- BP becomes the third shareholder with a stake of 33.3 per cent

- Partnership intended to drive forward the transition to electrification

Since 2019, Digital Charging Solutions GmbH has been part of the mobility joint venture between BMW Group and Daimler AG. Now, BP – the British multinational oil and gas company – has joined the German giants to extend and significantly improve electrification, making electric vehicle charging more convenient, simpler and seamless.

Under the agreement, BP comes as a 33.3 per cent partner alongside BMW Group and Daimler Mobility AG in Digital Charging Solutions GmbH (DCS). BP’s acquisition of the stake in DCS will be subject to regulatory approval and the terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

For the uninitiated, DCS works with OEMs to integrate its charging solutions into vehicle operating systems. The BMW Group and Daimler Mobility AG operate mobility services under the umbrella of the ‘Your Now’ Joint Ventures. So the Digital Charging Solutions GmbH is based on the ‘Charge Now’ brand and operates charging services such as “Mercedes me Charge”, “BMW Charging” and “MINI Charging”. DCS already offers 228,000 charging points in 32 countries giving OEMs, fleet customers and EV owners’ access to charging infrastructure across Europe.

This collaboration allows additional access to a growing network of chargers across Europe. As part of the agreement, BP’s European charging networks will be integrated into the DCS network as well as fuel and charge for fleet customers, as a first step. BP aims to grow its network of public EV charging points by 2030 to over 70,000 worldwide while currently having around 8,700 charging points in Europe. The company is also planning on a rapidly growing ultra-fast chargers network to have around 250 operating at BP retail sites in the UK and 500 ultra-fast charging points across its retail sites in Germany by year-end. DCS customers will gain access to these additional charging points and BP will gain access to a wider customer base.

Owing to the collaboration between these three companies, we could ultimately see more EVs on the roads and thus help the automotive world move towards more sustainable mobility.