Improve Charging Infrastructure

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xan

Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2016
Messages
22
Location
Flagstaff, AZ
This one may be a long shot. However, I recently contacted Nissan USA on their contact form here: http://www.nissanusa.com/apps/contactus telling them about my thoughts of improving charging infrastructure in places that need it, specifically DC charging. Much unlike Europe and Japan, not only are there many places in the US which completely lack DC charging infrastructure (such as my locale), but there are many other places (such as coastal California) that need more stations to charge due to demand.

I am sure you all are mostly LEAF fans just like me. With the gen 2 LEAF coming, the best time to improve the charging would be now, because the release will be a make or break moment for the LEAF. A lack of charging infrastructure will not allow the LEAF to compete with the Tesla Model 3 when it comes out. While Nissan does not install charging stations themselves, they do fund installations and can make them happen where there is demand.

I received a phone reply to my inquiry today, and the customer support specialist told me that my request will most definitely be overheard by higher ups in the corporate office. However, he feels that progress will be made when there are more inquiries about the same topic that I wrote in about. If you feel that improvements need to be made to our charging infrastructure, please let Nissan know, and our voices will be heard!

http://www.nissanusa.com/apps/contactus

Sincerely,

Xan
 
In my region, with a few exceptions, Nissan's funding of DC Fast charging stations has been to locate them at dealerships. Nissan pays for the installation, and then the dealership is responsible to pay the electric bill. This is not an optimum solution.

There is a mix of welcoming dealers, dealers who seem to block the spaces for whatever reason, as well as the "you can only charge here if you bought here" type of dealers, making for a not very convenient charging experience.

So, while I do agree with the fact that more charging infrastructure is needed, the dealership model is not working...

Would Nissan be wiling to provide the DC Fast charge stations and pay for the installations for willing non-dealer site hosts?

THAT would be a step in the right direction...
 
Nissan was very prompt in responding to email. I am copying the email here but in short it reads "GTFO, We are Nissan, not Tesla."

I think that Jordan could have at least point me to the press release of the joint venture between Nissan and BMW where they are working on DC infrastructure in 19 states.
http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/releases/nissan-and-bmw-partner-to-deploy-dual-fast-chargers-across-the-u-s-to-benefit-electric-vehicle-drivers

-------------------------------------------------

Thank you for contacting Nissan Owner Services. We appreciate hearing from you.

I truly apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced. Unfortunately, Nissan does not produce or install public charging stations. All public charging stations are privately owned and operated by the businesses who own the property where the stations have been installed. If you would like to have more public charging options available in your city, there may be an option to address this with your local city government. It would be best to contact them directly to see what your options are.

Thank you for your understanding. Have a great day!

Please feel free to contact us again with any additional questions, through our website at www.nissanusa.com or by phone at 855-426-6628. We are here to serve you from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. (EST) Monday through Saturday.
_____________


Jordan Banks
Vehicle Connected Services
Nissan North America, Inc.
One Nissan Way
Franklin, TN 37067
 
inphoenix said:
Nissan was very prompt in responding to email. I am copying the email here but in short it reads "GTFO, We are Nissan, not Tesla."

I think that Jordan could have at least point me to the press release of the joint venture between Nissan and BMW where they are working on DC infrastructure in 19 states.
http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/releases/nissan-and-bmw-partner-to-deploy-dual-fast-chargers-across-the-u-s-to-benefit-electric-vehicle-drivers

-------------------------------------------------

Thank you for contacting Nissan Owner Services. We appreciate hearing from you.

I truly apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced. Unfortunately, Nissan does not produce or install public charging stations. All public charging stations are privately owned and operated by the businesses who own the property where the stations have been installed. If you would like to have more public charging options available in your city, there may be an option to address this with your local city government. It would be best to contact them directly to see what your options are.

Thank you for your understanding. Have a great day!

Please feel free to contact us again with any additional questions, through our website at http://www.nissanusa.com or by phone at 855-426-6628. We are here to serve you from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. (EST) Monday through Saturday.
_____________


Jordan Banks
Vehicle Connected Services
Nissan North America, Inc.
One Nissan Way
Franklin, TN 37067


inphoenix,

I got a very similar response the first time I wrote in actually. I figured "What the heck?" the other day and gave it a try again with a different email. It probably depends on which customer service rep reads our feedback as it comes in. I received a response from a nice older man named Brian yesterday on the phone, and he told me how valuable my feedback was and that it would definitely be passed around in corporate meetings (complete 180 from what I got the first time). He did mention that public charging stations are privately owned, but we did discuss how Nissan funds and oversees some installations.

But yeah, responses like that are really what prevents Nissan from being a theoretical competitor to Tesla (and other manufacturers) over the next few years. As much as I like the LEAF, Nissan either needs to listen to what the consumer wants, or the consumer will find somebody else who will.

Xan
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
need to be sending it to your legislators

Can't stress this one enough. I wrote my representative and senator, plus the president (although I don't believe the last one will necessarily get read). If more of us join in, this is likely to have more of an effect than writing Nissan.

