IONNA, the US fast-charging network owned by eight of the world's biggest carmakers, now has more than 180 charging sites open across America. That's more than double what it had at the start of 2026, the company said on Wednesday 30 September US time.

IONNA now calls itself the largest 400 kW charging network in the US. It also came first among fast-charging providers in J.D. Power's 2026 US public charging satisfaction study, in its first year of eligibility. And drivers of four of its owners' brands now get a discount when they plug in.

Who's behind IONNA

IONNA is a joint venture set up by BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Toyota. Between them, those eight companies sell a big share of the new cars in North America. They built IONNA to give their electric car customers a fast, reliable place to charge, and it's open to drivers of any brand.

Photo: Mjrmtg / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

The company's based in Durham, North Carolina. It calls its charging stations "Rechargeries", and it pitches them on their amenities as well as their speed. The chargers use Alpitronic hardware running IONNA's own software, Electrek reported, and they're rated at up to 400 kW.

That's a lot of power. Plenty of electric cars on sale today can't take in that much, so for many drivers the car, not the charger, will set the pace.

More than 180 IONNA sites, and 40 at Circle K

The network has grown quickly this year. IONNA said it passed 180 live sites nationwide, more than doubling since the start of the year.

A big part of that growth comes from Circle K, the convenience store and fuel chain. IONNA announced a partnership with Circle K in April, and since then it's brought more than 40 Circle K charging locations online. IONNA said usage at those sites doubled after it upgraded them and took over running them.

There's a lot more to come at Circle K alone. Electrek reported that IONNA aims to bring its charging to more than 350 Circle K locations. That includes about 85 existing fast-charging sites it'll upgrade and run. The Circle K rollout uses 400 kW chargers with two plugs. One is NACS, which Tesla designed and most carmakers are now adopting in North America. The other is the older CCS plug.

That matters if you've just bought an electric car and don't want to think about adapters. Both plug types are covered at the same stall.

Top of the J.D. Power charging study

For public charging, being good matters as much as being big. Broken chargers, failed payments and slow sessions have been among the biggest complaints from US EV drivers for years.

That's why IONNA is leaning on its J.D. Power result. It ranked first among DC fast-charging providers in J.D. Power's 2026 US Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study, the first year it was eligible to be included.

"The industry has treated charging scale and charging quality as a tradeoff. Our growth and first-place customer satisfaction ranking show that drivers can and should expect both," IONNA chief executive Seth Cutler said in the company's announcement. "The IONNA team is focused on delivering quality at scale to enable the sale and adoption of EVs in North America."

Electrek asked Cutler what he saw as the company's biggest challenge from here. He said it was keeping quality high while the network grows fast.

Discounts and a driver council, without a new app

IONNA has made an unusual call for a charging company. It doesn't have its own app, and it isn't building one.

Instead, it's plugging into apps drivers already use. IONNA said new tie-ups with Presto, ChargeHub and EV Connect take its list of supported partner apps to 19.

It's also leaning on Plug & Charge. That's a standard that lets a compatible car identify itself and pay automatically once it's plugged in. There's no app to open and no card to tap. Volvo drivers now have Plug & Charge on IONNA, and IONNA said support for Toyota and Lexus is expected in October.

The discounts work the same way. Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz drivers have joined BMW and GM drivers in getting money off IONNA charging through their carmaker's app and Plug & Charge. Electrek reported that the Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz discounts are 10% and started on 1 October. IONNA said its remaining founding carmakers will join soon.

The company has also launched a Driver's Dashboard. A driver scans a QR code on the charger's screen and gets real-time details of their charging session. Again, there's nothing to download.

IONNA has also set up a Driver Advisory Council, to give EV owners a formal say in how the network runs. Two well-known US EV reviewers are leading it: Kyle Conner of the Out of Spec channel and Tom Moloughney of State of Charge.

The council's first job is gathering feedback on the new Driver's Dashboard. IONNA said it'll also give structured input on network performance, customer priorities and future products.

The next step reaches into car showrooms. From the first quarter of 2027, IONNA plans to send ambassadors to dealerships of its eight owners to teach staff about EV charging, Electrek reported. Electrek's reporter, Michelle Lewis, said that from her own experience there's a lot of room for dealerships to get better at EVs, and that this affects what buyers decide.

Why it matters beyond the US

IONNA only operates in North America, but its approach is worth watching from Australia. Our public charging network has been filling in, too. On the busy east-coast and south-eastern routes, the Hume, Pacific, Bruce and Western highways have no big fast-charger gaps any more, while the Stuart Highway still has the longest one.

The lesson from IONNA's year is that carmakers working together can build charging quickly and keep drivers happy at the same time. They're doing it with standard plugs, other companies' apps and automatic payment. With more than 180 sites open, a first-place satisfaction ranking and more Circle K stations on the way, IONNA has more than doubled in nine months. Its owners say the rest of their brands will soon be offering discounts too.