One of the key advantages Tesla seems to hold over its competition in the electric car world is, without a doubt, the charging infrastructure. The Tesla Superchargers are a game changer as they allow owners to replenish the amount of electrons in their batteries quickly, easily, and almost everywhere, as long as you’re in the US. Other car makers have acknowledged this problem and started working on their own solutions, like BMW and Daimler with their Digital Charging Solutions company.

Tired of waiting for the local governments to invest in charging infrastructure, the German car makers decided to take matters into their own hands. DCS has been available for a while now but this week it got an upgrade as BMW and Daimler cut in new partner, BP, in a bid to extend and improve the charging network available to customers. Under their agreement, BP will become a 33.3% partner alongside BMW and Daimler in DCS. BP’s acquisition of the stake in DCS will be subject to regulatory approval. The terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

“A sufficient charging infrastructure is key to wider acceptance of electrification. With BP, the BMW Group and Daimler Mobility AG have on board a partner who offers a strong brand and customer focus with an extensive European ultra-fast charging network, as well as retail sites. We strongly support an open and full-coverage charging network, as this is a clear benefit for our customers,” adds Rainer Feurer, Senior Vice President of Investments at the BMW Group.

The agreement means that BP’s European charging networks will be integrated into the DCS’s network as well as fuel and charge for fleet customers, as a first step. BP is planning to have 70,000 charging points available worldwide by 2030. They currently have around 8,700 charging points in Europe and its UK network, BP pulse, is already the most used EV charging network in the country.

The company is also rapidly growing its network of ultra-fast chargers and plans to have around 250 ultra-fast chargers operating at BP retail sites in the UK and 500 ultra-fast charging points across its retail sites in Germany by year end. DCS customers will gain access to these additional charging points and BP will gain access to a wider customer base. DCS currently has 228,000 charging points in 32 markets.