In the early days of cell phones and hand-held personal devices, I had to have a different charger for each device I owned. Today my cell phone charger also charges my bluetooth headset as well as my Nook eReader. The convenience has made owning and maintaining these devices much easier. Imagine if that could be done with electric cars. There are seven major auto makers who are doing just that.
EV Buyer Concerns
Electric vehicles are gaining ground though so far it is just a small toe-hold in the auto market. There have been many things that have held potential buyers at bay. Many car buyers are concerned about the relatively short distance the vehicles can go on a single charge. For many people the distance would be more than enough to get them to work and back home, but what about weekends and vacations. The thought of taking a cross country trip in an EV is exhausting. You’re going to need to stop and charge your vehicle every 100 miles or so. The long charge times are going to extend the length of your drive tremendously, that is if you can find a place to charge up at all.
The Universal EV Charger
Charging an EV is not like gassing up your fossil fuel burning cars. There aren’t EV charging stations on every corner. If you are lucky enough to find a charging station, you may discover that it does not have the correct charger for your make of vehicle. Thanks to 7 major car companies this is about to change. Ford, GM, Volkswagen, Porsche, Daimler, Audi and BMW have teamed up to create a universal EV charging unit. This charger is to become a standard in the industry. It will feature a single connector and communications system that will work on every EV made by these companies. This is a huge win for each of these companies as well as the EV market as a whole.
What It Means For Owners
The universal EV charger will mean that individual companies will not end up having to build electric cars with multiple charging ports. Ultimately it will mean that owners will be able to easily find a place to charge their vehicles. This is the first step to making chargers easily accessible. It will eventually lead to EV chargers being as common as gas pumps.
Becoming The Standard
As of this time, Nissan and Toyota have been oddly quiet on the subject of the universal charger. Nissan is even currently working on a long term project to develop a 10-minute charger. However, history has taught us that standardization, for better or worse, has always won out. I suspect that Nissan and Toyota will fall in line when the universal chargers start showing up all around them.
The EV Future
Despite the early short-comings of electric vehicles, the EV market is growing and the electric cars are selling. Ford is now moving to triple their EV car production to keep up with demand. In a decade we may very well see the balance shifting. Can you feel the changes coming on?