Date: Sep 11, 1997 Author: JOHN HUGHES Source: Associated Press (
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DETROIT (AP) _ Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it can recharge its Ranger pickups in 20 minutes instead of six hours, an improvement that might encourage more consumers to consider using electric vehicles.
But analysts cautioned the vehicles' limited range and cost of recharging them remain obstacles to broad consumer acceptance.
Ford said a device called PosiCharge will allow electric Ranger users to recharge vehicles four times each day and be able to drive 170 miles daily compared with the usual 50 miles a day when it took so long to recharge the battery.
``It's all about time,'' said Edward Moore of AeroVironment Inc., which developed the charger. ``If you had to stop and recharge for 3 1/2 hours, that just wouldn't make a very pleasant trip.''
Some Ranger customers could use the device as early as the middle of next year, Ford said. The automaker is manufacturing the first electric Rangers in December and hopes to sell 1,000 next year, nearly all for use by governments, utilities and other fleet owners.
``The commercial fleets ordering our Ranger EV are already asking for the fast-charging option,'' said John Wallace, who directs Ford's alternative vehicle program.
Automakers have been trying for years to speed up the several hours it takes to charge electric car batteries. But Ford is the first to adopt a fast-charging system and encourage customers to use it, said Amy Bricker, an analyst at the International Center for Technology Assessment.
``The best advantage is for consumers who are out shopping and can pull into a public station and recharge it in a matter of minutes,'' she said.
A drawback could be in the cost of the charger, she said.
General Motors Corp. said its lower-voltage charger, which takes two to three hours to fully juice an electric car and pickup, costs $2,500 to buy and install at homes. The industrial-strength PosiCharge will cost about $35,000 next year and is intended for shopping malls, utilities and restaurants _ not homes, Moore said.
Purchasers of the device would decide how much consumers pay for using the recharging stations, he said.
But consumers who are used to few-minute visits at gas pumps could balk at waiting for a 20-minute charge, said James Hall, an analyst with AutoPacific Inc.
``Bear in mind, 20 minutes is still a far cry from going and gassing up the family'' car, he said.
PosiCharge also won't increase the vehicle's range between charges and could frustrate electric vehicle consumers and vendors because it could only be used for Ford vehicles, Hall said.
``It makes it tougher for someone who wants to get into recharging as a business,'' he said.
GM has leased and sold 450 of its electric cars and pickups since they went on the market in December in California and Arizona. Honda Motor Co. has sold about 40 electric cars in California since going on sale in May.
Chrysler Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Corp. are also planning to have or already have electric vehicles on the market.
Ford's competitors played down the Thursday announcement. Honda customers prefer recharging their batteries overnight at home, spokesman Art Garner said.
``I don't think they have a lot of confidence in charging on the fly,'' he said.
GM will demonstrate a device next spring that will give an 80-percent recharge in about 10 minutes, said Frank Schweibold, a director of finance and business planning for the automaker.
``This is not a watershed announcement,'' Schweibold said. ``This is kind of trend that the whole industry has been working on.''
