After Emissions Scandal, Volkswagen Pledges Charging Stations Across The US (siliconvalley.com)

Here's how the Volkswagen emissions scandal ends in California -- and the rest of America. An anonymous reader quotes the Bay Area News Group: In a decision with lasting implications for the growth of electric vehicles, state regulators on Thursday approved Volkswagen's plan to invest nearly $1 billion in California's EV network as penalty for its diesel-emission cheating scandal... San Jose and San Francisco are two of six cities slated for expanded community charging stations. A Volkswagen subsidiary, Electrify America, also will target low-income communities for at least 35 percent of the projects... The first phase calls for $120 million to build 400 charging stations with between 2,000 and 3,000 chargers. About $75 million will be used to develop a high-speed, highway charging network, mostly consisting of 150 kilowatt fast-chargers. The other $45 million will build community charging stations in six metro areas: San Jose, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Los Angeles and San Diego. Another $44 million will build a "Green City" in Sacramento. It will provide access to zero-emission vehicles to low-income residents, through ride-sharing and other programs. As part of the 10-year comprehensive plan, Electrify America will build a nationwide network of fast-charging stations with universal technology.
That nationwide network is expected to cost another $2 billion.

Comments

Time to regulate

[bobstreo]

Charging stations and connectors.

I want one standard for charging, and one type of connector, so I can drive up to any charging station without worrying about it being the wrong kind.

It's almost as bad as if Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Toyota and Honda had special stations that only worked with their cars.

Re:Time to regulate

[Smidge204]

The standard is SAE J1772-2009.

The only EV manufacturer that doesn't have a J1772 port is Tesla, but they still include an adapter for it.

Some US manufacturers want to use the CCS1 plug style, which is backwards-compatible with J1772.
=Smidge=

Re:Time to regulate

[AmiMoJo]

Standards like CHAdeMO and CCS allow the vehicle to tell the charger what voltage to produce and query the maximum available current.

The chargers use switch mode power supplies too convert AC to DC with high efficiency. They can produce a wide range of voltages.

Re:Low income communities

[mentil]

Low-income area means people who can only afford a used Corolla, not a new $35k car. Those subsidies are going bye-bye long before the lower classes are going to be able to afford electric cars (and of course, a tax credit means nothing if your net income tax each year is $0.)

Not the real reason

[campuscodi]

Their not doing it to make amends. The EV market is growing, they're just laying the groundwork for their future business.

Too late for VW

[NineNine]

It's too late for everybody who isn't named "Tesla". Tesla's got over 100,000 charging stations installed already. Tesla's chargers are going to be the de facto standard at this point.

Looks good on paper.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

Charging stations will offer the most powerful and advanced charging technology ever deployed. 350 kW charging has the capability to add about 20 miles of range per minute to a vehicle, allowing up to300 miles of fuel to be added in only 15-20 minutes for some next generation vehicles

Also not vendor locked, the chargers will not be proprietary.

Re:Low income communities

[AmiMoJo]

EV batteries last the lifetime of the car anyway. By the time the battery is worn out, the car will have fallen apart around it.

Taxi companies have Leafs with over 200k miles and >80% remaining. Some Tesla owners are over 400k with the same.

If you can get a home charger and the range is okay, used EV, especially a Leaf, is a great cheap car. Maintenance is low, fuel costs are low, and the buy price is ridiculously low.