Friday, July 30, 2010

Plug-In Recap

Back at home with the 5 week old and the 5 year old (as well as my bride). I would have to say my first Plug-In Conference was a success. Here's what I learned...

Charging - The battle to create the next evolution of the gas station is underway. It will show up at grocery stores, drug stores and big box retailers (because you need to kill some time while you juice up). Expect big things to happen along the west coast and in key markets in the midwest and southeast. A myriad of announcements will be in the offing and the first chargers will hit aforementioned locations late this year/early next year.

EV - Talk of the town was the pricing of the Volt and the Leaf matching the battery warranty of Chevrolet. At this point the ponies are in the starting gate and we are all ready for the bell to ring.

Future - Lots of interesting takes on why EV will happen (either because you want to save the planet or because our national security depends on it). Question is how much and how long will govt. subsidization last and will alternative distribution pop up for these products. Current car dealers can be none too thrilled as EVs do not support their current business model (making money on routine service repairs). Alternative distribution is going to be needed but who will step up.

The panel ended up going great and was a lot of fun. Special thanks to the organizers for pulling it all together.

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