Mercedes-Benz EV drivers to get access to Tesla charging stations

Mercedes-Benz EV drivers to get access to Tesla charging stations

Mercedes-Benz drivers will be able to use Tesla Superchargers in North America beginning next year, the German automaker has announced.

This means that drivers of Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles will get access to more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers, as well as see them in the MercedesMe app with availability status and price. The vehicles’ Navigation with Electric Intelligence, which calculates a convenient and time-efficient route including charging stops, will also notify drivers.

Mercedes-Benz will initially offer an adapter for the NACS, or Tesla, charger, then transition to making the charger the vehicle standard by 2025.

Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management Mercedes-Benz Group AG, said the move will mean “fast, convenient, and reliable charging solutions.”

At the same time, Mercedes-Benz is planning its own high-power charging network, with more than 400 charging hubs, and more than 2,500 high-power chargers in North America by the end of the decade. The first Mercedes-Benz charging hubs in North America will be opened by the end of the year, with both CCS1 and NACS plugs.

Mercedes-Benz charging hubs will be universally open to electric vehicles from all brands. Currently, Mercedes-Benz customers can currently access more than 1.2 million charging points worldwide.

Mercedes’ Vance plant in Tuscaloosa County last year began electric SUV production after five years of activity and more than $1 billion pumped into the operation, which included adding an electric battery factory in Bibb County and 1,000 more employees.