Dealership installation of L3 (fast DC) and L2 chargers-

[zhackwyatt]

The nonsense that Ford pulled in the Netherlands last month was disconcerting

I've asked this question on the forum more than once and still have never received a clear answer. Was this a crummy dealer in Norway, or was it a Ford policy that applied to all dealers?

I can see some dealers I've interacted with in the past do this (one dealer lost my car when I took it in for service), but Ford doesn't have much control over them.

Whoever did it deserves condemnation, its just not clear to me who that is.

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[ChasingCoral]

That's all I would expect at most dealerships - L2 chargers. For sales and internal use first and foremost, but some may place them where customers can get to them too.

But if the dealership ever has any problem with their people not being able to get to them when they need them, I'd expect they'd implement some sort of control on them. I could easily see how a small handful of drivers could start monopolizing it (like say, an employee that works 2 doors down and starts parking there and using it as his regular charger).

It’s better than my Nissan dealer who has a double L2 system and always ICEs one of them with a Z-car.

 

[timbop]

I've asked this question on the forum more than once and still have never received a clear answer. Was this a crummy dealer in Norway, or was it a Ford policy that applied to all dealers?

I can see some dealers I've interacted with in the past do this (one dealer lost my car when I took it in for service), but Ford doesn't have much control over them.

Whoever did it deserves condemnation, its just not clear to me who that is.

The impression i got from that thread was not a single dealer but multiple, all referencing ford netherlands as the driving force

 

[Newbie]

This is from a Michigan dealership that is one of the largest in the country-two 40amp 240 volt Clipper Creek chargers

That is nice, albeit a slow 10kw charger speed. Compared to 150-250kw L3 chargers. For sure better than nothing if a person can use it for a few hours.

 

[Billyk24]

That is nice, albeit a slow 10kw charger speed. Compared to 150-250kw L3 chargers. For sure better than nothing if a person can use it for a few hours.

The question some of us have relates to the need for L3 chargers during long road trips. Would installations of such at dealerships help away from the interstates and in rural areas.

 

[timbop]

The question some of us have relates to the need for L3 chargers during long road trips. Would installations of such at dealerships help away from the interstates and in rural areas.

If you are otherwise in a charging desert like Michigan or the upper midwest, absolutely. Better a 10 minute drive to an L3 charger than an L2 at a highway rest stop.

 

[jandkw]

If Ford is really serious about EV, they should install the fast DC chargers in their dealership locations (125KW and above). I remember one time I traveled to NY from NC 7 years ago with my Model S, the Superchargers were not around, I have to stop by one Nissan dealer to charge. Waiting about 3 hours using the L2 chargers was a painful experience.

 

[Billyk24]

It is the old question of what is first. The egg or chicken. The UP of Michigan and northern parts of the Midwest are not believed to be large EV markets. So why spend the extra funds for L3 charging units when use id going to be minimum. A number GM dealers have 25kW chargers in Michigan as do various Harley dealerships.

 

[dbsb3233]

If Ford is really serious about EV, they should install the fast DC chargers in their dealership locations (125KW and above).

Serious like Tesla, you mean, for whom 100% of their vehicle sales are EVs? No, Ford is nowhere remotely close to that. They're just sprinkling in a few models that'll make up a mere few% of their total sales. That doesn't warrant spending the kind of money it takes to build a huge supercharging network like Tesla was stuck doing.

It really makes more sense for charging stations to be independent of the auto manufacturers. If charging stations can make their own business case (i.e. produce enough revenue to make a worthwhile profit), then there should be growing competition to build them.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Remember that putting L3 chargers in Ford dealerships will generate much more traffic for dealership showrooms than L2 chargers. They will bring in many more people as stops on road trips, especially if their charging is free.

 

[timbop]

Ford is just getting into the EV game, and is going to worry about competing against Tesla in established markets where someone else has laid the infrastructure groundwork for them. Even if they wanted to, they can't can't force dealers to incur the expense of putting in L3 chargers - the dealers just wouldn't bother to become EV certified. Since they are looking to get a foothold in the EV market, they are willing to cede low EV-volume areas to Tesla until they can establish a firm beachhead. It's a shame, but also fiscally practical. Musk was willing and able to lose money for a decade to build out his charging network. Ford is neither; Hackett's job is already in jeopardy as it is.

This says it all, though (red=Tesla, black=EA):

 

[ChasingCoral]

Ford is just getting into the EV game, and is going to worry about competing against Tesla in established markets where someone else has laid the infrastructure groundwork for them. Even if they wanted to, they can't can't force dealers to incur the expense of putting in L3 chargers - the dealers just wouldn't bother to become EV certified. Since they are looking to get a foothold in the EV market, they are willing to cede low EV-volume areas to Tesla until they can establish a firm beachhead. It's a shame, but also fiscally practical. Musk was willing and able to lose money for a decade to build out his charging network. Ford is neither; Hackett's job is already in jeopardy as it is.

Strategic funding of chargers at Ford Dealers in EA holes would do wonders. I'm not sure how much Nissan paid for chargers at their dealers and how much dealers paid. Nissan dealers provided an important early set of chargers making road trips possible in even short-range Leafs.

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