DC Rapid Charging
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Tesla is in talks with gas-station chain Sheetz regarding installation of DC fast-charging stations.
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CHAdeMO DC fast-charging to run at up to 150 kilowatts, starting in 2017
The CHAdeMO DC fast-charging standard will soon support 150-kW charging.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Model 3 owners will pay to use Superchargers, cost TBD
In the beginning, the use of Tesla's nascent network of Supercharger DC fast-charging sites wasn't going to be free. Not for owners of the less-expensive Model S 40 and 60 versions, at least: if they wanted to use the Supercharger network, they paid a $2,500 fee up front. But demand for the...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Added 50 Percent More Supercharger Sites Last Year
Tesla now has 591 Supercharger sites.
Stephen Edelstein -
GM Won't Fund CCS Fast-Charging Sites For 2017 Chevy Bolt EV
The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has received largely positive reviews for the production version unveiled last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. And as the first affordable 200-mile electric car, expected to go on sale before the end of this year, it will likely reset consumer...
John Voelcker -
Nissan, BMW Partner To Provide More Fast-Charging For Electric Cars
Nissan and BMW claim to have add DC fast-charging stations at 120 locations in 19 states.
Stephen Edelstein -
As DC fast-charging networks emerge as a crucial battleground for long-range electric cars, BMW will expand its ChargeNow program for owners of its i3 electric hatchback. Announced last week at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the expanded program will give those drivers access to 500 additional DC fast-charging sites in the EVgo network operated by utility company NRG. The 500 additional DC fast-charging stations are to be open by the end of 2018, joining more than 100 EVgo DC Fast Combo stations operating in California since July 2014. DON'T MISS: Audi e-Tron Electric Car To Offer 150-kW Quick...
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One-Quarter Of All Audis To Be Electric In 10 Years, Company Says
It was an audacious statement, but there it was. Audi expects that 25 percent of the cars it sells just 10 years hence will be either battery-electric or plug-in hybrid models. And it came directly from Scott Keogh, president of Audi of America, in front of a packed media audience at the Los...
John Voelcker -
Buying An Electric Car: Why Charging Rate, DC Quick-Charging Matter
We all know how to compare horsepower, acceleration, and gas mileage. Practical car buyers know to look at cargo volume, too. But when it comes to buying your first electric car, there are a few things you need to know about charging. Like the better-known measurements, the rate at which a plug-in...
John Voelcker -
How VW Can Atone For Diesel Deception: Electric-Car Advocate's Thoughts
The full impact of Volkswagen's diesel-emission cheating scandal has yet to be realized, but what it has apparently already admitted to doing could result in the largest civil fine ever levied by the Federal government on an automaker. And that's just the beginning. Besides paying civil penalties...
Tom Moloughney -
Tesla Letter To Rein In Local Supercharger Use Goes Wrong
Last month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced a change in Tesla’s Supercharging philosophy. Instead of “free forever” (the phrase the company has used since the beginning), Musk said the Supercharger promise is now “free long-distance travel forever” Superchargers, the...
David Noland -
Life With Tesla Model S: Does Supercharging Cut Battery Capacity?
Last month, my wife and I took my 2013 Tesla Model S on a day trip from our home in New York’s Hudson Valley to Brattleboro, Vermont, a distance of 180 miles. We picked up our daughter, charged the 85-kilowatt-hour battery up to 98 percent at the Brattleboro Supercharger, and returned home...
David Noland -
While fast charging for electric cars is still nonexistent--or just starting to roll out--across much of the country, California leads the way. And the state capital of Sacramento now has such stations installed both by private vendors and the local public utility, Sacramento Metropolitan Utility District (SMUD). That makes the city one of the first in the U.S. to be served by multiple suppliers for DC quick charging stations. DON'T MISS: BMW, VW, ChargePoint To Build 100 CCS Fast-Charging Sites For Electric Cars (Jan 2015) As of early June 2015, there are now 14 DC fast charger locations...
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Liquid-Cooled Cable Could Speed Up Tesla Supercharging Even More (Video Added!)
A Tesla Supercharger station with a liquid-cooled cable is being tested in California.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Supercharger Network Growth Surges Over Last 14 Months
One of the main advantages of the Tesla Model S is its relative freedom from “range anxiety,” at least in the 85-kilowatt-hour battery pack of the higher-end versions. Rated by the EPA at 265 miles, that range compares to ratings of 62 to about 90 miles in less expensive plug-in...
George Parrott -
Tesla Model S Cross-Country Trip, Without (Many) Superchargers: Days 8-10
After seven days of traveling cross-country in my Tesla Model S electric car--including routes without Supercharger DC fast-charging sites--I had made it as far as Texas. The trip demanded both forward planning and considerable thought toward contingencies, should conditions not permit the Tesla to...
David Noland -
Tesla Model S Cross-Country Trip, Without (Many) Superchargers: Days 4-7
A cross-country road trip in a Tesla Model S electric car requires a fair amount of forward planning and contingency research. Still, I made it from New York's cold, snowy Hudson Valley into the warm, humid climes of Alabama in my first three days--as I wrote about yesterday. Then, waking up on Day...
David Noland -
Tesla Model S Cross-Country Trip, Without (Many) Superchargers: Days 1-3
With our daughter off to college, my wife and I recently became empty-nesters. Suddenly, there was no more reason to endure the wretched winters in New York’s Hudson Valley. California, here we come: We rented a cottage for February and March in the small beach town of Carpinteria, an hour...
David Noland -
As electric-car drivers know, Nissan and Tesla remain far ahead of other carmakers in availability of DC fast-charging locations for their cars. Now, growing sales of U.S. and German plug-in models that use a different standard have led their owners to complain about the lack of sites to fast-charge their new cars. That's about to change. DON'T MISS: Europe Storms Ahead On CCS Fast Charging, U.S. Lags Behind At today's Washington Auto Show, BMW and Volkswagen announced that they would partner with the ChargePoint network to build almost 100 fast-charging sites using the Combined Charging...
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West Coast Electric Highway Serves Thousands Of Electric-Car Drivers
While the bulk of the battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars sold today have a range of less than 100 miles, that doesn't stop some owners from using them for longer trips. The secret is to use DC quick-charging stations, which can recharge an electric car's battery pack to about 80 percent of...
John Voelcker -
Tesla, BMW Chat Over Possible Partnership, Elon Musk Says
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says his company is talking to BMW about a partnership on charging stations, batteries, and lightweight materials.
Stephen Edelstein -
Now That's Combo Quick Charging: CHAdeMO, CCS, Tesla Supercharger
An Italian charging site includes both Tesla Supercharger and multi-standard CHAdeMO/CCS stations.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Passes 200 Supercharger Sites, Only 60 Percent In U.S.
Tesla Motors opened its 200th Supercharger station in Oxnard, California.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Superchargers Now Opening Fast, Cross-Country Route Close
After a disappointing 2013, a year in which Tesla fell short of ambitious goals for expanding its Supercharger network, the company has picked up the pace remarkably. Just last week, seven new Superchargers came on line, the latest of a wave of 40 of the proprietary Supercharger DC fast-charging...
David Noland