Today’s news from Renault it is to co-operate with French supermarket chain E Leclerc for charging infrastructure is surely the first of many such tie-ups in the pipeline.
The French supermarket has 526 stores in France and 86 abroad, so is an ideal size for some serious EV recharging evaluation.
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Because it’s only really when consumers see how EVs will practically work that they will become more willing to embrace the high initial outlay required.
Renault and E Leclerc will begin modestly enough, with 50 stores initially earmarked to feature recharging next year and gradually building to 500 by 2015.
The detail is as yet unclear and one question that springs to mind is has Renault secured that deal as an exclusive or will other manufacturers also be able to work with the supermarket giant?
Standardisation is at the heart of so much EV development and the consumer won’t want to be greeted with an array of recharging points for each manufacturer – they want a one-stop opportunity that will work as well in Houston as Honfleur.
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By GlobalDataInfrastructure was to the fore today (11 October) as GM took the time to outline some of its EV and recharging thinking in a webcast from the US and to highlight its Ampera and Volt brands.
The issue was highlighted during the Q&A and GM’s executive director electric systems, hybrids, EVs and batteries Micky Bly stressed its importance.
“We have started working in the US first and [have been] spending a lot of time to understand the charging infrastructure,” he said. “We have been working with the government, agencies and municipalities.
“There is more to come. What we have seen as these cars come closer to production, even small towns and villages are asking how can they get on the grid.”
Bly added GM was also working with utility providers and as well as supermarkets and large stores – “absolutely.”
Widespread acceptance of EVs will take a massive boost if the Duponts making their weekly shop at E Leclerc or the Smiths at Tesco can concretely watch early adopters plugging their shiny new models into charging infrastructure that is immediately easy to understand and simple to use.
