Thinking of buying an electric vehicle? Here's what you need to know about charging
CLOSE When Macy Claprood was making the commute to Miami for her summer job, she glanced at the instrument panel in her Nissan Leaf and realized she had to fill up - on electricity. Claprood, 21, of Fort Lauderdale, had to stop halfway at a mall parking lot to top off the batteries in her electric car.
From article, (Claprood paid $10 each time she used a station to recharge her Nissan Leaf in Miami — and appreciates the savings. On the Fort Lauderdale-to-Miami commute she was making last summer to her job teaching lifeguard lessons, she estimates she would have spent about $20 round-trip on gas in a conventional car.
That's one reason she loves her Leaf, which tops out at an electric range of about 107 miles.
"The gas just costs so much money," she said. "It definitely pays off."
Most electric-car drivers are like her, using public charging stations only when they occasionally need them. They love the quiet power that their cars provide.
“I don’t know that I could ever go back to gas,” Claprood said. “I like the car.”
With the current shortfall of charging stations, though, electric-car drivers admit to a hassle factor
More stations are coming, potentially making things easier for Claprood. Tesla is tripling its fleet of fast-chargers by the end of 2018, Volkswagen is spending heavily on new stations, and the U.S. government is backing new infrastructure plans, among many other investments. But it’s not clear if they will be enough.
Hoping to go electric? Here's what to expect:
Volkswagen’s emissions scandal turned out to be good news for electric-car charging.
The German automaker agreed to invest $2 billion over 10 years in U.S. electric-car infrastructure, including new stations and educational initiatives, as part of a federal settlement over its diesel emissions scandal.
Mark McNabb, CEO of the VW-funded Electrify America program, said the company is spending $500 million apiece in four 30-month cycles. The first round of investments is focusing heavily on installation of stations in 17 metro areas, including six in California.
And the terms of the settlement prevent VW from favoring its own technology.
Tesla continues to develop its own nationwide network of electric-car stations, dubbed superchargers. Usage is free to buyers of the company’s Model S sedan and Model X crossover for the first 1,000 miles annually and available to buyers of the new, lower-priced Model 3 for a fee.
The company started 2017 with 5,000 superchargers globally and projected in April that it would finish the year with 10,000. CEO Elon Musk told analysts in August that the company would triple its network by 2018.
Some Tesla superchargers have been busy for long periods, angering owners. But Musk said in August that “we're confident that will address the supercharging needs of S, X and 3.”
Tesla vehicles can also charge at public outlets and in the home.
The Tesla Model 3, which began shipping to customers this fall at a starting price of $35,000 before tax incentives, is able to travel at least 220 miles on a charge. Musk originally projected weekly production of 5,000 vehicles by the end of December but has since revised that target to the end of the second quarter after hitting manufacturing snags.
GM's Bolt, which is available for sale nationwide for $37,500 before incentives, goes at least 238 miles on a charge. Most major automakers are working on longer-range electric vehicles at similar or even lower prices.
Since the average commute is about 25 miles per day, “running out of energy is just not going to be that common,” said John Nielsen, managing director of automotive engineering for AAA.)
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