EVgo and Toyota Extend Charging Deal for bZ4X

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EVgo and Toyota recently announced that they’ve extended their charging partnership. As part of this agreement, drivers who purchase or lease a new 2024 bZ4x will get one year of complimentary fast charging on EVgo’s national charging network, just like the 2022 and 2023 models. Originally announced in February 2022, the ongoing collaboration between EVgo and Toyota aims to enhance range confidence for new Toyota owners while getting more people familiar with the EVgo network.

“The expansion of our agreement is a testament to the convenience and accessibility of the EVgo network, as well as to our ongoing commitment to automaker collaborations that help spur the mass adoption of EVs throughout the country,” said Maggie Tallman, Senior Vice President, Business Development at EVgo. “Our collaboration with Toyota gives even more EV drivers access to our industry-leading charging network and the ability to plug in across the U.S.”

For first-time EV drivers purchasing or leasing the bZ4X, another benefit will be access to EVgo’s customer support team, the “EVgo Charging Crew”. The dedicated team is available 24/7 to assist with account setup and address frequently asked questions related to charging, which should give new owners more confidence getting started.

“Charging is an essential part of owning an EV, and we’re pleased to offer our customers who purchase or lease our bZ4X vehicles the convenience and accessibility made available by EVgo,” said James George, General Manager of EV Charging Solutions at Toyota Motor North America. “Our ongoing collaboration with one of the nation’s largest public fast charging companies enables us to grant bZ4X drivers access to EVgo’s extensive nationwide network.”

Upsides and Downsides To Renewed EVgo and Toyota Deal

The obvious upside to this is that Toyota will be able to get more EVs sold. Given how behind the company is on EVs, partnerships like this can really help them. Most big EV fans who are already interested in them probably wouldn’t go for a Toyota EV (more on that in a bit), so giving the customers a place to start with charging helps them. This is also good for EVgo, because this gives them some new customers who will probably be loyal going forward.

On the other hand, there are some downsides, but mostly for other people.

The biggest one is that the bZ4X charges slowly, especially in the cold. Giving out free charging for a year means that owners will charge more often, spend more time charging, and clog stations up. We’ve seen this happen at Electrify America stations with Volkswagen ID.4 vehicles, and I’ve personally abused the privilege in a Nissan LEAF a few times (or, more than a few). Free charging means people charge more instead of looking for other options, or just drive more.

This might not be a problem if Toyota doesn’t sell too many EVs (a serious possibility), but if the company comes up with the chops to sell more of them this year and surprises us, the clogging problem could be an issue.

Hopefully it helps Toyota a bit without causing problems for everyone else!

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Featured image by EVgo and Toyota.