As part of its ‘National Electric Vehicle Charger Network’, the Joe Biden government has released rules, under which chargers for US-made electronic vehicles will have to be produced within the country itself.
As per a Reuters report, the new rules will require the chargers to be built in the States “immediately,” with 55% of the production cost will be coming from US-made components by 2024.
Earlier, manufacturers voiced concern over a slowed rollout from “imposing a domestic components quota too soon in the program rule.” Now, the new rules will allow more time for companies to abide by the ‘Made in America’ deadlines.
All the chargers built must comply with the U.S. standard for charging connectors, called “Combined Charging System” (CCS), which is described as allowing drivers to “use standardized payment options; a single method of identification that works across all chargers; and work 97% of the time.”
As the new rules come out, Tesla will have to modify their charging stations to “add a permanently attached Combined Charging System connector or adapter that charges a CCS-compliant vehicle.”
As the Joe Biden administration finalized standards for a USD 7.5 billion ‘National Electric Vehicle Charging Network’, Tesla has now agreed to open to the public at least 7,500 chargers on its proprietary network, a shift in the earlier stance, where the Electric Vehicle manufacturer’s charging network used to be unavailable for the other brands.
“The new standards will ensure everyone can use the network – no matter what car you drive or which state you charge in,” the White House said.
“The open chargers will be distributed across the United States. They will include at least 3,500 new and existing 250 kW Superchargers along highway corridors to expand freedom of travel for all EVs, and Level 2 Destination Charging at locations like hotels and restaurants in urban and rural locations. All EV drivers will be able to access these stations using the Tesla app or website,” as per the White House statement.
Tesla now has plans to double its full nationwide network of Superchargers, according to the announcement.
The Joe Biden administration’s EV aspirations include having 50% of new electric car sales by 2030, apart from the rollout of a 500,000-public-charger network. According to the White House, there are more than 3 million EVs registered in the US till February 2023 and more than 130,000 public chargers are active within the country.
“Effective immediately, final assembly and all manufacturing processes for any iron or steel charger enclosures or housing occur in the United States. By July 2024, at least 55% of the cost of all components will need to be manufactured domestically as well,” the White House said.
Along with Tesla, the White House highlighted work being done by companies like General Motors, EVgo, Pilot, Hertz and bp in the EV charging space.
“These companies and others are announcing new commitments to expand their networks by thousands of public charging ports in the next two years, using private funds to complement federal dollars and putting the nation’s EV charging goals even closer within reach,” the statement remarked.