Freund: An electric friend

The two biggest hurdles to the roll-out of electric vehicles (EVs) in the US are political will and public perception, says Ron Freund, chairman of the California-based Electric Auto Association (EAA).

Not an issue
The technology, he says, is not an issue thanks to the latest advances in electric powertrain technology. He highlights the pioneering work being carried out at Tesla Motors, the high performance electric vehicles developer.

“Its latest electric powertrain Roadster has a range of over 200 miles and can go from zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. The car’s a sight to behold and a joy to ride – showing the world that an EV doesn’t have to be a golf cart,” Ron enthuses.

The perennial problem with electric vehicles is the required charging infrastructure, but America’s recharging infrastructure is already there as there are over eight million camper-van parks and campgrounds where drivers can recharge. So with the infrastructure in place and the technology already on the starting blocks, all that’s needed is the political will, says Ron.

Conservatism
President Obama is imposing stricter fuel economy standards and has set a goal for a million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015. He’s also established the Department of Energy grant, which recently gave Nissan North America one hundred million dollars to develop charging stations for EVs in Tennessee.

However, Ron says this has annoyed some people because Nissan is Japanese and many American buyers prefer to buy from home-grown companies. Particularly in the middle American states, away from the coastlines of California and the East Coast, this conservatism also means that getting people to drive EVs is an uphill task. But it is a goal worth pursuing, says Ron.

Autonomous
“We don’t give up in any state. If someone wants to set up an EAA chapter, we’ll give them guidance. However, all of our chapters are truly autonomous. We don’t tell them what to do,” he explains.

The EAA is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 1967 in sunny San Jose. Ron joined as chairman in 2000 and began to modernise the association, embracing the power of the internet as an invaluable tool to disseminate information. The association has around 2,500 members, all of whom are individuals as opposed to businesses or other organisations.

It has chapters in most states across the USA that act as information providers to distribute news about electric vehicle (EV) technology to the public. It also organises exhibitions and events that educate people about the benefits of driving EVs, as well as inform people just how far down the road EV technology is.

It can only get easier
Given the gas-guzzling proclivities of our friends across the Atlantic, that’s some task, but Ron is up for the challenge.

“Electric powertrains will play a vital part in sustainable mobility and our role is to get that message out to everybody. It’s not easy, but with US innovators like Tesla coming to the fore, it can only get easier,” he says.