BMW to add 100-ish EV charging stations to national parks
I'm sure there's a good joke about hippies to throw in here somewhere.
Concerns about EV range anxiety may not matter for much longer, at least when you're traveling to and from a national park.
BMW announced that it will build up to 100 electric vehicle charging stations at national parks across the US. The first one went online today, at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in New Jersey -- the location of both Edison's home and laboratory. Seems appropriate.
BMW's electrified offerings don't use a proprietary charger, so whatever BMW installs should be good for a majority of EVs on the market today.
The automaker isn't going it alone in this endeavor. It's partnered with the National Park Foundation, National Park Service and the Department of Energy's Clean Cities Program to determine the location for future EV chargers, looking at factors like local EV markets, distance to other chargers and consideration for the landscape itself.
The DoE is getting involved because its Clean Cities Program works in conjunction with the National Park Service to develop sustainable transportation programs at national park sites, and that's exactly what this is -- promoting a friendlier sort of transportation at a national park.
"I can't think of a better way to celebrate the next 100 years of both the BMW Group and National Park Service than by making America's national parks more accessible to drivers of electric vehicles," Ludwig Willisch, head of BMW Group's American region, said in a statement. "Together with our partners, I hope that we can channel a little of Edison's spirit and, in the same way that he made electric power widely available, make electric vehicle charging more widely available for everyone."
