Mach-E in Alaska??

[Kabish]

Yup apparently so!!! Was driving past the Ford dealership in Anchorage today and they had one outside plugged in. I was pretty shocked as they have nothing for EV charging out here. I also saw a Tesla drive by today too. Can’t image they their batteries perform well out here.

Dunno, I found it interesting lol

Sponsored

 

[macchiaz-o]

We have active Alaskan members... @Mopey, @ROBOHOBO, @MitchAK, maybe others.

 

[AKPat]

Yup apparently so!!! Was driving past the Ford dealership in Anchorage today and they had one outside plugged in. I was pretty shocked as they have nothing for EV charging out here. I also saw a Tesla drive by today too. Can’t image they their batteries perform well out here.

Dunno, I found it interesting lol

There will be another one soon I hope. My GTPE is scheduled to be built 8/21…

 

[secretvampire]

I currently am on vacation in AK and saw my first ever MME “in the wild” in Anchorage. Black premium with plate ESTANG if they are on the forums here!

 

[BMT1071]

I saw quite a few Teslas when I was in Anchorage in late May. No MMEs though. ?

 

[ROBOHOBO]

Yup apparently so!!! Was driving past the Ford dealership in Anchorage today and they had one outside plugged in. I was pretty shocked as they have nothing for EV charging out here. I also saw a Tesla drive by today too. Can’t image they their batteries perform well out here.

Dunno, I found it interesting lol

By my count there should be 10 Mach-Es in the state - 3 each for the 3 dealerships that are certified, plus the one @MitchAK brought in. Excluding the 3 demo units, that puts 7 on the road. I passed Kendall of Anchorage's black demo unit in my red Mach-E back in May and waved at the folks testing it, but I don't think they noticed.

Model 3s, on the other hand, are everywhere. You can't throw a rock up the hillside without hitting one. Much more common than charging stations, anyways. There's always one or two used ones for sale (at MSRP!) at one of the local lots. I think the owners traded up for a newer one with the heat pump, which I wish was an option for the Mach-E. I went with the extended range on mine just for the heat.

I parked outside this last winter (without the ability to pre-condition) and averaged between 1.9 and 2.3 miles / kWh before it went back up to 3 - 3.3 in the Spring. It'll be in the garage this next Winter and FordPass should be working by then, so hopefully that improves. The local dealers all seem to have gone with SR for their demo units, so we'll see how quickly they move when the time comes. I would guess there are a few reasons the Fairbanks lot didn't bother with certification...

 

[fightinag]

Im shocked that when all Ford dealership close at night and lock the gates the availability of their chargers goes away.
If Ford was smart they would install accessible fast chargers that are easily accessible at all dealerships.....in effect creating a 24 hour Ford charging network.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Im shocked that when all Ford dealership close at night and lock the gates the availability of their chargers goes away.
If Ford was smart they would install accessible fast chargers that are easily accessible at all dealerships.....in effect creating a 24 hour Ford charging network.

The requirement for the electric vehicle Ford Dealers is to install a charger. That's virtually universally an L2 EVSE. DCFC stations are rather expensive, even the 50kWh stations are expensive, that's unlikely to happen.

 

[ROBOHOBO]

Im shocked that when all Ford dealership close at night and lock the gates the availability of their chargers goes away.
If Ford was smart they would install accessible fast chargers that are easily accessible at all dealerships.....in effect creating a 24 hour Ford charging network.

Yeah, someone at Ford wasn't thinking very hard when they announced that the dealerships would be part of the charging network. Of course they're going to lock the gates at night! The local dealer here is next to a greenbelt known for its homeless camps... Within the first couple weeks, they'd found the (one) public charger and tried to scrap it. It was out of service for months and only just recently replaced. I am fortunate to have a monthly pass for a garage near my office with (one) L2 charger that we all fight over. The state was seeking proposals for a charging network but I'd guess we're still years away from anything functional.

