Drivers along Interstate 5 on the West Coast will be able to charge their electric vehicles at more than 100 Starbucks locations along the way. The coffee chain and Mercedes-Benz announced Wednesday they will electrify a 1,400-mile route along the highway that runs from the Mexican border in San Ysidro, California, to the Canadian border near Blaine, Washington.

What You Need To Know

  • Drivers along Interstate 5 on the West Coast will be able to charge their electric vehicles at more than 100 Starbucks locations along the way

  • The coffee chain and Mercedes-Benz announced Wednesday they will electrify a 1,400-mile route along the highway that runs from the Mexican border in San Ysidro, California, to the Canadian border near Blaine, Washington

  • The 400-kilowatt fast chargers will be located at Starbucks in urban areas as well as so-called charging deserts that currently lack places to plug in an EV

  • The chargers will be available to customers, the general public and owners of all EV brands

“We envision a future where charging your vehicle is as easy as enjoying your favorite Starbucks,” Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging CEO Andrew Cornelia said in a statement.

The 400-kilowatt fast chargers will be located at Starbucks in urban areas as well as so-called charging deserts that currently lack places to plug in an EV. Drivers do not need to purchase anything from Starbucks to use the EV chargers, according to the company. They will be equally available to customers and members of the public. The chargers will also be available to owners of all EV brands.

Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging opened its first site in November 2023 and has since launched a dozen locations in Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky. The company plans to expand to almost half of the states in the next 12 to 18 months.

Last December, Starbucks announced it had partnered with Volvo Car USA to open 50 fast EV chargers at 15 of its locations situated along a 1,350-mile route between Denver and Seattle. They were the first public EV chargers to be co-located with the coffee chain. The chargers are located about 100 miles apart along a route connecting Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Colorado. The chargers can add about 110 miles of range in 15 minutes.

A J.D. Power survey last year found customer satisfaction with public chargers had dropped to its lowest level since the research firm began its annual EV Experience Public Charging Study in 2021. Skepticism about public charging availability is the No. 1 reason vehicle shoppers do not buy electric vehicles, according to J.D. Power.