Good guy Nissan has done the state of Michigan a solid. The brand has announced two new public electric vehicle charging stations have been built in the towns of Novi and Howell, along Interstate 96.
Both stations are located at USA 2 GO convenience stores and offer easy charging access along one of Michigan’s busiest freeways. We say “good guy Nissan” because any make or model may use the charging stations. Meanwhile, GM has yet to support much charging infrastructure nationwide.
“Nissan is dedicated to building a convenient EV charging infrastructure across the U.S. While it’s not a priority for everyone, we firmly believe a robust infrastructure is key to the growth of EVs,” said JeSean Hopkins, senior manager, EV infrastructure strategy & business development, Nissan North America. “Adding these fast chargers to Michigan’s EV infrastructure will benefit all regional EV owners, regardless of make or model.”
Each charging station is made possible through an EVgo and GoSpace partnership. Each and every DC fast charging station in the state of Michigan has Nissan’s fingerprints on it—55 percent of fast charging stations in the United States have had some Nissan influence as well.
Nissan will take GM head-on with the reveal of the 2018 Nissan Leaf. The electric vehicle will be revealed later this year and will likely be the Bolt EV’s most direct rival.
Comments
Nissan still uses CHAdeMO but the official U.S. standard for fast DC charging is the SAE J1772 CCS, which all the other EV manufacturers will use (including Tesla Motors with a special adapter). GM doesn’t make “energy sources” such as charging stations or even gasoline stations. If Nissan is that desperate to put money up for charging their Leafs, good for them. All the other brands will cooperate for the SAE stations.
I’ve been driving a Leaf since 2011. My experience has been GM dealers will not allow anyone but GM plugins to charge. However, I’ve seen Chevy Volts charging at my local Nissan dealer and I’ve personally charged at VW and Ford dealerships. By the way I see far more CHAdeMo DC chargers than CCS. Fortunately, most new L-3 DC fast chargers offer both. Including those being installed by Nissan. I’m not anti-GM. I think the Volt is the best hybrid on the market and from what I’ve read (the Bolt isn’t available in my area yet) the Bolt is a great car. A rising tide raises all boats and I do believe an open, welcoming dealership charging infrastructure helps everyone sell more EVs.
Dealerships shouldn’t be a focal point for charging, it should be the home.