Toyota and EVgo on Tuesday announced the opening of new DC fast-charging stations for underserved communities.
Located in Baldwin Park and Sacramento, California, the fast chargers are part of Toyota’s Empact plan for making electric vehicles more accessible to communities not reached by previous infrastructure projects, such as those in urban areas with limited off-street parking and higher population density in multi-family dwellings.
Toyota and EVgo Empact EV fast-charging stations for underserved communities
Situated in “amenity-rich areas” with nearby grocery stores, restaurants, shopping malls, and other places one might drive to, the charging stations can serve up to eight vehicles each and feature 350-kw chargers exclusively, according to a Toyota press release. That’s well beyond the sub-150-kw peak of the current Toyota bZ4X, but various other brands already offer EVs that can take advantage of that level of charging power.
In the past EVgo has partnered with General Motors to focus on urban EV ownership—and these locations appear sited at least in part for some of the same reasons. It’s unclear if this Toyota installation applies any California money made available for charger installations in underserved communities. The state is pushing ahead with charger buildout despite the Trump Administration’s attempt to freeze federal funds.
Toyota and EVgo Empact EV fast-charging stations for underserved communities
Toyota has touted some big plans for fast charging through the implementation of solid-state batteries. The automaker said in 2023 that future solid-state batteries could be charged from 10-80% in 10 minutes or less—likely taking advantage of that higher peak power. It’s still planning to commercialize them later this decade, but likely in low volumes.
Toyota is also funding the Ionna network with seven other automakers. Ionna opened its first location in 2024, and aims for 30,000 charging connectors across North America by 2030.
