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Two electric-car charging companies have landed multimillion-dollar investments as Tesla Motors Inc. and General Motors Co. outline new moves to significantly expand their electric-vehicle strategies.

Vision Ridge Partners LLC said Thursday it has acquired a majority stake in NRG Energy Inc.'s EVgo charging business for $50 million. EVgo is building a network of fast-charging stations in cities across the country. Vision Ridge will pay NRG $19.5 million and invest the rest in EVgo.

The announcement comes a day after ChargePoint Inc., which currently has the world's largest electric-car charging network, said it received $50 million in a recently completed funding round. The Campbell, Calif.-based company has raised more than $164 million since its start in 2007. ChargePoint operates 28,000 charging locations throughout North America, while EVgo has about 665 stations in the U.S.

"There are strong signals coming from the electric car market," Reuben Munger, managing partner of Vision Ridge, said. "Sales have continued to hold up despite low gas prices. You are seeing the advent of longer-range vehicles and, with the Tesla layer, there is more volume coming out."

Tesla said Wednesday it was stepping up its production plans and now plans to build 500,000 of its electric vehicles in 2018 rather than 2020. Meanwhile, GM and Lyft Inc. will begin testing a fleet of self-driving Chevrolet Bolt electric taxis on public roads within a year, a Lyft executive said. The Bolt is an electric car that launches later this year and promises to go 200 miles on a full charge.

Lyft expects drivers to increasingly use of the Bolt at its rental hubs. Currently, GM and Lyft rent the Chevy Equinox to drivers who need vehicles in Chicago. That program will expand to more cities and lean heavily on the Bolt.

Despite the electric-vehicle buzz, sales remain small. Electric and hybrid-electric vehicles account for less than 2% of the vehicles sold in the U.S., according to Edmunds.

Still, that hasn't slowed some states like California from preparing for an electric-vehicle world. The state's energy commission last month approved nearly $9 million in grants for the installation of fast-chargers along major freeways and highways. The grants went to four companies including EVgo and ChargePoint Inc.

Mike Ramsey contributed to this article.

Write to Jeff Bennett at jeff.bennett@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2016 15:35 ET (19:35 GMT)

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