Thread for suggested locations for Nissan Charge Stations?

[amit65]

Hi...


If you're only charging at Ecotricity rapids at motorway service stations, you don't need a cable at all. They have tethered cables.

[jlsoaz]

I suggest Nissan consider building some stations between Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico and Tucson, AZ, USA. One rationale is that Hermosillo does now seem to have a Leaf-oriented Nissan dealership and a little bit of charge infrastructure. Also: there is a lot of construction going on Mexico route 15 between Hermosillo and Nogales, AZ, USA. It might be a good time to negotiate to include some public EVSE. There is also a Nissan dealership in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico which I think eventually should be certified as a leaf dealer, and so why not do this sooner rather than later (especially with Nogales, Sonora having so many potential drivers).

plugshare.com can give an idea of the route, and what is already there along this route:

https://www.plugshare.com/

This route is one that people travel for pleasure (visiting the beaches) and for business. I don't really know if it will be profitable in the near-term to put stations up, but I do think it could be worthwhile to sell Leafs in Nogales, Sonora and then to explore the question of building out dc quick charging from these Leaf cities.

As I understand it, in general Nissan has a very strong presence in Mexico.

[specialgreen]

Do all Nissan dealers prohibit charging after-hours? Or is it a dealer-by-dealer policy?

For me, the most useful new DCFC locations would be at the fringe of the metro area, where the "beltway" crosses arterial freeways. Having DCFC at the edge of the metro would open-up a much larger area where I could drive (e.g. to destinationts 40 miles out from the beltway). The most useful time for using these stations would be evenings/weekends, when I am traveling.

Coincidently, many Nissan dealerships are located in similar areas: along the beltway, near arterial traffic corridors. Many dealers already have a DCFC station. Unfortunately, these charging stations are usually not available to customers outside of business hours.

These charging locations are a sunk cost to the dealer, and could provide a valuable service to customers. Nissan should request of its dealers that they make these chargers available in the evenings, when customers are traveling: if not 24x7, then at-least during typical driving hours (e.g. 6am-midnight).

Concerns
- Some dealers may have their parking lot blocked-off at night; in these cases the charging station could be moved to a better location. (Note: none of the dealers in my metro area block their parking lot in the evening, and certainly not their service bay. Maybe the auto mechanics in Mayberry still go home at 5pm, but not here).
- Dealers often need to plug-in a Leaf overnight to have it "fresh and ready" for delivery or a test-drive appointment in the morning. A Level 2 charging station is inexpensive and better suited to that task.

Other benefits
- Placing quick chargers near the service department will increase customer awareness of the valuable services which the dealership can provide.

[powersurge]

I have been trying to drive long distances in the New York city area and in the Hudson river valley area. I STRONGLY BELIEVE that, (as Tesla has done), NISAN, the dealers and the MAKERS of the Leaf should ALL have QC chargers in their dealerships. Otherwise when you are traveling, level 2 chargers require 1 hour of charging for every 30 miles of travel. That is unacceptable if you want to use the car for long distance.

Nissan, as a great marketing strategy (like tesla has always done), should have these chargers VISIBLE AND USED by the public. I have visited dealers with level 2 AND QC chargers, that are placed in the rear of the parking lots, always unused, broken, and surrounded by ICE cars... That is a waste of money, and a put down of the new EV technology...

I found a great dealer in (Central Avenue Nissan) YONKERS, NY that has BOTH LEVEL 2 AND QC CHARGERS!, and it is the salvation for me to travel upstate of NYC. They have placed level 2 AND QC chargers along the service building driveway (where no one can park and block the chargers!!) Only very visible Leaf cars can park in these spots!! THAT IS GREAT!! I can charge in 30 minutes. Also, I must applaud Yorktown Heights Nissan for putting 2 (TWO) level 2 chargers AT THEIR FRONT DOOR TO THEIR SHOWROOM!!! I have congratulated the dealership manager for this, and think that this is the way of the future. They should also install qc charging at their front door parking spaces!!

