The strategic partnership with the New Zealand firm foresees investing up to 450 million euros ($490 million) to build nearly 8,000 charging stations in public parking lots through 2030, adding to the estimated 9,500 rapid charging points currently in operation in France.

"It is the most ambitious development programme for ultra-fast charging stations in France today," EDF's director of strategy and development for client services Jean-Philippe Laurent told AFP.

The charging stations are aimed at both car owners who don't have a charging station at home and those who need to recharge while travelling.

The partnership will see the two companies create a joint venture that will build charging points on the parking lots of shops, gyms, restaurants and hotels that don't want to invest in putting one in themselves.

French legislation is requiring commercial centres and movie theatres to install electricity lines to their parking lots to permit the construction of EV charging stations.

More than 1.5 million battery electric and rechargeable hybrid vehicles are on French roads. While more than 120,000 rechargers were available to the public in January 2024, only eight percent were ultra-fast chargers that can recharge a car up to 80 percent within 30 minutes.

The government hopes 15 percent of private cars will be electric by 2030, which means an additional 5.7 million EVs hitting French roads between now and the end of the decade.

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EDF - ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE