IONITY and K Group to open the second high-power charging station in Finland in Lahti to serve drivers on Highway 4
Initially, the HPC station at Neste K Karisto will be equipped with two high-power charging points, but the number can be raised to six as demand grows. The HPC station will also serve customers of the nearby shopping centre Karisma and K-Citymarket Lahti Karisma.
The fastest high-power charging points on the market offer a charging capacity of 350 kW, while current fast charging points offer a capacity of 50 kW. An electric car can travel some 300 kilometres on a single full-power 15-minute high-power charge.
“A public network of charging stations must serve electric car drivers in places they would go to anyway. We now can offer the possibility for maximum efficient and fast charging on Highway 4, where people tend to drive for long distances. Electric car users can also utilise the K Charge basic and fast charging points at the Karisma shopping centre. Lahti is a hub for traffic across Finland, and thus Neste K Karisto is a natural location for one of IONITY’s charging stations, which are the most high-powered on the market,” says Heikki Ahdekivi, Vice President in charge of new business development and charging network in K Group’s car trade division.
IONITY will be responsible for building, maintaining and operating the HPC stations, while K Group offers excellent locations for them at K-store sites. In October, IONITY and K Group will open the first HPC station at Neste K Paimio, and in upcoming weeks, the exact location of the third HPC station on a key motorway running from Helsinki towards Tampere will be revealed.
“We are working hard to make electric cars a viable option for an increasing number of drivers. It is great that soon our European public high-power charging network will serve EV drivers in Finland, too. With IONITY’s HPC stations situated at K-store locations, we can offer a comprehensive service to our customers, who can have a break or conveniently stock up on groceries while charging their car,” says Jan Haugen Ihle, Head of Northern Europe at IONITY.
IONITY’S HPC stations use the European charging standard CCS (Combined Charging System), with cross-brand electric car compatibility. The price is €8 / charge with the IONITY app. With other charging services, each service provider sets the price based on IONITY’s price. Payment is possible with the IONITY app, K-Lataus app, Audi e-tron service and other charging services that support roaming.
IONITY is a joint venture by the Volkswagen Group with Porsche AG, BMW, Daimler and Ford, and is building an extensive network of powerful and easy-to-use charging stations along major routes across Europe. IONITY aims to establish a network of 400 high-power charging stations by 2020. Currently, the network comprises 149 charging stations.
K Charge is K Group’s nationwide charging network for electric cars. By the end of this year, the network will comprise nearly 400 charging points at over 70 K-store locations. The K Charge charging stations offer both basic and fast charging points. The cooperation with IONITY will add three high-power charging stations to the network.
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