 

[fightinag]

The requirement for the electric vehicle Ford Dealers is to install a charger. That's virtually universally an L2 EVSE. DCFC stations are rather expensive, even the 50kWh stations are expensive, that's unlikely to happen.

FoMoCo certainly could afford (pun intended) to either install it or split the cost with their dealerships

 

[ROBOHOBO]

The requirement for the electric vehicle Ford Dealers is to install a charger. That's virtually universally an L2 EVSE. DCFC stations are rather expensive, even the 50kWh stations are expensive, that's unlikely to happen.

Ironically, a Chevy dealership the next city over does have (reportedly) the state's one DCFC station. It's only 25kW, though.

 

[fightinag]

Ironically, a Chevy dealership the next city over does have (reportedly) the state's one DCFC station. It's only 25kW, though.

The Mazda dealership near me has one with 2 chargers by their gate and available 24/7

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Ironically, a Chevy dealership the next city over does have (reportedly) the state's one DCFC station. It's only 25kW, though.

IIRC the 50 kW stations the local utility put in out here (with old equipment) ran about 250K each. The Chevy and Nissan dealers here have 25K restricted use chargers though.

 

[MitchAK]

I will say for the folks wondering about the battery performance up here in the winter, Alaska (Anchorage, Wasilla area) doesn’t even have as bad winters as some of the Northern Mid West states.
The GOM on the first MME I drove (premium SR) read 124 miles on 100% charge. This was in February, our coldest month. And with no other test drives ever done and no reset on the EV driving history when delivered.
I think the most important thing we’ve all agreed and realized is being able to precondition the batteries and cab before departures.
I drive 37 miles from home to work. And luckily I have chargers at both locations and am able to use them as well.
Very fortunate.
My infinite Blue EX4 does need a personalized license plate and on my next days off I will be getting it done. Was going to do MJLNIR. I heard that’s taken. So maybe I’ll get KW PWR or something simple, lol.

 

[Mopey]

...The state was seeking proposals for a charging network but I'd guess we're still years away from anything functional.

The State of Alaska's fast charging network installation is rolling along as planned. The approved equipment suppliers for segment 1, the railbelt between Anchorage and Fairbanks, are ChargePoint, FLO, Blink, and Siemens - not sure why EA wasn't on the list. Segment 1 is due to be completed in 2022. Segment 2, Anchorage to Canadian border and Fairbanks to Canadian border is due for completion by 2024. You can check progress at http://www.aideaaeaprocurement.org/ and look at RFAs 21107, 21096, and 21088.

In Canada, the Yukon Territory is doing their part as well. As the gray (planned) icons show, they are building a DC fast network that will connect the Beaver border station with the Haines ferry to Seattle. There is still a big gap in northern BC that will need to be closed before an EV trip on the Alaska Highway will become a practical option.

I know of two MMEs in central Alaska, outside of Anchorage (known in Fairbanks as Los Angeles' most northern suburb) - my Red FE and Seekins Ford's black demo. I saw enough of the winter to expect the worst cold weather range to be between 1.5 and 2.1 miles kw. There was no problem starting without plugging in or in keeping the interior warm. I do need to remember to take the bottle of V8 out of the frunk before the fall, though (in 4 weeks). I've only ever seen a couple of Teslas here in the interior - probably military personnel who didn't realize the nearest Tesla service is 2000+ miles away. My Ford dealer is 10 minutes from the house.

I did see them testing a black Mach E in Fairbanks in the months prior to the big unveiling in 2019, so I'm mostly comfortable with the idea of driving a Ford EV here. I am a bit concerned whether they changed the battery coolant down to -60 from -40, but I'll have them check when the winter tires are installed in September (Continental WinterContact TS 860 S). From my short MME winter experience after delivery, I can attest that the OEM tires that came with their Mach E are absolute crap in true winter conditions.

Reprints of some previous posts:

March

July

P.S. I have the 'Mach E' plate, so wave if you ever test the charging network on a journey north from the southern Alaska banana belt.