Write your representative here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

That said, I do feel that writing Nissan does have some merit. They do have money available to fund stations, as they have before. Although as mentioned previously in this thread, stations outside of Nissan dealerships are best.

Xan
 
It'd be nice to reach out to organizations like "Environment America" and see if they can add the EV charger initiative in their projects like "Solar on Superstores".

http://www.environmentamerica.org/reports/ame/solar-superstores
 
inphoenix said:
It'd be nice to reach out to organizations like "Environment America" and see if they can add the EV charger initiative in their projects like "Solar on Superstores".

http://www.environmentamerica.org/reports/ame/solar-superstores

Done. :D
 
xan said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
need to be sending it to your legislators

Can't stress this one enough. I wrote my representative and senator, plus the president (although I don't believe the last one will necessarily get read). If more of us join in, this is likely to have more of an effect than writing Nissan.

Write your representative here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

That said, I do feel that writing Nissan does have some merit. They do have money available to fund stations, as they have before. Although as mentioned previously in this thread, stations outside of Nissan dealerships are best.

Xan

Nissan funding charging stations that anyone can use without help from other manufacturers is going to be a tough pitch. I'd rather see benefit to benefit. Force electric utilities to build the network.
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
xan said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
Nissan funding charging stations that anyone can use without help from other manufacturers is going to be a tough pitch. I'd rather see benefit to benefit. Force electric utilities to build the network.

I completely agree with you, Dave. I am just going at it from any angle possible, contacting people in all different organizations and levels of government trying to get chargers put in place.

That said, I don't feel like I will get far with legislatures in my state of AZ. (Although I am still trying) So for that reason, I am trying my luck with others who could possibly have some influence on the infrastructure.

Xan
 
If legislatures force utilities to spend money, EV charging stations are near the bottom of priorities. A dollar spent heating a homeless shelter or a school for disabled children carries more bang than a charging station.
 
mjblazin said:
If legislatures force utilities to spend money, EV charging stations are near the bottom of priorities. A dollar spent heating a homeless shelter or a school for disabled children carries more bang than a charging station.

That is definitely a valid point. I would not expect charging stations to be higher priority than what you mentioned. Although I do hope EV stations would be put above funding psychics, jazz playing robots, and of course oil company subsidies, among other things. (Yes, the first two are actually a real thing)
 
Randy said:
In my region, with a few exceptions, Nissan's funding of DC Fast charging stations has been to locate them at dealerships. Nissan pays for the installation, and then the dealership is responsible to pay the electric bill. This is not an optimum solution.

There is a mix of welcoming dealers, dealers who seem to block the spaces for whatever reason, as well as the "you can only charge here if you bought here" type of dealers, making for a not very convenient charging experience.

So, while I do agree with the fact that more charging infrastructure is needed, the dealership model is not working...

Would Nissan be wiling to provide the DC Fast charge stations and pay for the installations for willing non-dealer site hosts?

THAT would be a step in the right direction...


In our region, Nissan gave a 20% subsidy and the participating dealers paid around $15,000 a piece for QC charge stations. I don't know the stats for the L2 charge equipment.
 
DaveinOlyWA said:
xan said:
DaveinOlyWA said:
need to be sending it to your legislators

Can't stress this one enough. I wrote my representative and senator, plus the president (although I don't believe the last one will necessarily get read). If more of us join in, this is likely to have more of an effect than writing Nissan.

Write your representative here: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

That said, I do feel that writing Nissan does have some merit. They do have money available to fund stations, as they have before. Although as mentioned previously in this thread, stations outside of Nissan dealerships are best.

Xan

Nissan funding charging stations that anyone can use without help from other manufacturers is going to be a tough pitch. I'd rather see benefit to benefit. Force electric utilities to build the network.

I have a healthy skepticism about utility companies doing the right thing for the public. SRP in Arizona has screwed us for installing solar. I also had thought utility companies would be a good fit for charging stations. Now I am gun shy...
 
Evoforce said:
I have a healthy skepticism about utility companies doing the right thing for the public. SRP in Arizona has screwed us for installing solar. I also had thought utility companies would be a good fit for charging stations. Now I am gun shy...
OTOH, via GCR:
Utilities To Lead Surge Of Electric-Car Charging In Southern California
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1102396_utilities-to-lead-surge-of-electric-car-charging-in-southern-california

It appears that they're going to do it right, concentrating on MFH and workplaces so that non-homeowners can consider PEVs, instead of installing uneconomical L2 and L3 in locations that will never pay back. Of course, they have to keep the price down to compete with gas and do so profitably, but only the utilities are in a position to do that.
 
Evoforce said:
I have a healthy skepticism about utility companies doing the right thing for the public. SRP in Arizona has screwed us for installing solar. I also had thought utility companies would be a good fit for charging stations. Now I am gun shy...

oh they be doing the right thing but for themselves, NOT the customer. Several studies show the largest benefactor of a public charging network to be public utilities. This is their opportunity to support the "feel good" community while using the perfect excuse of "personal convenience" to charge a premium for their service. Anyone who believes that an entirely new rate system for the juice used will not happen is deluding themselves...
 
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