IONNA by Hyundai, Mercedes, BMW, and More Hits the Road

Obtained regulatory approval within half a year after establishment in July last year
The goal is to construct more than 30,000 stations in North America
The first charging station to open in the U.S. within the year

The joint venture IONNA, established by seven automakers, including Hyundai Motor Group, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, has launched. The company plans to open its first charging station in the United States and expand into Canada within the year. The goal is to install more than 30,000 units across North America and emerge as a rival to Tesla, the local electric vehicle charging market leader.

According to IONNA, on the 13th, the company officially started operations after recently receiving approval from U.S. regulators.

IONA is a joint venture established in July last year by seven automakers, including Hyundai, Kia, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and General Motors (GM). The company aims to become a leading provider of high-speed charging infrastructure across North America. It has its headquarters in Torrance, California.

IONNA has appointed Seth Cutler, who has over ten years of experience in the electric vehicle charging sector, as its CEO. Cutler previously oversaw the electric vehicle infrastructure business at General Electric (GE) in the United States. He then led the development of high-performance charging networks as a senior engineer at “Electrify America.” He also served as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at ‘EV Connect,’ a subsidiary of Schneider Electric. He has led the process of transitioning startups into the scale-up phase, rapidly expanding sales and employment.

CEO Cutler plans to lead IONNA’s growth based on the know-how he has gained. IONNA aims to build at least 30,000 high-output charging stations across North America. The company plans to open its first charging station in the United States this year and expand into Canada. Speculation suggests that the first charging station, installed on major highways connecting major U.S. cities, will begin operations this summer.

IONNA’s chargers enhance the convenience of North American electric vehicle customers by applying the U.S. standard CCS1 and the Tesla charging port NACS coupler. They are integrated with mobile or in-vehicle applications. The app provides features such as charging service reservations, payment of fees, and intelligent route navigation. The chargers are located near convenience facilities such as restaurants, restrooms, and retail stores, enhancing accessibility. The power needed to operate the chargers is sourced from renewable power plants.

With the official launch of IONNA, competition for leadership in the North American electric vehicle charging market is expected to intensify. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, as of July last year, there were 2.3 million electric cars and 32,000 public DC fast chargers. It is estimated that between 30 million and 42 million electric cars will be needed by 2030, requiring at least 182,000 chargers.

Currently, Tesla leads the U.S. charging market. The Wall Street Journal reported in September of last year that, as a result of analyzing local government data, about 60% of the 33,400 high-speed electric vehicle chargers installed across the United States were Tesla products.