Charger Closed on Sundays

[Mach-Lee]

Happened to see this, but welcome to the future of dealer charging:

^ That's a very nice closed gate. Kyle was traveling through the great I-20 charging desert towards Dallas, where there are very few fast DC charging options. 50 kW dealer chargers that cost $1/kWh were really the only options available other than Level 2.




Yup, closed on Sundays. And at night. And that particular "Friendly" Chevy dealer will have an "attendant" to "help" you. Really?

Before you go off on GM, Ford will be the same. The revised Model e standards allow Ford dealers to have these minimum hours for the required DC chargers:

• 7AM - 8PM, 6 days/week Monday through Saturday

Ford does encourage dealers to have their chargers open 24/7, especially on weekends, which they note accounts for 49% of public charging sessions. However it remains to be seen how many will offer anything more than the bare minimum hours required by Ford. There is still great doubt over whether the required 1 or 2 DC Fast chargers will be in the ground and working at most Model e Ford dealers by Jan of next year.

Also there is no expectation to have reasonable pricing. Some GM dealers near me charge what is effectively close to $3/kWh. I wouldn't be surprised if many Ford dealers decide to price gouge on the charging as well. These million dollar charger installations might go unused.

It's going to be a big bummer rolling up to closed chargers on Sundays, which will add complication to planning weekend trips. Imagine if gas pumps were closed on Sundays.

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[Logal727]

There's a Tesla SC in St. Augustine that closes at 6 or 8pm, depending on which time the outlet mall it's at closes.

As for the Chevy dealer, seeing they have so many vehicles that can charge over 50kw ? , they probably haven't seen the need to keep it open on Sundays for selfish reasons.

 

[SWO]

In many states dealers are closed Sunday by law.

 

[CurtW]

Supply vs demand. Reason dealers provide charging is to get foot traffic to their location. They won't make much money on the charging itself. And they don't want to create after-hours attractions that only require more security expense for the dealer.

Same for shopping centers, etc.

24 hour location only make sense where (and when) they are profitable.

Most convenient stores are 24 hours today. But remember when they closed at night (and some still do.) At most, you could not pump fuel when the location was closed. No different for charging.

 

[agdad]

Texas is sooooooooo behind on charging stations ....except for TESLA

 

[Monke]

EA locations around here in TX only have 4 stations and some locations only have two working stations. Nissan dealers are usually the life savers in this situation during business hours and not Sundays.

 

[Logal727]

In many states dealers are closed Sunday by law.

That's the lord's day to take your money not Chevy's!

 

[ArthurDOB]

I think this depends on how the dealership lot is set up. My local Ford dealers (two within a 5-mile radius) have lots wide open to anyone that wants to drive up to their chargers regardless of the day of the week. No gates or fences. Come to think of it, the same is true for any car dealership I can think of around here (Twin Cities Metro Area, MN). I suppose some around here might be like that, but I don’t know where they are.

 

[RickMachE]

Most car dealerships are setup with gates to limit access when closed. Our dealer barricades the entrances with vehicles too. He as two level 2 chargers right against the building, right next to the entrance for service write-ups, near impossible for anyone to access easily when they are open.

He plans on putting in the high speed chargers in at the opposite end of the lot, and set it up so they can be accessed without providing vehicle access to the vehicle lot.

 

[Mach-Lee]

I think this depends on how the dealership lot is set up. My local Ford dealers (two within a 5-mile radius) have lots wide open to anyone that wants to drive up to their chargers regardless of the day of the week. No gates or fences. Come to think of it, the same is true for any car dealership I can think of around here (Twin Cities Metro Area, MN). I suppose some around here might be like that, but I don’t know where they are.

That’s true, but the dealer in the video seemed to have the ideal setup with separate gates for the chargers and the dealer entrance. They could easily set the gate to automatically open and close so the chargers can be open during the day and closed at night. Most dealers also have 24/7 video monitoring so they could just put up a couple cameras to watch the charger area.

 

[ArthurDOB]

That’s true, but the dealer in the video seemed to have the ideal setup with separate gates for the chargers and the dealer entrance. They could easily set the gate to automatically open and close so the chargers can be open during the day and closed at night. Most dealers also have 24/7 video monitoring so they could just put up a couple cameras to watch the charger area.

Absolutely! Hopefully someone will realize the foolishness of locking this up on the one day it is likely most needed.

 

[Logal727]

Most car dealerships are setup with gates to limit access when closed. Our dealer barricades the entrances with vehicles too. He as two level 2 chargers right against the building, right next to the entrance for service write-ups, near impossible for anyone to access easily when they are open.

He plans on putting in the high speed chargers in at the opposite end of the lot, and set it up so they can be accessed without providing vehicle access to the vehicle lot.

About 20 years ago my buddy and I went to a Subaru lot at night, because that was the best time to look at new cars without getting attacked by the sales vultures. Anyways, we pull up and they had just got a delivery that night of a bunch of brand new Outbacks, and every single one of them had the keys in the door, like anyone could just take one and never be seen again. We ended up calling the police to alert them and had the manager come out so no cars got stolen that night lol. I guess that's why places have barricades haha.

 

[Mach-Lee]

About 20 years ago my buddy and I went to a Subaru lot at night, because that was the best time to look at new cars without getting attacked by the sales vultures. Anyways, we pull up and they had just got a delivery that night of a bunch of brand new Outbacks, and every single one of them had the keys in the door, like anyone could just take one and never be seen again. We ended up calling the police to alert them and had the manager come out so no cars got stolen that night lol. I guess that's why places have barricades haha.

You had your chance to be the “Subaru Boyz”…

 

[TTF]

I have never seen a gated dealership myself, though a few have the back lot locked. I can always charge here if the dealer has a charger, though I rarely use them.

 

[CurtW]

Texas is sooooooooo behind on charging stations ....except for TESLA

Yep. Try crossing AR. Slim pickens fer sure!

Drove from AR to Galveston in February, almost no options in AR, OK, or TX except along the freeway and major cities.

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