Volkswagen AG, BMW AG and Ford Motor Co plan to set up a European network for the speedy charging of electric-car batteries as the auto manufacturers seek to overcome customer resistance to the vehicles.

The partnership, which will also include Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG, aims to establish "thousands" of stations along European highways by 2020, the automakers said on Tuesday in a statement.

With an initial target of about 400 sites, the group plans to start the rollout in 2017, deploying technology that will be "significantly faster" than current setups.