Mercedes sells its European fast-charging network to Electra

That target now looks out of reach. Mercedes's finances are under pressure, and the company chose to sell the network rather than cut further into its workforce. Carmaker-run charging networks have struggled to balance their books, which made keeping this one hard to justify.

What changes for Mercedes drivers

Customers do not lose their charging perks. Electra becomes a "Premium Partner" of Mercedes, ranking just behind Ionity, and Mercedes owners will get a preferential price per kilowatt-hour. The discount applies not only to the newly acquired stations but to Electra's whole network, which comes to nearly 5,000 charge points across 800 stations in Europe.

Electra does not plan to stop there. Paul Tonini, managing director of Electra's German arm, said the company will continue to grow organically and is also looking at interesting charging networks available on the market. Nico Dettmer, head of charging solutions at Mercedes, said the aim is to offer customers a seamless and outstanding experience, whatever the powertrain.

The sale shows how hard it is for automakers to make proprietary charging networks pay, and it points to a model built on partnerships with specialist operators instead.