At BP they have focused on targeting electric cars, thus distancing themselves from their history as a gas station to use. After many agreements with various manufacturers in the automotive sector, it is now also doing so with the Volkswagen Group. Both companies have announced a strategic association with which to expand the charging network throughout the European Union and the United Kingdom, starting today, since it has just been announced that its first charging point volkswagen flexpole located in Germany has already started operating.
This agreement takes BP a step further on its roadmap, which directs the British company towards a fully electrified future and in which they hope to achieve net zero emissions in terms of carbon emissions. This is not the first association that the oil company has made, since previously it has also done the same with Daimler Trucks, Piaggio or BMW, among others.
The partnership with Volkswagen will kick off in Germany and the UK, where more than 4,000 charging points will be installed. The first station for electric cars has already started operations in the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Once this first phase of expansion is complete, BP and Volkswagen will take their Flexpoles to the rest of the EU countries, where their plans specify that they will have up to 8,000 new points in total by the end of 2024.
These so-called Volkswagen Flexpole chargers will have two individual charging points each, They will have a maximum power of up to 150 kW and have an integrated energy storage system (battery). Their connection to the electrical network can be carried out through a low voltage socket, which reduces complexity when starting their construction works. The result of this will be shorter installation times and greater agility in presenting new locations.
The locations of these chargers will be gradually integrated into the navigation applications of Volkswagen Group vehicles, as well as in other third parties. It will be specially optimized for the app called Elli, which handles charging for Volkswagen models. In this way, it is much easier for the drivers themselves to search for available charging points that are on their already established route.
As they have assured from both entities, their association is aimed at finding new opportunities to provide future solutions for mobility with less carbon emissions, either on recharging networks or other infrastructures of these vehicles. Other electric car drivers who need to use a charging point at a BP service station will be able to do so through its network BP Pulse and Aral Pulsewhich are already available in numerous establishments of the British company throughout Europe and the United Kingdom.
