Nissan To Install 500 More Quick Charge Stations

[tbleakne]

An update on Tustin Nissan, which I visited today ....

According to one of the sales mgrs, the QC is expected to be installed within 60 days.
It will be available 24/7, and for no fee (at least, initially).

The mgr said that the DCQC itself was gratis from Nissan, but the dealer will have
to cover the cost of the inverter and its installation (min $20k+).

JP, this does not make sense to me. There is no inverter. The DCQC converts 480V AC to DC. The manager must be confused. Perhaps he needs a transformer because he does not have the right voltage or does not have capacity on his current dealership transformer.

 

[tbleakne]

Plugshare is reporting Fontana Nissan QC operational as of 4-19.

 

[JPVLeaf]

An update on Tustin Nissan, which I visited today ....

According to one of the sales mgrs, the QC is expected to be installed within 60 days.
It will be available 24/7, and for no fee (at least, initially).

The mgr said that the DCQC itself was gratis from Nissan, but the dealer will have
to cover the cost of the inverter and its installation (min $20k+).

JP, this does not make sense to me. There is no inverter. The DCQC converts 480V AC to DC. The manager must be confused. Perhaps he needs a transformer because he does not have the right voltage or does not have capacity on his current dealership transformer.

TB, you're right. That should be a new transformer.

 

[DaveEV]

Glendale has their own municipal electric utility. I see from
http://www.theevproject.com/downloa...-Demand Charge Reduction V1.0 Revised (2).pdf
a demand charge of $.32/kW Summer, $.22/kW Winter. That is really cheap. The dealership will never notice the difference.

Wow, no kidding. Glendale could easily turn into a QC mecca - with basically non-existent demand charges one might even hope to make a profit on QC there.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

The Tumwater DCFC is Only 5 Miles From My House But Have Used It Because It Allows A Quick Turn Around. Instead Of Charging 2 Hours At Home, I Can Get A Quick Boost there

 

[timhebb]

If you want to drive the LEAF, it can't cost more than $3.60 for that charge.

I challenge you to find anyone who is charging for QC anywhere near that price - it simply can't be done and still remain in business, even with subsidies.

Tesla :|

$0

0¢

Forever

(or a new business model, whichever comes first...)

 

[cwerdna]

If you want to drive the LEAF, it can't cost more than $3.60 for that charge.

I challenge you to find anyone who is charging for QC anywhere near that price - it simply can't be done and still remain in business, even with subsidies.

Tesla :|

$0

0¢

Forever

(or a new business model, whichever comes first...)

Heh. Side note: Last night I stumbled across the video at http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/8173-Europe-Future-Charging-for-Model-S-1-phase-or-3-phase-%28Part-2%29/page26?p=268598&viewfull=1#post268598" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; where GeorgeB of Tesla reiterates free charging forever. Heard about it from http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/7107-Likelihood-of-a-CHAdeMO-adapter-for-the-Model-S/page48?p=268599&viewfull=1#post268599" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Thanks for running some numbers, drees. Electric rates in PG&E land are pretty lousy. Even at http://www.pge.com/nots/rates/tariffs/electric.shtml#RESELEC" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, PG&E considers the "total average" to be ~19 cents/kwh for E-1 and E-6 (listed as options at http://www.pge.com/en/about/rates/rateinfo/rateoptions/index.page" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false. I was on E-1 and recently switched to E-6.

I did say "Reasonable to me would be not much more (preferably less) than the equivalent cost of fueling a Prius to go the same distance as provided by the QC." I suppose the QC rates you cited might be more reasonable when compared against less efficient ICEVs. However, the QC pricing coupled w/the time it takes to go out of one's way and to charge is can be a damper on its acceptance. There's a big difference between hardcore EV proponents and environmentalists vs. average American driver.

Again, it all comes down to time, value, money and convenience. I can think of a whole bunch of scenarios where I wouldn't want to have to stop to charge.

 

[coqui]

In Charlotte, NC, we have few L2's and ZERO QC's - so any QC would be welcome. BUT:
(a) do NOT put them at a dealer. Its closed and blocked at night, or an ICE is parked there due to the dealer not having enough parking available.
(b) DO place them along the interstate, for example at rest stops.

 

[GregH]

Tony is referring to cwerdna's comment that public charging has to be cheaper than driving the Prius, otherwise he'll just take the Prius instead.

For those Leaf drivers who find DCQC charging too expensive and are contemplating taking the Prius instead.. I encourage you. Take the Prius. You will be less likely to be using the DCQC when I need it.

 

[KJD]

For those Leaf drivers who find DCQC charging too expensive and are contemplating taking the Prius instead.. I encourage you. Take the Prius. You will be less likely to be using the DCQC when I need it.

+1

 

[x10guy]

Carson Nissan quick charger is back up and operational.

 

[Reddy]

PM me if anyone has a contact a Nissan corporate who might be able to help get some of these installed in sticksville eastern Washington.

