BP PLC (LSE:BP.) has announced its intention to invest some US$1bn to expand its network of electric vehicle charging points across the United States by 2030.
It comes just hours after Elon Musk reached an agreement with the US authorities to open up a portion of Tesla’s supercharger network to EV’s other than Teslas.
BP, in a statement on Wednesday, said it aimed to bring its fast-charging points to ‘more than a dozen US cities’.
The newly announced BP investment is intended to support new demand created by Hertz Global (NYSE:HTZ) which in parallel said it intended to make a quarter of its vehicle hire fleet electric by the end of 2024. Hertz is acting as a cornerstone investor in the BP rollout.
At present, BP has around 22,000 EV charge points worldwide and it expects to grow the total to over 100,000 by the end of the decade.
“This is about more, faster. We’re bringing more, fast-charging options to more Americans for faster EV adoption,” Dave Lawler, BP America chair and president, said in a statement.
“Working alongside Hertz, we’re excited to drive the future of mobility.”
Hertz chief executive Stephen Scherr, meanwhile, added: “We are excited to be working with bp to build out charging at Hertz locations across the country, and to leverage telematic insights from the Hertz fleet to ensure that charging is located at the places where our customers need it most.”