Siemens Joins Volkswagen's Charging Network Project in North America

The founding of Electrify America was also the result of an emissions scandal – now Volkswagen’s Charging Network subsidiary in the United States and Canada has to persuade more users of combustion cars to switch to e-cars. There is another fellow from Germany.

Wolfsburg/Munich (DPA) – Siemens is joining Volkswagen Group’s North American fast-charging network Project Electrify America. The partners are looking to invest $450 million (426 million euros) together in expanding charging infrastructure for electric cars in the United States and Canada, as they announced Tuesday.

In this context, the Munich electronics giant is to acquire an equity stake in a subsidiary of the US subsidiary of VW and a seat on its board of directors.

“The goal is to more than double America’s charging infrastructure by 2026 and expand it to 1,800 locations and 10,000 fast chargers,” explained VW CTO Thomas Schmall. Then almost all US states should be covered. Veronica Bienert, manager of the Siemens Financial Services Division, spoke of “one of the biggest investments” her company has made in electromobility. It should be about both the charging hardware and software for e-vehicles. The offer is open to customers of all car manufacturers.

reaction to diesel scam

Electrification America was initially founded in response to the VW Diesel scandal. A central requirement of US officials following the investigation was that the German car company should participate in major projects for more environmentally friendly traffic in the United States. Two billion dollars are to be invested in a decade. Domestic maker Ford also wants to use the Electrification America network while expanding public charging points. Online giant Amazon has been involved in plans since late 2019. He is about to sell devices for charging at home.

VW intends to produce significantly more electric models in the United States in the coming years. In Europe, many factories are already being converted to purely power generation. Here, the group is collaborating on the expansion of the charging network with the BP Petrol Station Group, as well as the Ionity Consortium on motorways and trunk roads, among others.