I have a couple of locations that are needed to connect up to the existing AV DCQCs in western Washington. However, without some kind of corporate or gov't support we haven't got a chance. I'd guess that we have fewer than 200 EVs here (and yes, eastern WA is about 75% of WA by area but not by population). When I talk to people about EVs, I always say they are perfect in town. I constantly run up against the "well I can't drive it to Seattle" argument, for which I have no good answer. We could easily have thousands of Leafs in this area (lots of scientific folks) if we just had a couple of well-placed DCQCs.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Tony is referring to cwerdna's comment that public charging has to be cheaper than driving the Prius, otherwise he'll just take the Prius instead.

For those Leaf drivers who find DCQC charging too expensive and are contemplating taking the Prius instead.. I encourage you. Take the Prius. You will be less likely to be using the DCQC when I need it.

with each dealer being a franchise and having to maintain the land thru rent, lease or purchase, Nissan would have limited say in how the chargers are dealt with. a nominal fee that covers the juice is hardly unreasonable but maybe we need to look at a subscription plan of sorts. Tesla is free now, but it would not surprise me to see Tesla cut that off for new sales in the future as the volume of Teslas reaches a saturation point for the charging network.

A better plan might be one where subscriptions maintain the network, nominal charge fees finance expansion.

http://daveinolywa.blogspot.com/2013/04/ev-range-anxiety-addressing-5-and-user.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Herm]

I still think free charging if you bought the car at the dealership is a great idea (and can prove it with a decal on the back of the car).. otherwise you pay $10 with a regular debit or credit card like every fuel pump in the USA. It probably would be a good idea to monitor the free charge usage in case you get a leaf electron pig.

 

[tbleakne]

Plugshare is reporting Fontana Nissan QC operational as of 4-19.

I charged successfully at Fontana DCQC today, Monday. Dave Bhojwani, General Sales Manager saw me and came right out with his fob to activate the unit. Free for now, but since this is SCE territory, time will tell.

Sumitomo unit was very quiet compared to Eaton or Blink DCQC, but CHAdeMO plug as big and awkward as the others. 15 min took me from 25% SOC to 55%.
Unfortunately Fontana installed unit right next to Level 2, so there is only 2 or 3 parking spots to share 2 L2 and the DCQC.

 

[Kataphn]

We stopped at Downtown LA Nissan to try QC. It is located in the same row of parking spaces where they have several L2 stations. They placed the QC at the end of the row, close to the side street driveway. There is one nozzle. There is no way to set a per cent % charge. There is just a start and end button. There is a handmade sign on it saying to check with receptionist for fob to activate it. Salesman then comes out with fob with you to activate it and offer assistance. We declined help since we want to get used to doing it ourselves. This was 4th QC in 2 years for our LEAF. Since fob is needed and, maybe for other reasons, QC available only when they are open which is until 8 pm every day. They open at 7:30 am weekdays and later on weekends. Access to this QC on the premises is very good since it is in a lot that faces Washington Blvd. which can be entered from there or the side street. Another LEAF driver came up just as we were finishing to use QC. Salesman said they are getting multiple visits daily now.

 

[eMaS]

Nissan Elk Grove QC (just South of Sacramento)


for those who missed it.
It is open and free to use during business hours - just go inside and let them unlock

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wfs2ypmywdl6ju3/sOsCR9Ayik" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[JeremyW]

So here's the deal with Glendale:

They are giving higher priority to those that bought their leaf there, but anyone can charge. You have to have the fob to charge (like the others), best is to go directly to the reception desk and have them summon the guy with the fob (I'm assuming manager?). Many of the sales guys have no idea what this thing is. :?

Got a seven minute qc just to see that it does indeed work. I can hear the switching frequency, it's quite a bit higher in pitch then the Eaton unit. The hose is bulky- quite a bit more insulation, same yazaki connector but there's a little plastic piece to hold the handle on the connector. Weird, and not needed.

Of course the stop button is green, in true CHAdeMO fashion. :roll:

 

[tbleakne]

So here's the deal with Glendale:

They are giving higher priority to those that bought their leaf there, but anyone can charge. >>>>

Of course the stop button is green, in true CHAdeMO fashion. :roll:

Thanks for your clarification report.

Besides the Stop button being Green, the emergency button is so prominent right in front that you are just drawn to it even though you know you must not touch it. The Blink in Azusa has the emergency shutoff in a very in-prominent location - one thing they do right.

Jeremy, my hearing used to be very good with high frequencies. Walking into a TV store drove me crazy with the 15kHz fly back frequency of CRT sets. I did not hear the Sumitomo switching at all today. I believe my hearing still goes to about 9kHz. The low speed of the cooling fans suggests a very high efficiency.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Magic Nissan in Everett should be operational by the end of the week. posting phone since it looks like will only be available to charge during business hours, so call ahead!

Magic Nissan of Everett
10500 Washington 99, Everett, WA
(425) 347-5763

also Campbell Nissan in Edmonds is pending

24325 Washington 99, Edmonds, WA
(425) 774-2174