Porsche smartly copies Tesla’s ‘Destination Charging’ model, already over 1,000 stations

We have been saying for a while that when it comes to charging infrastructure, automakers should just copy Tesla’s model. Porsche smartly did with its new Tesla’s “Porsche Destination Charging,” which appears to be inspired by Tesla’s charging network of the same name.

Tesla has two charging networks. The Supercharger network is the best-known, but the automaker has also been operating its “Destination Charging network” for the last five years.

Unlike the Supercharger network, which primarily enables long-distance travel with short charging stops, the Destination Charing network focuses on level 2 charging stations at locations where the drivers are expected to spend more time, like hotels, restaurants, and shopping centers.

The automaker has deployed close to 20,000 charging stations at almost 4,000 locations around the world under its Destination Charging network.

Now Porsche is announcing its own similar initiative: The “Porsche Destination Charging” program.

The German automaker wrote in a press release today:

The charging points are located at selected hotels, airports, museums, shopping malls, sports clubs and marinas. Porsche customers with a Taycan or plug-in hybrid models can charge their vehicles for free at these sites.

They claim to already have “1,035 AC charging stations in around 20 countries,” and they plan to expand quickly.

Martin Urschel, vice president of smart mobility sales & operations at Porsche, commented:

Thanks to ‘Porsche Destination Charging,’ we are adding particularly popular locations to our charging network while also highlighting our claim to be a driver of the expansion of electric mobility. By the end of 2020, we aim to provide a total of 2,000 charging locations.

Much like Tesla’s own Destination Charging network, Porsche offers partners four chargers for free, and it will list the location in its navigation system.

In exchange, the location partners need to pay for the installation and give access to the parking spots and charging for free to Porsche drivers.

Porsche is taking applications now for Europe, and it plans to expand in other markets soon, starting with Brazil.

Electrek’s Take

Great move. We don’t talk about Tesla’s Destination Charging network enough. I think it’s a great asset. I’ve used it about a dozen times, especially at hotels when traveling. I would often find myself choosing a specific hotel because I could easily charge overnight there.

It’s smart of Porsche to build a similar network.

And even if you don’t have or want a Taycan, the good news is that those level 2 charging stations are going to work with any other electric car.