Japanese Mobile EV Charge station
US announcement follows similar Japanese announcement
AAA today told Edmund’s AutoObserver that they would introduce a mobile electric car charge truck at the Plug In 2011 conference in Raleigh, North Carolina next month. This follows closely on the heels of a similar announcement made in Japan (mobile service truck pictured above). AAA states that both Level 2 and Level 3 charge options will be available, with the Level 3 charger offering the CHAdeMO connector to be found on LEAF, the upcoming Mitsubishi I, and potentially future EVs as well. States offering the service initially will include California, Florida, Georgia, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington.
There have already been reports of LEAF owners running out of juice – some unintentionally, and others intentionally to draw attention to the limited range capability of an electric vehicle (EV). No one seems to mention that internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles also operate within a limited range. It just happens to be a greater limited range. Yet somehow when a driver runs out of gasoline, it does not make the news. We would wager that it probably did in 1908.
IMHO, it would be silly for a Leaf driver to deliberately run out of electricity, to protest (and create publicity for) a shortage of charging stations. I mean—would you then also deliberately run your ICE out of gas to protest a shortage of gas stations in your area?
Sorry Neil – you’re right. It was late when I wrote this post, and I was thinking of the journalists that had run the LEAF “dry” intentionally to draw attention to its limited range. Naturally, they are not owners. It does make us wonder though… how many may become owners over the next ten years?