Ford Motors will be expanding its current workplace electric vehicle charging program in the US and Canada — with 20 new charging stations now set to be installed in the near future — according to recent reports.
Considering that the company’s charging station installation initiative began just last September — and now encompasses 145 charging units, at 43 different Ford offices + manufacturing facilities, in 6 different US states and also Canada — the current plan to install 20 more sometime in the near future is notable.
“Providing a charging network at Ford facilities not only benefits our employees, but builds upon our commitment to the electrification program and developing environmentally conscious vehicles,” stated Cynthia Williams, Ford’s associate director, environmental and regulatory planning. “Ford is striving to deliver quality products and sustainable manufacturing, and to make eco-conscious vehicles easier to use.
An email sent to EVObsession provides more:
Since installing the first workplace charging station in 2014, Ford and its employees have saved more than 6,000 gallons of gas, enough to fill a Ford Fusion Energi 428 times. The system is also capable of diverting 70 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually when using green energy sources. More than 349 Ford employees are using the charging stations, which have delivered nearly 92,000 kilowatt-hours of energy, enough to power up to 10 homes annually.
Earlier this year Ford teamed with DTE Energy to build one of Michigan’s largest solar arrays at its company headquarters. DTE Energy funded the 360 covered parking spaces under the solar array which help power buildings on the Ford World Headquarters’ campus. Ford Land, a real estate and commercial development agency formed by Ford Motor Company in 1970, installed 20 charging stations at the Ford World Headquarter complex for plug-in electric vehicles such as Ford Fusion Energi and Ford C-MAX Energi. Additional charging stations may be installed as employee use increase. The solar canopy has enough capacity to generate 1.1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually to power buildings throughout the Ford campus. The electricity captured is enough to power 158 average-sized homes while offsetting an estimated 794 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
“Ford has a deep commitment to sustainability,” stated Stephanie Janczak, manager, Ford sustainability and vehicle environmental matters. “We are working to make people’s lives better by creating great products and by investing in the communities where our employees work and live. Expanding our network of charging stations throughout North America is an extension of our commitment.”
Good news. Ford’s current position in the US auto-market is an interesting one — the company has shown some interest in electric vehicle (EV) and autonomous driving technologies, but not quite to the same degree as some of its competitors have. It’ll be interesting to see what the next couple of years will bring on those counts from the company.
If Ford actually put in CCS instead of mole-ass-slow L2 in their cars, they won’t need so many, and people will actually use EV to replace their gas cars.
It would be great if there were plenty of chargers in all car parks, but chargers are quite expensive to put up. 20 chargers is basically nothing. I’m wondering how many “domestic AC” single phase power outlets you can put up for the price of one fast DC charger. Most EV owners have a charger for “normal power outlets” for use when travelling.
Perhaps if we concentrate on plentiful, but very cheap charge points we can get to the point where people normally charge at work. After all, most people are at work for a long time, there’s plenty of time to charge. And they are often at work when the sun is shining and when solar is an increasing part of the power mix.