BMW Group, Ford Motor Co. and American Honda Motor Co. Inc. announced on Tuesday that they are creating ChargeScape LLC, a company aiming to create a platform "connecting electric utilities, automakers and interested electric vehicle customers" in the United States and Canada. The automakers said they expect the new company to be operational early next year.
According to the joint statement, ChargeScape will "eliminate the need for individual integrations between each automotive brand and each electric utility." Its platform will provide financial benefits to EV users for charging their vehicles at "grid-friendly" times, and the automakers also plan to offer drivers the "opportunity for even more significant impact" by sharing the energy stored in their EV batteries with the grid during times of peak demand through vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications.