information by the existing green exit sign, etc. Plus, and I think it's just GM's test mules, some systems require preexisting "knowledge" of the routes taken and that's putting a lot of faith in a system that needs to be updated in real time. I think in the next 15-20 years, we'll have a basic system that can self drive along interstates and highways, but city streets and neighborhoods - the "last mile" - will still be self drive. Right now, I'd be happy with a system that can safely navigate the slog of rush hour and not require human input (tapping the wheel for example) to keep the system active.
  • Kcflyer night and day difference. Good winter tires save lives or at least body work. And they are free. Spend a few hundred on spare wheels on tire rack. Mount the winter tires on them. They replace your regular tires and save a commensurate amount of wear. Thus, over the life of the vehicle the only added expense is the extra wheels. I can usually find a set of used wheels for less than 400 bucks all in on craigslist or marketplace. Then swap the wheels yourself twice a year. TPMS has added a wrinkle. Honda has the best system that requires little or no expense. Toyota/Lexus has a stupid system that requires a shop visit to program every stinking time. Ugh (worth it over a honda since your valves don't need to be cleaned every 60000 miles)
  • Bruce Purchased (in 2024) a 1989 Camero RS. I wasn't looking for one but I picked it up for 1500. I wanted to only pay 800 but the fellow I bought it from had a real nice family and I could tell they loved each other. They needed the money and I had to give it to him. I felt my heart grow like the Grinch. Yes it has the little 2.8. But the write up does not represent this car. It has never been messed with, all original, a real time machine. I was very fond of these 3rd gen Cameros. It was very oxidized but straight, interior was dirty but all there. I just retired and I parked in my shop and looked at it for 5 months. I couldn't decide how to approach it now That I can afford to make of it what ever I want. Resto mod? Engine swap? No reason to expect any finacial return. Finally I started just doing little things. Buffed and polished the paint. Tune up, Fluids. I am still working it and have found a lot of joy in just restoring what I have just the way I found it just fixed and cleaned up. It's just a cool looking cruiser, fun to drive, fun to figure out. It is what it is. I am keeping it and the author of this critical write up completely misses the point. Mabey the point is what I make it. Nothing more and nothing less.
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