(Reuters) -Ford Motor said on Monday it would add more of Tesla's Superchargers to its electric-vehicle charging network, higher than previously forecast, as automakers tap into the EV leader's sprawling charger network to expand the range of their cars.
Ford will now add over 15,000 of Tesla's Superchargers to its network, up from its earlier projection of 12,000 chargers.
The U.S. automaker said it would expand its BlueOval Charge Network in North America by 25% to over 106,000 chargers totally.
The addition of more chargers offers some relief to EV owners who have for years considered access to charging stations to be one of the main hurdles for purchasing a battery-powered vehicle.
Ford said customers can access three new charging providers: Francis Energy, Blink and Red E across the U.S. and Canada, with embedded charger routing and simple payment options via FordPass.
These three providers would bring more than 10,000 new chargers to the network, including more than 550 new DC fast chargers.
While details of pricing were not disclosed, the fast chargers, capable of adding hundreds of miles of driving range in an hour or less will be available to Ford EV customers via an adapter from next spring, the company said in the statement.
BlueOval combines multiple charging networks to provide access to the largest North American public charging network offered by automotive manufacturers. It includes providers such as Shell Recharge Solutions, Electrify America, EVgo and ChargePoint.
The development comes months after Ford struck a deal with Tesla to allow EV owners gain access to the biggest network of high-speed Superchargers in the United States in early 2024.
The tie-up between the rivals also made Ford the first major automaker to embrace Tesla's proprietary charging standard.
(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram and Priyamvada C in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
