Volkswagen America have partnered with Bosch to supply their electricity charging needs as the new e-Golf hits dealerships before the year end. The e-Golf is the first zero-tailpipe emissions vehicle to be sold in the US market, ahead of the e-up! city car which has been available for several months in Europe already.
Although the partnership has only been slated to apply to US drivers, the news may lead to similar announcements regarding e-Golf purchases made in Europe. Time will tell whether Volkswagen utilise Bosch here in the UK where the German company has yet to make a significant impact on the electric vehicle infrastructure put in place by others, such as Luton made Chargemaster – who have just announced a £3million investment by Beringea – and PodPoint as well as Siemens and others that have a controlling stake in the UK market. Whether Volkswagen choose to adopt these here, or stick with Bosch remains to be seen.
Bosch® will provide a suite of 240-volt charging options, including the Power Max charging station, as well as full-service installation for e-Golf drivers. However, the price for this service is yet to be announced but the press release vaguely mentions it as, “offered at highly competitive prices.”
A Bosch Vehicle Charging Advisor will support customers through the entire installation process, including:
- No-cost, on-site quotation
- Local permit application, coordination, and inspection
- Installation completed by a Bosch Certified Electrician
All Volkswagen e-Golf owners will be given automatic access to the ChargePoint network, the largest in the world with more than 18,000 charging locations. Every e-Golf will come with a ChargePoint membership card in the car at no additional cost, giving owners far greater opportunities to charge their cars while on the go. About 60% of stations on the ChargePoint network are free to use and drivers can start a session with their ChargePoint card, the ChargePoint mobile app or by calling the support line listed on the station.
In addition, all Volkswagen e-Golf dealerships will have the latest generation ChargePoint stations with VW branding, installed by Bosch. The stations will be available for public use and dealers will use them to walk prospective buyers through EV charging. All e-Golf drivers will also get access to the ChargePoint mobile app, where they can navigate to stations, see real-time status updates (to see if the station is in use, available or down) and start charging sessions. Joerg Sommer, Vice President, Product Marketing and Strategy, said:
“We are delighted that Bosch is going to provide stations and installation services and are thrilled to provide our e-Golf drivers access to the ChargePoint network. Although the e-Golf is not the first BEV to market in the U.S., we are taking a holistic approach to e-Mobility. We want to offer the most competitive suite of services for what we think is the most versatile and most fun-to-drive electric vehicle on the market.”
Source; Volkswagen
