Electric cars don't need better batteries. America needs better charging networks

[HC_79]

EA should be embarrassed by the number of stories that keep popping up regarding charging issues. You shouldn't have to call EA every time you stop at a charging location to get it to work. This 24/7 world class NOC they speak of clearly doesn't exist because they're not checking the chargers pro-actively it's all reactive when a customer rings with issues.

Lucid, Ford, Mercedes etc. should all be asking for their money back. They clearly gave EA money to offer free charging and the user experience is abysmal

Electric cars don't need better batteries. America needs better charging networks

With electric cars, people often talk about "range anxiety," and how cars with bigger batteries and longer driving ranges will alleviate that. I just drove an electric car from New York City to Atlanta, a distance of about 950 miles, and it taught me something important. The problem really isn't...

www.cnn.com

 

[Tesla2.0]

Checking this CNN link actually got me click elsewhere and see MB EQS. The dash board is really smooth, and even can tell jokes.

 

[HC_79]

The lucid will tell you a lame ass joke as well

“Alexa, tell me a joke”

 

[Tesla2.0]

This power on lighting is as cool as Air.

 

[DeaneG]

EA should be embarrassed by the number of stories that keep popping up regarding charging issues....

I was glad to read that article - someone needs to apply pressure to EA. I wonder if there is a federal watchdog overseeing EA's rollout.

 

[Bus Driver]

Things are also in a pretty abysmal state over at EVGO. I bitched up a storm about attempting to use them in another thread.

 

[AZLucidGuy]

EA is an embarrassment. Need more chargers and maintenance of existing chargers which are broken. Just underscores the strong demand for fast DC charging.

 

[HC_79]

I’ve contacted local representatives. Uptime regulations should be imposed and if they fall below it then they should be fined. There’s no consequences at the moment and EA is just outright lying about how great their network is. As per usual though, with any government representative they only lookout for themselves and not for the good of the country so it will fall on deaf ears.

You can’t take taxpayer money and then just deliver crap. Don’t tell me that EA isn’t going to try and get a slice of that $7.5B pie.

Ford, GM, Lucid, Mercedes, etc should be lobbying the government to get it addressed. Ford introduced Ford Angels to drive around and check chargers because EA was so bad. So it’s just to be accepted that they’re crap.

 

[EVCar]

I wholeheartedly agree.
If the brilliant legal minds and the technical, business leaders on the forum could draft a letter for members to send to our Congress and Senate folks, I'll be the first to do this public service .

 

[Demosthenes]

The lucid will tell you a lame ass joke as well

“Alexa, tell me a joke”

Response: ‘I AM the joke’

 

[cabood]

Driving my AGT for three months. Over 3,000 miles. Haven’t used a public charging station one time.

For all of the software and build quality issues endlessly reported here on the forum - the 500 mile range with 800 hp trumps it all. No need for EA.

 

[whywar]

NYT article on EV charging networks.

A Frustrating Hassle Holding Electric Cars Back: Broken Chargers

Owners of battery-powered cars sometimes struggle to refuel on longer trips because public chargers don’t work or malfunction while cars are plugged in.

www.nytimes.com

Key points:

The money also comes with a requirement that chargers be functional 97 percent of the time and adhere to technical standards for communicating with vehicles. Stations must also have a minimum of four ports that can charge simultaneously and not be limited to any one automotive brand.

 

[DeaneG]

...The money also comes with a requirement that chargers be functional 97 percent of the time...

I wonder if Volkswagen's settlement with the USA (Electrify America) had any such requirement.

 

[EVCar]

From what I can recall, the new bill will have $5 billion to invest in charging infrastructure.
While this is a lot of money for sure, but if the existing EA network costs 2 billions, the 5 billions will help but we probably need a whole lot more to get to the accessibility of gas station networks.

 

[EVCar]

EV drivers aren't happy with public chargers, new survey says. Neither am I

Even the best public charging services aren't good enough, according to new survey that quizzed 11,554 drivers about charging EVs at public stations.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Izzy]

EA should be embarrassed by the number of stories that keep popping up regarding charging issues. You shouldn't have to call EA every time you stop at a charging location to get it to work. This 24/7 world class NOC they speak of clearly doesn't exist because they're not checking the chargers pro-actively it's all reactive when a customer rings with issues.

Lucid, Ford, Mercedes etc. should all be asking for their money back. They clearly gave EA money to offer free charging and the user experience is abysmal

Electric cars don't need better batteries. America needs better charging networks

With electric cars, people often talk about "range anxiety," and how cars with bigger batteries and longer driving ranges will alleviate that. I just drove an electric car from New York City to Atlanta, a distance of about 950 miles, and it taught me something important. The problem really isn't...

www.cnn.com

Mercedez EQS vehicles charging problems. Can be solve by lesving your car on while you charge. This is how the mercdez can enefit from plug and charge. As far as the EA stations not working and showing a message error or error network that a completely different issue. That requires a phone call to EA to have the charging station reset.

 

[s55b30]

Obviously, the ideal is at home level 2 charging. I do agree, however, there needs to be more robust public DCFC infrastructure, and it needs to be held to a higher standard.

I think there's a space in the market (especially as more and more EVs are adopted) for more players in the charging business. It is low profit at the point of charge, but how much would you pay for access to a member's only, DCFC network with clean stations and 95%+ uptime that you still pay a per kw/h rate at? Is it $100 a year? $500?

We have a lower range city car EV at our place in Los Angeles, and rely on public infrastructure for every charge. I actually find the EA stations locally here are fairly reliable most of the time. I can see how if they were less reliable, it'd be a real pain owning an EV.

 

[Snafu]

Mercedez EQS vehicles charging problems. Can be solve by lesving your car on while you charge. This is how the mercdez can enefit from plug and charge. As far as the EA stations not working and showing a message error or error network that a completely different issue. That requires a phone call to EA to have the charging station reset.

I spent a half hour today trying to use a 350kWh (connected and then failed repeatedly) and moved to a 150kWh charging station, which also connected and failed. A call to EA had them reboot the station with no change. Luckily I have a car now that has enough range for me to make it home and charge in my garage. I agree that the networks must meet certain standards with consequences if they do not.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

I spent a half hour today trying to use a 350kWh (connected and then failed repeatedly) and moved to a 150kWh charging station, which also connected and failed. A call to EA had them reboot the station with no change. Luckily I have a car now that has enough range for me to make it home and charge in my garage. I agree that the networks must meet certain standards with consequences if they do not.

This happened to me on older EA ABB units at a location. That location now no longer has complimentary charging, and I had also updated to 2.0.2 on the Lucid, and now that site works, so one or both of those things fixed it. I think the complimentary charging combined with Lucid software was the problem.

 

[BACamster]

Let's hope these charging hubs will be wise spread as Tesla SuperCharger.

America's Charging Experience Is Terrible. Here's How Mercedes-Benz Aims To Fix It

Mercedes-Benz seeks to elevate the public charging experience with its new charging hubs. Is it worth the hype?

insideevs.com