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Fleet customers may be intrigued by the low operating costs and green credentials offered by the new Ford Transit Connect Electric, but they may be concerned by the lack of charging infrastructure in the U.S. To help rectify this problem, Ford and Coulomb Technologies are pairing up to install nearly 4600 charging stations across the U.S.
“Infrastructure is a key for the growing electric vehicle market,” Mike Tinskey, manager of Ford’s sustainability group, told Automotive News.”We have a bit of an infrastructure challenge in front of us, and we think this project will help enable the early adopters.”
Ford’s Blue Oval ChargePoint Program is incorporated into Coulomb’s ChargePoint America project. In the first phase of the program, the two companies will install 4600 charging stations in nine regions: Austin, Texas, Detroit, Michigan, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Francisco, California, New York City, Orlando, Florida, Redmond, Washington, and Washington D.C.
The program will allocate and install chargers for both private use and public access. Roughly 2000 home chargers will be given to Ford customers — notably those who purchase the Transit Connect EV — while the remaining 2600 chargers will be installed across the aforementioned cities. Residents can log onto Coulomb’s website to request/plead for a specific installation site. Ford is also moving to install EV charging stations across its dealer network — important, especially when the Focus BEV reaches the market in 2012.
The ChargePoint program is funded largely by a $15 million-grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Transportation Electrification Initiative. Because of the DOE’s involvement, Coulomb is required to have its early-adopter stations installed and operational in most regions by 2011 — just in time for the market launches of both the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf.
Source: Ford, Automotive News (Subscription required)
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