You wouldn't expect a petroleum company, or at least a company known for making it, to produce a charging network for electric vehicles. However, BP and Volkswagen have just announced a new charging network that'll be rapidly rolling out across Europe. VW's own Flexpole 150kw charging stations have two charge points, like many others from ChargePoint and Electrify America. That means fast charging is going to be easier to access in your VW ID. 4, at least in Europe.

The brand says these chargers will help alleviate one of the largest pain points for charging networks: the need for high-voltage grid connections. The Flexpole charger will be able to connect to a lower voltage grid, which eliminates the need for the large substations you often find near electric chargers.

At first, 4,000 or so of these new Flexpole chargers will be installed at BP Aral retail sites across Germany. They'll also be showing up at BP retail sites in the UK as well. That is set to take place over the next couple years. VW and BP said that around 8,000 of these new chargers will be installed across Germany, the UK, and a handful of other European countries by the end of 2024. Given the struggles many face with charging, provided they have no solution at home, the rollout can't come fast enough.

Herbert Diess, VW's CEO, said that the brand is "Investing in everything from software, to batteries and charging is part of our strategy to make individual mobility safer, more convenient and fully climate-neutral." Evidently, these chargers are part of that investment. Diess also says that collaboration outside of the auto industry is key, hence the partnership with BP.

VW says it should be fairly painless for owners to find these new stations as well. Soon, they'll be uploaded to VW's charging app, Elli, and will be viewable from in-car apps in VW, Seat, and SKODA vehicles. As of right now, there's no word on whether this new network of chargers will be coming to the states.

If we had to guess, this model will stay in Europe until at least 2024. Based on the information provided by VW, that's roughly when the program should have run much of its course. With that said, having more chargers Stateside is no bad thing. EV ownership isn't accessible for many right now due to the constraints surrounding charging, and new chargers that work reliably and quickly would certainly help to improve things. Like some versions of the ID. Buzz, we're hoping that this network can eventually come to the US. The more the merrier.