On April 28, 2022, Volkswagen and BP launched a strategic partnership that will promote the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) across most of Europe in the future, prioritising the UK and Germany foremost. The announcement was made in Düsseldorf, Germany, where they also unveiled the first charger of their partnership.
Plan of action
This strategic partnership brings together the likes of two of the leading global players in the mobility sector. BP and Volkswagen aim to rapidly transform their company goals towards full electrification and access to EV chargers across the European market by building a 'fast1' charging network by 2024.
Following the companies' announcement, they will start implementing the first phase, which is expected to include 4,000 charging stations at BP's sites in Germany and the UK over 24 months. Based on the claims made by the companies, they will potentially install up to 8,000 charging stations across the UK, Germany and other European countries.
Company public statement The chief executive of Volkswagen, Herbert Diess, said how pleased Volkswagen is to team up with BP to roll out the new fast-charging network throughout Europe. Volkswagen has one of the broadest offerings of EVs in the market, delivering 452,900 EVs worldwide in 2021, which is reflected in its sales being the leading EV market, following Tesla.
Barnard Looney, the chief executive of BP, states: "EV charging is one of the key engines driving BP's transformation to an integrated energy company. That's why we're so excited by our partnership with Volkswagen. When you bring together one of the world's leading carmakers and one of the world's leading energy companies - the opportunity is huge. This is a significant step forward on our journey to accelerate the electrification of transport in Europe."
The charger points will also be integrated into the in-car navigation of Volkswagen, Seat and ŠKODA EVs to make it easier and more accessible to find charging stations local to the user in need. Users will also be subjected to signing up to the in-app network to collect and claim rewards from the available loyalty programs.
BP's executive vice president of customers and products, Emma Delaney, said, "With the transition to electric vehicles well underway in Europe, we want to provide fast, reliable charging and convenience to EV drivers on the go."
Sustainable driving and customer satisfaction are the highest priority to both BP and Volkswagen as they look to pursue partnered endeavours to fulfil their company promises for carbon neutrality. It can therefore be expected that both companies' consumers will see them working strategically together again.