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BMW, VW, Chargepoint establish fast-charging corridors on both coasts

The routes cover Portland to San Diego in the west, and Boston to Washington, DC in the east.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

It's still kind of a pain to take a long road trip in an electric car. Only Tesla's machines are privy to its Supercharger network, and other chargers may not offer fast recharging speeds, making it difficult to travel long distances in little time. Thankfully, a few companies have recognized this issue and built a network of DC fast chargers on both the east and west coasts.

BMW, Volkswagen and ChargePoint teamed up to build 95 DC fast charging stations up and down both coasts. On the east side, the network spans from Boston, to New York, then down to Philadelphia and Washington, along I-95.

Out west, the corridor includes Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego along I-5 and US-101. The chargers are located close to both cities and entertainment, approximately 50 miles apart, so you have something to do while the cars charge.

Not that you need much time to charge in the first place. These new chargers use DC fast charging, which can provide a majority of the battery's juice in less than a couple hours. It's all about minimizing downtime, which could very well convince more owners to bite the bullet and go electric. All the chargers in these corridors can be found on ChargePoint's app and website, along with BMW and VW's own apps and sites.

The stations are all public, so you won't have to slip somebody a Benjamin to hop on a charger. Being part of the ChargePoint network, you'll need a ChargePoint card or app to get signed up, but you can use BMW's ChargeNow card, as well.

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Andrew Krok Reviews Editor / Cars
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.
Andrew Krok
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.

Article updated on September 13, 2016 at 9:04 AM PDT

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Andrew Krok Reviews Editor / Cars
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.
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