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Evatran, Bosch will sell wireless home charger for as low as $1,998*

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today, the big news for plug in vehicles is that they can now start to ditch the plug. As expected, the system costs around $3,000 and is available for both the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt. For the first 250 customers, though, Evatran is offering $1,000 off the standard price, a 30 percent discount. Deliveries start next month and Evatran says it expects the discounted units to all be snatched up in the first half of the year. The wireless charger charges as quickly as conventional corded systems. Called the Plugless Wireless EV charger, the 240-volt station will be installed by Bosch and needs a specific adapter to be used with the Volt or the Leaf (the Leaf version costs $100 more). So, any two-EV families out there will need to pony up double if there's a Chevy and a Nissan in the garage. Of course, since the Plugless system only works with older Leafs (2010-2012 model years - but with any Volt), any late adopters will not be able to take advantage of the new technology, for now. Evatran says the wireless charger "charges the Volt and Leaf as quickly as conventional corded systems and all vehicle features, such as charge-timers and phone applications, can be used seamlessly with the Plugless system." After the first 250 units, standard prices for the wireless chargers take effect again: $2,998 (Volt) and $3,098 (Leaf). Evatran says it will announce wireless chargers for additional vehicles and model years later this year. Evatran and Bosch offer Promotional Pricing as low as $1,998 to first 250 PLUGLESS™ Wireless EV Charging Customers LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Evatran Group, Inc. ("Evatran"), in partnership with Bosch Automotive Service Solutions, announced today at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show that it is offering reduced promotional pricing to the first 250 customers who opt to Go PLUGLESS with their electric vehicle ("EV") experience. The PLUGLESS system offers a convenient, wireless charging alternative to the repetitive process of unplugging and plugging-in electric vehicles. The reduced pricing includes all charging hardware and is as much as a 30% discount off the system's standard MSRP. The discount is available only to the first 250 customers. Initial shipments of the PLUGLESS system, the first wireless EV charging product in the world available to individual EV drivers, will begin in February 2014.

GM executive chief EV engineer says reducing cost of plug-in vehicles is 'huge priority'

As we know, another major automaker investing heavily in electrified vehicles is General Motors, and it's doing things much differently than rivals BMW, Ford or Nissan. The Chevrolet Volt extended-range EV is a modest seller at its $35,000 sticker price but a huge hit with owners. The Chevy Spark BEV, still in limited availability, puts smiley faces on its owners and drivers. The just-introduced Cadillac ELR, a sharp-looking, fun-driving $76,000 luxocoupe take on the Volt's EREV mechanicals, has admittedly low sales expectations. With this interesting trio in showrooms and much more in the works, the third vehicle electrification leader I collared for an interview at Detroit's North American International Auto Show (see #1 and #2) was Pam Fletcher, GM's executive chief engineer, Electrified Vehicles. ABG: Why do your EREVs need four-cylinder power to extend their range when BMW's i3 makes do with an optional 650 cc two-banger? "We designed [the Volt and the ELR] to go anywhere, any time" - Pam Fletcher PF: I get that question all the time: why not something smaller? You don't really need that much. You use the electric to its ability, then you just need to limp. But we designed those cars to go anywhere, any time, and we don't want their performance to be compromised. If you're driving through the mountains, we don't want you to be crawling up grades, or to be limited on any terrain. So it's optimized to be able to travel literally the biggest grades and mountain roads around the globe at posted speeds. Because what if you can't? Another good reason: when the engine is on, you have to run it wide open throttle, max speed, most of the time. And while we can do a lot with acoustics, and the ELR has active noise cancelation, a small-displacement, low cylinder-count engine at high speed, high load all the time isn't something you want to live with. That's how we came up with the balance we did among the key factors of performance, NVH [noise, vibration and harshness] and range. ABG: Where you go from here? Is the range-extender engine due for an update? PF: We know and love the current Volt, and there is still a lot of acclaim about it, so we think it's a good recipe. But we are heavily in the midst of engineering the next-generation car, which I think everyone will love and be excited about.

Recharge Wrap-up: Phoenix Cars delivers ZEUS to Navy, Volt saves gas compared to i-MiEV

Phoenix Cars has delivered its first Zero Emissions Utility Shuttle (ZEUS) flatbed truck to the US Navy. The electric flatbed will be used to transport maintenance materials around Naval Base Ventura County Port Hueneme. The Phoenix ZEUS features a 100-mile range, and can charge in just three hours. It also features vehicle-to-grid technology and direct power capability, allowing it to function as a mobile power station. ZEUS customers enjoy an eight-year/300,000-mile battery warranty and round-the-clock technical support from Phoenix. Phoenix launched an electric passenger shuttle last year, and years ago worked on an electric sport utility truck before shifting over to larger vehicles. Read more in the press release from Phoenix Cars. A man found that he used less gas by trading in his Mitsubishi i-MiEV for a Chevrolet Volt. Ben Rich saved fuel in part by using his Volt for road trips rather than needing to rent cars. Rich also found other benefits to driving a Volt, including more comfort, more freedom of movement and less range anxiety. Rich often had to turn off the heat in the winter to eke out precious miles in the Mitsubishi, which he needn't do in the Chevy, though he did have a gripe about the Volt using the gas motor to warm the car. Read more at Green Car Reports. EV drivers using the ChargePoint network have traveled over 196 million miles without gasoline. ChargePoint has tallied over 9 million charging sessions for a total of 65 gigawatt hours of energy. Based on national efficiency averages of three miles per kWh and 23.9 miles per gallon, this has saved 8.2 million gallons of gasoline and 60 million pounds of CO2. This accounts for what ChargePoint calls a "huge environmental impact." Read more in the release from ChargePoint below. The Environmental Impact of ChargePoint Drivers Campbell, Calif.– We all know electric vehicles (EV) have enormous environmental advantages over gas vehicles. Plug-in EVs reduce carbon-based greenhouse gases, improve air quality and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. EV drivers on the ChargePoint network have had a huge environmental impact. With over 9 million charging sessions delivering 65 gigawatt hours of energy, EV drivers have avoided over 60 million pounds of CO2 and 8.2 million gallons of gasoline, and driven over 196 million gas-free miles. *Based on national averages: EV efficiency of 3 miles per kWh, gas efficiency of 23.9 mpg and a net savings of 0.924 pounds of CO2 per kWh.