SO NISSAN!! Put QC chargers by your front door of your dealerships!! You will get FREE advertising of the Leaf, and help Leaf customers use this great car for long trips. There are so many Nissan dealers in the US..... How about a great network of QC chargers! THAT WOULD DISPENSE WITH THE PUBLIC'S COMPLAINT OF RANGE ANXIETY, AND MAKE THE LEAF AS SERIOUS IN THE MARKET PLACE AS THE TESLA. The Leaf would then INSTANTLY become a true cross-country vehicle, and a hot car in people's short attention span....

After all, the only REAL selling point of TESLA is that they have a nationwide network of chargers. Otherwise, it is just a super expensive toy for the rich... Without the dealership charging, the Tesla is just a specialty car... Not a mainstream public workhorse...

[jlsoaz]

Do all Nissan dealers prohibit charging after-hours? Or is it a dealer-by-dealer policy?
[...]
Nissan should request of its dealers that they make these chargers available in the evenings, when customers are traveling: if not 24x7, then at-least during typical driving hours (e.g. 6am-midnight).
[...]

I think your points are good ones, but I fear it will be years before Nissan listens. I hope I'm wrong, and I state it this way to get Nissan to prove me wrong, but I am concerned that they are just going to take forever on this.
(Just my personal opinion.).

[jlv]

Do all Nissan dealers prohibit charging after-hours? Or is it a dealer-by-dealer policy?

Dealer-by-dealer. One dealer near me has their whole lot barricaded when they are closed, making the CHAdeMO and L2 inaccessible. The other dealer doesn't. I bought the car from the later.

[powersurge]

You do not have to buy the car from the dealer you charge at.... When I travel, try to ALWAYS charge at the Nissan dealers, and ask if they have or will have a chademo charger. If everyone does this, Nissan will see a lot of EV user BODIES in the dealer ($$$), and be more hospitable to the EV driver needs.

Plus, you get free charging, and have a nice place to sit, watch TV, eat, and relax, and use their WIFI. Not to mention that the good feeling that you are the only one in the service department waiting area that doesn't pay tons of money to get your car fixed...

[GetOffYourGas]

You do not have to buy the car from the dealer you charge at.... When I travel, try to ALWAYS charge at the Nissan dealers, and ask if they have or will have a chademo charger. If everyone does this, Nissan will see a lot of EV user BODIES in the dealer ($$$), and be more hospitable to the EV driver needs.

Plus, you get free charging, and have a nice place to sit, watch TV, eat, and relax, and use their WIFI. Not to mention that the good feeling that you are the only one in the service department waiting area that doesn't pay tons of money to get your car fixed...

I don't understand your logic, it seems to contradict itself. Help me out here.

What Nissan will see is a ton of people visiting their dealerships' waiting rooms, watching TV, using their WIFI, drinking complementary coffee and eating snacks, without paying any significant amount of money to do so. Why is this appealing to Nissan or their dealers?

[jlsoaz]

1. I suggest this Nissan dealership in Mexico, just across the line from Nogales, Arizona.
http://www.nissannogales.com.mx

I have once visited this dealership and they were helpful. This is a relatively highly populated area (200k-300k) and I think might be good for some EV sales. A hotel in town just installed a Tesla destination charge station, and we can see from the map that the dealership and town are on a somewhat well-traveled path from Phoenix down to San Carlos, and going through Hermosillo where there are two Nissan dealerships with stations.
https://www.plugshare.com/
https://www.plugshare.com/location/154486

2) Also, on a related note , much of the road between Nogales, Sonora and Hermosillo was constructed and improved over the last few years, and I think would be ripe for a few DC Quick charge stations, perhaps at OXXO stores, for example.

3) Also, on a related note, we could use a quick charge station somewhere on the road from Nogales, AZ to Tucson, AZ. There are plans in the works to put some additional charging at the "Station 34" project in Tubac, though I don't know if that will include DC Quick charging.