As our electric car lives currently stand at the moment, Tesla is the only U.S. automaker with its own nationwide Supercharger network, although that may soon change according to a recently uncovered trademark filing from Ford. In those documents, Ford Motor Company aimed to trademark “Fastor Charge” as the name for its equivalent fast charging network with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
A detailed description of the use for the trademark covers “charging station services for electric vehicles; battery charging services; vehicle service stations.”
As of April 7, the trademark is currently in the “Published for Opposition” status. It’s not fully approved yet, as members of the public who believe this trademark application infringes on their own intellectual property rights can appeal Ford’s filing with the USPTO’s appeal board. The company, whose corporation is legally based in Delware, filed for the trademark on July 10, 2018 — presumably as work was already underway for the upcoming Mustang Mach-E electric crossover.
The folks over at Mach-E Club noticed the trademark filing, and noted that Ford does have active partnerships with other EV charging firms as part of its FordPass Charging Network. Electrify America, Ionity (in Europe) and Electrify Canada are among some of the companies Ford is working with. However, their post speculates that Ford may be working on its own Level 3 DC fast charging network in-house for owners to use. In that regard, it would be one of the major competitors to Tesla’s Supercharger infrastructure.
Notably, the trademark application does not try to exercise any exclusive rights over a “Faster Charge” name or logo. This document specifically applies to the logo shown on the USPTO publication (which we won’t show here for legal reasons), and Ford may or may not end up actually using it if it builds out its own in-house fast charging network.
Both Ford and Lincoln plan to offer more electrified models in the coming years. As the market continues to evolve, we’ll know more about Ford’s plans to help its customers with places to charge. At the moment, there’s no official word from the Blue Oval on a “Fastor Charge” network, but we’ll post updates if any new information emerges.
In the meantime, check out more on the upcoming Mustang Mach-E below:
