Starbucks and Mercedes-Benz are joining forces to ensure you can recharge your car while you recharge your caffeine levels. The tie-up and deals like it could help bring some much-needed convenience to the electric-vehicle charging experience.
Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging, the automaker's charging outfit, plans to bring DC fast charging stalls to "over 100" Starbucks stores across the country, the two companies announced on Wednesday.
The first stage of the program will see Mercedes install 400-kilowatt chargers at some of the coffee chain's locations along I-5, which runs from Canada to Mexico along the West Coast.
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EV charging is getting better
The quality and quantity of public charging stations have been persistent hurdles for widespread adoption. But infrastructure is improving, in part thanks to action from automakers and retail chains.
“The collaboration between two leading brands like Mercedes-Benz and Starbucks will uplift the charging experience for all EV drivers,” said Andrew Cornelia, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging.
Making public charging more palatable and widespread is paramount for an automotive industry that's seeing uneven sales growth for electric models. Studies regularly show that access to charging and the amount of time it takes are some of consumers' biggest hangups about going electric.
Plus, lots of America's charging stations are in weird places with few amenities, like the far corner of some random parking lot. It's not uncommon to hit up a charging station without a nearby bathroom or food options. Bringing charging stations to places like Starbucks could make charging a whole lot more convenient in that regard.
And that's the way things are moving. Starbucks first announced plans to incorporate charging back in 2022. Convenience stores and travel stops like 7/11 and Love's are making a push into EV fueling too. For these snack-and-drink purveyors, the incentive is clear. In exchange for providing a place to plug in, they get a captive customer that's going to spend way longer on the premises than they would if they were just pumping gas.
The need for better charging—and more of it—is triggering action from EV manufacturers as well. Mercedes-Benz, for its part, plans to invest $1 billion in charging and has erected a dozen stations across the South since November. The German automaker also joined several of its rivals—BMW, General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Toyota and Stellantis—to form an EV charging supergroup called Ionna. That joint venture plans to open its first stations this year.
Both Ionna and Mercedes-Benz High-Powered Charging were formed with an eye on elevating the parts of the EV charging experience that aren't up to par. For example, Mercedes' chargers can dispense a whopping 400 kilowatts of power, which should yield quick charging stops. (That's a level of power no U.S. EVs can even accept yet.) It's building high-end charging lounges and bringing plugs to retail locations with amenities EV owners want, like Buc-ee’s stores.
Contact the author: tim.levin@insideevs.com
