Though the Netherland’s EV sales are picking up, Fastned’s co- founder & CEO Michiel Langezaal does think they will reach the national goal of 200,000 electric cars on the road by 2020. According to Michiel this number includes not only fully electric cars, but also the Hybrids.There are still parts of the country that are beyond the reach of EVs with a 100 kilometers per charge range. Around 85% of the population do not have their own parking spaces. Yet Fastned’s co- founder & CEO Michiel Langezaal says the EV tipping point will arrive quickly.
North American cities are primarily designed for automotive traffic. There has been more attention to bicycles, buses and trains, but most people still look upon them as a poor person’s transportation. There is a much different model in Europe. In Germany, public transit is often the preferred way to travel.
It has been almost ten months since the NRG eVgo Freedom Station in the Fashion Valley Mall, in San Diego, opened. It was hailed as the first station capable of supporting “all EVs on the road”. There are now eVgo networks in Los Angeles, San Francisco, the greater Washington, D.C. area, Dallas and Houston. A company spokesperson says that, in conjunction with their new partnership with BMW, they will be installing 100 DC SAE Combo Fast Chargers in California. One of their infograms shows a band of green stretching from Washington state down through California and across America to Washington DC. Much of this is future, but eVgo is not the only charging network. Tesla’s expanding Supercharger system is expected to make their vehicle to 80% of the US public this year. Are we approaching the EV tipping point?
The 2009 “Green Highways bill” (HB 1481) opened the door for Washington state’s EV infrastructure. With the help of funding through the Federal Recovery Act, Governor Chris Gregoire announced construction of “the nation’s first true electrified highway” in June 2010. It was to stretch out along the 276 miles of the I-5, which connects to Oregon and Canada. None of this would have come into being if it were not for an active EV community. Yet in 2013 – the year there were more Teslas sold in Washington than any other state in America – things started stalling. The good news is that Washington’s EV development is ready to move forward. Will the state legislators make this possible?
Over a million people could into the Metro Vancouver area during the next three decades, adding another 600,000 automotive trips per day to the already congested roads. the existing infrastructure will not be adequate. The Mayors’ Council, of 23 mayors in the region, are calling for modernization of Metro Vancouver’s infrastructure.
