Mercedes-Benz and BMW join forces to build their own charging network in China

Mercedes-Benz and BMW have just opened their first ultra-fast charging stations in the Chinese market, the result of the collaboration between the two companies through the joint venture IONCHI. This month, seven strategic locations have started operating, four of them in the capital, Beijing, one in Qingdao and another in Nanjing.

According to both companies, this is only a first step in an ambitious project aimed at deploying a thousand ultra-fast charging stations in 100 Chinese cities by the end of 2026, with a total of 7,000 charging points.

IONCHI was officially presented in November 2023 and received the approval of European competition authorities in January 2024, showing that its impact on the European market would be limited. This joint venture is the result of a 50 percent stake shared between Mercedes-Benz Group China and BMW Brilliance Automotive.

Main features of IONCHI’s ultra-fast charging stations

For the time being, we do not yet know all the details about these stations. What we do know is that the charging points installed are capable of delivering up to 600 kW of DC power, with a voltage range between 200 and 1000 V, and a maximum current of 800 amps. Another notable feature of these charging points is that the cable of each one, despite being liquid-cooled, is quite light, weighing just 3.15 kg.

IONCHI’s stations have been designed to offer the greatest possible level of comfort for customers. They feature canopies to protect both vehicles and drivers from adverse weather conditions while charging, and integrate technologies such as Plug&Charge to make the process easier, as well as the option to remotely reserve a charging point in advance.

These stations, which will not be exclusive to Mercedes-Benz and BMW vehicles, but will be open to the general public, are the result of a unique collaboration project between the two German companies, one that does not exist in any other market. In Europe, both companies are part of IONITY, but they do so alongside many others. Meanwhile, in North America, a similar project is underway under the name IONNA, which already includes eight partners.

Mercedes-Benz, for its part, is also expanding its own charging infrastructure globally, and plans to independently operate more than 10,000 fast charging points around the world before the end of this decade. In China, its first charging hub opened its doors in November 2023, and in Japan, in collaboration with PowerX, it plans to set up 100 ultra-fast charging points at 25 different locations over the next two years.