EVwire brief: Tesla has deployed 55 highway service area V4 Supercharger stations in Chongqing, China. The initial rollout covers 55 service areas with 212 charging stalls across 10 major highways.
Tesla announced the new V4 Supercharger buildout on its official Weibo account (translated through Google Translate).
Unlike earlier installations, these V4 Supercharger stations are located directly within highway service areas. This eliminates the need for detours and aligns charging stops with typical long-distance driving behavior.
The deployment spans key routes, including the Baomao, Lanhai, and Chengdu-Chongqing expressways, with Tesla targeting an average density of one Supercharger per hour of driving.
Tesla China promoted its new highway service Supercharger V4 stations on Weibo:
Now that’s how you make an EV charging network for long trips
Tesla’s Supercharger network in mainland China now includes over 2,500 stations and more than 12,000 charging stalls.
From this number, 950 stations and over 400 Destination Chargers are open to non-Tesla EVs.
With Tesla China’s V4 Superchargers capable of adding up to 250 km (150 miles) of range in approximately 15 minutes, the new charging stations should support faster highway travel times for EV drivers.
The new V4 Superchargers are designed to make trips along the Baomao, Lanhai, and Chengdu-Chongqing expressways more convenient (Source)
The shift toward service-area charging directly targets one of the most persistent challenges for electric car drivers.
A good number of EV chargers in China are still located away from highway service areas.
Because of this, detours and wait times can still significantly extend the duration of trips, even if the charging sessions themselves are already quick.
Tesla’s Supercharger Network has grown to 12,000 charging stalls across China
While Tesla has previously deployed Superchargers in highway service areas in regions such as Yunnan and Zhejiang, those efforts have been relatively limited.
The Chongqing rollout marks a more systemic approach, with dozens of stations being deployed simultaneously across multiple highways.
Superchargers outside highways still tend to extend travel times during long road trips
The network is also open to non-Tesla vehicles, with access enabled through QR code-based charging through WeChat.
Considering Tesla’s massive rollout of highway V4 Superchargers in Chongqing, it appears that the company is now shifting its strategy from supporting its growing fleet of vehicles to supporting the country’s entire EV sector.
Source: Tesla China on Weibo, Sina News
DIG DEEPER into the Tesla industry news with our dedicated TESLAWIRE page, or charging news on our CHARGINGWIRE page. And don’t forget to subscribe to our EV industry newsletter to join 14,000+ EV geeks.
