Jeep to launch 4xe Level 2 charging network – is more to come?
By Edward A. Sanchez – March 29, 2021
In the wake of Rivian’s announcement of its Adventure and Waypoint charging networks, Jeep unveiled plans for a 4xe nationwide charging network. But unlike Rivian, which committed to a quantitative total and timeline for its network, Jeep has so far only committed to installing charging stations at the well-known off-road locales of the Rubicon Trail and Big Bear in California, and Moab in Utah. Beyond these three locations, Jeep says “other locations for Jeep 4xe Charging Network EV chargers will be announced in the future,” with some coming online by the end of 2021.
One key difference between the 4xe Network and the Rivian Adventure Network is that for the time being, the 4xe Network will be Level 2 only. Although Jeep showed its Wrangler Magneto EV concept, its only current electrified production model is the Wrangler 4xe in North America, and the Renegade and Compass 4xe in Europe. All of these models are plug-in hybrids, for which Level 2 charging is fully sufficient. If and when a fully electric Jeep model hits showrooms, it’s logical to think that Jeep may add Level 3 charging to its network.
Although the addition of L3 charging is admittedly speculative on our part, the fact that the 4xe charging network is operated by Electrify America makes us believe that the addition of L3 may not be that much of a stretch. Although Electrify America does operate many L2 charging networks, it is mainly known for its current and future commitments to high-voltage DC charging stations.
The fact that not every OEM is building its own charging network shouldn’t necessarily be seen as a lack of commitment to electrification, although some have taken that stand. Tesla built its own charging network (with its own proprietary plug standard) starting in 2012. At that time, it was one of a small handful of electric cars, and it had already committed to a proprietary plug standard, which essentially committed the company to taking responsibility for building its own network.
There are arguably too many independent third-party EV charging networks. Considering the relative lack of public EV charging locations currently, and the dozens of new EV models coming to market in the next five years, that may seem like a strange statement. But scale and growth come with standardization and consistency, which can arguably be better accomplished with fewer, but stronger companies.
Despite its small relative size compared to ChargePoint and EVgo, the generally acknowledged leaders in the EV charging network space, Electrify America has managed to sign up an inordinately large number of OEM partners. However, its mandated spend of $2 billion as part of the “Dieselgate” settlement will end eventually, at which point the company will likely need to justify its business case to parent Volkswagen of America, or will be spun off to a third party. Thus the partnerships.
The announcement of the 4xe Network in collaboration with Electrify America is a step in the right direction for both Jeep and Electrify America, but is ultimately a drop in the bucket to the overall work that needs to be done to build out a comprehensive national EV charging infrastructure. But it’s a start.
(Images courtesy Jeep)
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