I’m not sure how to categorize this. Ford has its “Ford Charge” network up and running at many Ford/Lincoln dealerships, but they are using existing network providers. It See:
It appears that regardless of the network provider the Ford dealer uses/choses to operate the on-site equipment, non-Ford EV drivers can pay through the new Shell: Fuel, Charge, & More app, notably and confusingly not the still-live (but apparently deprecated?) Shell Recharge app.
This is huge for the U.S., as there are many Ford dealerships located on rural highways away from major population centers, and this might technically make their network larger than Tesla’s (unclear on the percentage of participating dealers compared to the actual number of Ford dealerships). Ford appears to have a uniform requirement for 240W stations, but I can’t confirm that.
That’s a tricky one, in general our Network operator associated with a location is either the business (if it’s a chain and usage is free or private) or it’s whatever app/network the user/driver has to interact with to get a charge.
E.g. we don’t care if siemens (or example) manufactured a unit or provided backend network services, we care more what network the driver has to be a member of/have the app for to get a charge. We also don’t care if it a chain of Wendys or Ikea etc if the driver interacts with some other thing unrelated to that brand to actually get a charge.
So it sounds like these would be considered Shell Recharge (listed as Shell Recharge Solutions (US) in our database).
Looking at this more we would need a way to map one provider with many networks:
https://www.ford.com/support/how-tos/fordpass/blueoval-charge-network/what-is-the-ford-blueoval-charge-network/
For the end user though they presumably know if they have access to the specific network (e.g. Shell Recharge) but could encounter a charger they don’t have access to (e.g. Blink)?
I see, researching this more that does complicate it as there are the two related, but separate, entities:
- Ford Charge Network: The physical network of public DC fast chargers located at Ford dealerships accessible to both Ford EV owners (via the FordPass app as part of the BlueOval service) and non-Ford EV owners (through Shell’s new app).
- BlueOval Charge Network: A subscription service for Ford EV owners that aggregates access and payment to multiple charging networks (listed in the link you and I posted)—including the Ford Charge network and participating third-party networks—exclusively through the FordPass app. The FordPass app requires Ford ownership (or at least being registered to a VIN).
Making it trickier, though Ford is using Shell to operate the public payment backend, Ford Charge locations are not listed as part of the Shell Recharge network. For example, at this station: Shottenkirk Ford Lincoln, the Shell app is the only way for non-Ford owners to pay. However, if within the Shell app you select the filter to display only Shell Recharge stations instead of all public stations, it will hide Ford Charge along with all other non-Shell Recharge stations; likewise Shell does not list any Ford Charge stations in their directory of locations (not exhaustively verified).
I believe listing the Ford Charge network as Shell Recharge would be confusing, and result in many reports and corrections.