I just got a press release in my email from Nissan about them teaming up with Sumitomo and AeroVironment to introduce a DC Quick Charger to the U. S. marketplace. I must say I was pretty excited at first.
The charger is fast, as in 30 minutes or less to recharge a dead Leaf. This one product I thought was the kind of thing that every homeowner would want in his or her garage.
Just imagine, you come home tired at night, the kids all have issues and you forget to plug-in your electric car. No matter as in the morning you realize this and pop on the plug to quick charge your car in 30 minutes. How great would that be?
The only problem with this scenario is that in order to solve this problem you have to shell out $9,900 or roughly one-third of the price you paid for the Nissan Leaf in the first place.
According to Nissan, “The starting price for the charger will be $9,900, about a third of the cost of models available on the global market today. The quick charger will come in two different models: a version for indoor use, designed to help accommodate fleets such as daily rental cars; and an outdoor model, which is specifically designed for public and commercial charging uses – such as public spaces, corporate campuses, and retail centers.“
So, my excitement quickly turned to WTF disgust. Nissan forgot about the homeowner in this scenario. I’m sure that there are a few homeowners that will shell out ten grand for this convenience, but the other 99-percent of the population won’t. And will businesses really shell out this kind of dough? In this economy it’s hard to say yes. I give this product two yawns and a shake of the head.
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