Car Charging While Drinking Coffee, Volvo Collaborates On Electric Charging With Starbucks

JAKARTA - Volvo Cars USA announced on Tuesday, March 15 that it has partnered with coffee giant Starbucks Corp to create a public electric vehicle (EV) charging network that will begin this summer.

The Swedish automaker said the pilot installation will include as many as 60 Volvo-branded ChargePoint DC fast chargers at up to 15 Starbucks store locations.

Volvo, which plans to install a charger every 100 miles (160 km), said it expects the installation to be complete by the end of 2022. The charging station can be used by all EV drivers for a fee. However, Volvo car owners can use this free of charge or at a special price.

The move comes as automakers race to overtake EV maker Tesla Inc, while Ford Motor Co on Monday, March 14 unveiled plans for seven new electric car models it plans to launch in Europe.

Volvo Cars, which is mostly owned by China's Geely Holding, aims to sell 50% pure electric cars by the middle of this decade and fully electric cars by 2030.

US President Joe Biden's administration last month also unveiled plans to give nearly $5 billion (71.5 trillion) over five years to building thousands of electric vehicle charging stations to help combat the problem of scarcity of electric car charger systems.