America's largest automotive emergency services provider announced today that it plans to deploy electric-vehicle rapid charging units in its roadside assistance trucks in the Northwest starting in August.
A few days ago, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said the automaker was working with a company to offer the same service in Japan on a trial basis, according to Edmunds.com.
Range anxiety -- the worry that motorists feel about possibly draining their power supply on the road -- is considered the most common barrier to motorists buying electric cars.
As automakers continue to look at new EV technologies to extend battery life and transportation officials move toward creating a network of charging stations, AAA said it “has a fully functioning electric-vehicle mobile charging unit ready to deploy into its roadside assistance operations.”
Unfortunately, that sounds a lot like Darth Vader announcing that the Death Star is “a fully armed and operational battle station” before blowing up a planet.
Get beyond the corporate PR-speak, and this is a positive thing for EV drivers in Oregon, Washington, California and a few other states where the rapid-charging unites will be tested starting in August.
Now, to get really geeky.
The 109-year-old AAA says it has always adapted to new automobile technologies.
"That continues today as we ready AAA’s emergency road service operations to address the emerging electric vehicle market,” said John Nielsen, AAA National Director of Auto Repair, Buying Services and Consumer Information.
Nielsen said AAA will deploy Level 2 and Level 3 mobile charging units.
Let's hope there are Level 3 units, which can charge an EV battery in a matter of minutes. A Level 2 unit can take a couple hours.
--Joseph Rose ? ?
No comments:
Post a Comment