Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging is setting a new standard to reshape the EV ownership experience. Working in cooperation with MN8 Energy, this $1 billion commitment is moving what once seemed a distant future of electric mobility firmly into the present day.
Leveraging over 130-years of automotive innovation and engineering, Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging is providing fast, convenient, and amenity rich charging powered by strategic partnerships across the U.S.
A primary goal behind this ambitious development is to elevate the charging experience, starting with getting the basics around reliability, predictability and interoperability right, and bringing quality fast-charge technology to where EV drivers live, work, play, and shop.
Importantly, Mercedes-Benz is designing the network with all EV drivers in mind, not only those whose EV proudly wears the three-pointed star emblem.
By the end of the decade, Mercedes-Benz plans to build over 2,500 charging points across North America, each powered by 100% clean energy.
Open to All
A key advantage of Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging is that it has been designed to promote the industry-wide shift to electric mobility, not segmented to serve a specific brand. The Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging network can be used today by all EVs with CCS connectors, and will be NACS capable by the end of 2024.
This 400-kilowatt (kW) network is also adaptable to EVs with various fast-charging capabilities, including those with an 800+ volt architecture. Whether the vehicle can recharge at a maximum of 200 kW or 80 kW, Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging provides the best possible rate of charging in the shortest amount of time.
Mercedes-Benz drivers receive some additional benefits, such as use of the brand’s Electric Intelligence navigation system. Designed exclusively for all-electric Mercedes-Benz vehicles, this state-of-the-art system helps the driver plan where to charge, and can reserve a spot for added convenience.
Faster and Smarter Charging
Thanks in part to its cooperation with hardware providers Alpitronic and ChargePoint, the 400kW fast chargers used at Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging are among the fastest in the U.S.
What does this mean in terms of the consumer experience? Fast, reliable, and convenient charging helps to make every EV journey seamless. Using Mercedes-Benz’s own EQS SUV as an example, its maximum charge speed of 200 kW requires only 31 minutes to recharge its battery from 10% to 80%. Add to this the EQS’s maximum EPA-estimated 339 miles of range, and the result is a state-of-the-art EV, regardless of whether it’s being driven or being charged.
The Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging network also features clever touches to further enhance the charging experience. Starting a charge is as easy as tapping your credit card, eliminating the need to toggle between apps. And charger status is managed by an Intelligent Indicator system that employs color-coded lighting to show whether a charge point is open, in use, or reserved.
More than a Charging Station
Mercedes-Benz’s strategic approach aims to turn charging from a detour to a destination. With this mind, the automaker is partnering with Starbucks to electrify over 100 Starbucks stores nationwide.
As part of the larger deployment, Mercedes-Benz will install chargers at Starbucks locations along Interstate 5, a vital 1,300+ mile north-south corridor running parallel with the Pacific Ocean and stretching from Canada to Mexico.
Mercedes-Benz has also announced similar partnerships with Simon® and Buc-ee’s. Simon® Premium Outlets is a one-stop destination for dining and shopping, while Buc-ee’s is routinely praised as being one of the country’s most beloved travel centers. Both have locations strategically placed along bustling travel corridors that are ideal for fast charging.
Expanding the Network
Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging opened its inaugural site in Sandy Springs, Georgia, in November 2023. Since then, the network has spread to locations across Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee, with plans to enter additional markets before the end of 2024.
The North American footprint builds on a global ambition to introduce the Mercedes-Benz Charging Network to China, Europe, and other core markets by 2030, to deliver quality, accessible, and convenient fast-charge technology to customers.
All of these pieces are part of the wider Mercedes-Benz Charging strategy of bringing quality fast-charge technology into the everyday life of EV drivers.
Mercedes-Benz the Innovator
From the dawn of the automobile, Mercedes-Benz has been at the forefront of performance, safety, and technological breakthroughs. This holds true in the 21st century, at a time when the automotive world is on the cusp of electrification.
To make this possible, Mercedes-Benz is teaming with the best in the business, whether it’s a leading developer of high-speed charging units or brands focused on everything from fashion to fine dining.
Fully commensurate with the Mercedes-Benz brand values, its High-Power Charging network serves to elevate the electric car ownership experience, setting a new industry standard for all EV drivers.
Discover more about Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging
This is a promotional feature written by CarGurus for Mercedes-Benz.