NEW YORK: Volvo Car USA and Starbucks have teamed up to set up the first public electric-vehicle charging network at the coffee company’s US stores starting this summer, powered by ChargePoint.
Volvo Car USA will install as many as 60 Volvo-branded, ChargePoint DC fast chargers at up to 15 Starbucks locations along a 2,172km route from the Denver area to the coffee company’s Seattle headquarters.
Plans include a charging location about every 160km, well within the battery range of most electric vehicles.
The effort could make charging Volvo pure electric models as easy as going to Starbucks.
ChargePoint’s DC fast chargers can bring the Volvo C40 Recharge, for example, from a 20 percent to a 90 percent charge in about 40 minutes.
The idea is that while their cars are recharging outside, drivers and their passengers can relax comfortably inside with their favorite Starbucks beverage.
Drivers of Volvo Recharge models with Google embedded can use the ChargePoint app integrated into their vehicle’s in-dash system, while other drivers can use the ChargePoint smartphone app, to find and access the ChargePoint charging stations at participating Starbucks locations.
While all EV drivers will be able to use these stations for a fee, drivers of Volvo Cars will get the added benefit of having access to these stations at no charge or at preferential rates.
Installations on the route are expected to be complete by the end of 2022, giving EV drivers traveling between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest a string of familiar, reliable, clean and safe places to recharge themselves and their battery-powered vehicles.
“Volvo Cars wants to give people the freedom to move and lower their impact on the environment,” said Anders Gustafsson, Sr. Vice President Americas and President and CEO, Volvo Car USA. “Working with Starbucks we can do that by giving them enjoyable places to relax while their cars recharge.”
