Fewer than 15,000 all-electric vehicles can be found on the roads of America, yet many people already complain about a lack of charging stations. But some companies that chose to offer a few ones report that cobwebs have basically taken over them.
Just ask Tom Wolf, a McDonald's franchisee in West Virginia. A year after installing two chargers at his restaurant, EV drivers have barely started taking advantage.
And he's not the only one to notice that. Parking garages and retail stores such as Walgreen did the same in hope of attracting potential customers who drive EVs, but the turnout is marginal at best.
This, obviously, has something to do with the limited number of models on the market and units on the road. Either that or owners opt to charge their cars at home.
The situation might change completely over the next two years with the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan LEAF having to face new competitors from Ford, BMW and Tesla, among others.
Right now, there are about 1,400 publicly-accessible chargers scattered around the United States. Pike Research projects 13,000 stations by the end of 2012, which contrasts with the 160,000 gas stations in the country.
The Obama administration hopes that one million EVs will join the automotive fleet by 2015.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Just ask Tom Wolf, a McDonald's franchisee in West Virginia. A year after installing two chargers at his restaurant, EV drivers have barely started taking advantage.
And he's not the only one to notice that. Parking garages and retail stores such as Walgreen did the same in hope of attracting potential customers who drive EVs, but the turnout is marginal at best.
This, obviously, has something to do with the limited number of models on the market and units on the road. Either that or owners opt to charge their cars at home.
The situation might change completely over the next two years with the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan LEAF having to face new competitors from Ford, BMW and Tesla, among others.
Right now, there are about 1,400 publicly-accessible chargers scattered around the United States. Pike Research projects 13,000 stations by the end of 2012, which contrasts with the 160,000 gas stations in the country.
The Obama administration hopes that one million EVs will join the automotive fleet by 2015.
Source: Wall Street Journal