Dive Brief:
- Electric vehicle charging network operator Ionna plans to invest $250 million to expand public electric vehicle charging infrastructure in California over the next three years, the company announced in a Nov. 20 press release.
- Ionna, the joint venture of eight major automakers, is currently building out an extensive EV charging network in the U.S. that customers of each OEM can use as a way to promote EV adoption, address the lack of convenient access to public chargers and facilitate long-distance, coast-to-coast travel, it says.
- The company recently held kickoff ceremonies in California for its newly opened public chargers in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose and Westminster, which Ionna says is only “a fraction” of the 1,000 charging bays it's contracted to install across the state. Nationwide, Ionna plans to install up to 30,000 EV chargers by 2030.
Dive Insight:
Ionna was established in July 2023 as a joint venture between automakers BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Toyota. In February, the company announced it was transitioning from its public beta phase to full-scale national rollout of its charging network.
Despite the Dept. of Transportation’s revised guidance for the distribution of federal funding to construct public EV charging infrastructure in the U.S., Ionna continues to expand its network. The company is not reliant on federal funds to construct its charging sites. Instead, its funding comes from private capital.
To promote the newly opened charging sites in California, Ionna launched an “EV Education Program” to teach new EV drivers about the benefits of electric mobility. Following the opening of each new location, Ionna ambassadors partner with local dealerships and EV groups to host an event at the site to demonstrate how easy it is to charge an EV at a Ionna-branded charger.
"This week’s expansion into California is a snapshot of the national momentum IONNA has built in under a year’s time,” said Seth Cutler, CEO of Ionna, in a statement. “‘IONNA Speed’ isn’t just about how quickly we grow, but also how we deliver, and the IONNA team consistently operates with a driver-first mentality to elevate the charging experience.”
Some flagship Ionna charging sites are referred to as “Rechargeries” and offer amenities such as food and drinks, restrooms and driver lounges to relax in.
Ionna is also rolling out “plug-in and charge” capabilities at its Rechargeries, allowing EV drivers to simply plug in and charge without needing a credit card for payment. Its chargers currently support plug-in and charge functionality for BMW, General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz and more recently, Rivian and Ford EVs. Ionna’s plug-in and charge technology will roll out to Honda, Stellantis, Toyota EVs in 2026, per the release.
Last December, Ioanna announced a partnership with c-store operator Sheetz to install chargers at more than 50 of the retailer’s locations by the end of 2026, beginning with Florida.
In July, Ionna announced a new partnership with Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain Wawa, which increased its contracted EV charging hubs to over 3,000 at the time. With the planned California locations, Ionna’s now has over 4,000 EV charging bays contracted across the U.S.
Ionna is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina. The company said it chose the location because of the region's tech talent, which will help support the company’s goal of delivering what it calls a “cutting-edge” EV charging experience for drivers in North America.
