GM promises 2,700 new fast EV chargers to catch up to Tesla's Supercharger network

General Motors is teaming up with the EVgo charging network to add 2,700 fast-charging connectors in cities across the U.S.

The Chevy Bolt EV maker announced the new charging infrastructure Friday, promising to add fast-charging stations in more than 35 cities and suburbs within the next five years. The first batch of stations will open in early 2021. Already EVgo has 800 fast-charging stations, and this partnership should add at least 650 stations by 2025.

Each station usually has at least four charging ports that can juice up EV batteries anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. The new stations will charge at 100 to 350 kilowatts to keep up with faster EV batteries becoming more available in cars.

In a media call ahead of the announcement, EVgo CEO Cathy Zoi explained the company's strategy to focus on stations in metropolitan areas (more specifics on where these stations will open is supposed to be forthcoming) instead of near highways and in rural areas. Zoi said more EV owners live in apartments and rely on public stations. Ride-share and delivery workers are also using EVs more and need access to fast-charging.

The promised expansion comes as Tesla announced a 30-percent increase in Supercharger connectors in the past year. The Tesla-only fast-charging is now at 2,035 public stations with 18,100 individual chargers.

GM CEO Mary Barra alluded to Tesla without mentioning the EV competitor when she clarified that the new EVgo charging stations would be open to all EV drivers, not just those with electric GM vehicles.

"Charging should be open to everyone," she said.