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Recharge Wrap-up: QR code hints at Tesla Supercharger in Mexico, Lyft tests scheduling

A QR code in a parking garage hints at an upcoming Tesla Supercharger in Mexico. The mysterious QR code directs to a tweet from Elon Musk where he affirms that Tesla will expand its charging network into Mexico "this year." The folks at Teslarati reached out to the automaker, and a spokesperson responded by saying, "Yes, we can confirm that we are planning on having our first Supercharger in Mexico in Cuernavaca City." That's about 50 miles south of Mexico City, where the country's lone Tesla store is located. Read more at Teslarati. Lyft is testing out a ride scheduling system for its ride-hailing service in San Francisco. When requesting a ride, users can select a pickup time up to 24 hours out, ensuring they'll be able to get where they need to go. Users can cancel or change the time up to 30 minutes before their scheduled ride. Lyft says it plans to expand the scheduling service to more users this summer. Read more from Lyft, or at Green Car Congress. Renault is partnering with other automakers and charging operators as part of the EU's Fast-E charging project. Fast-E seeks to install fast-charging infrastructure for electric vehicles along Germany and Belgium's main motorways, financed by the EU and nine companies, including Renault, BMW, Volkswagen and Nissan. The 278 charging stations will be installed every 50 miles along the major roadways by the end of the year, at a cost of about $20 million. A sister project in the Czech Republic and Slovakia plans to add another 30 charging stations in those countries. Read more in the press release below. Renault is a partner of the European fast-charging project Fast-E in Germany • Official launch of Fast-E project co-financed by the European Union and nine companies, including Renault, in Berlin and Brussels. • 241 charging stations installed in Germany and 37 in Belgium by the end of 2016. • A sister project between the Czech Republic and Slovakia adds another 30 charging stations. The 278 charging points set up every 80 km along Germany and Belgium's main motorways, will allow drivers of electric vehicles to "refuel" and extend their car's range. The total investment of the EU-funded cooperation is approximately ˆ18 million. Every one of the multi-standard fast-chargers spread out over four countries have AC and DC connections, allowing drivers to charge their vehicles' batteries easily and quickly. Electric vehicles can be charge up to 80% on the charging stations within an hour.

Akerson calls for GM tech to stymie Tesla

Electric vehicle maker Tesla has had some good days lately as sales of the Model S have exceeded expectations as much as the company's profits, thanks in no small part to innovative thinking that has resulted in mass sales of ZEV credits to other manufacturers, free charging stations, 90-second battery swaps and manufacturer-owned dealerships. All of this has the attention of General Motors, who views Tesla as a disruptive force to the auto industry and as a threat to the 104-year-old automaker.
Case in point: GM recognizes that Tesla must be doing something right if it can sell more of its $69,900 Model S sedans than the $39,145 Volt. So what is GM doing about it? Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson assigned a small team to study Tesla so the company won't be caught off guard in the future. In an interview with Bloomberg, Steve Girsky, GM vice chairman, said, "History is littered with big companies that ignored innovation that was coming their way because you didn't know where you could be disrupted."
GM was one of those big companies at one point, and it hasn't quite broken that mold. It has struggled to move on from the old, inefficient practices of its past, leading Akerson to chide employees at a recent conference in Houston because so many in-house patents had failed to be commercialized and implemented in GM designs. This, of course, resulted in a huge research-and-development budget that was wasteful. But Akerson knows that GM must rely on innovation and a tight focus on technologies that customers want if it is to be profitable and survive in the long term.

Recharge Wrap-up: EVs poll well in Portland, Tesla seeks office space

In a poll of drivers in Portland, more than 80 percent said they would be driving an EV in the next 10 years if they weren't already. The poll was small and not scientific, with just 218 votes cast, but it does reflect a slice of a certain population with changing attitudes toward electric mobility, and 80 percent is an impressive figure. Additionally, 43 percent of respondents planned to have an EV in the next five years, and only 18 percent said they prefer gasoline-powered vehicles. With EVs in many ways repeating the adoption process that hybrids went through a decade ago, the five- or ten-year timeframe for more widespread use seems only natural. Read more at the Portland Business Journal. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee parks like an idiot, or rather, his security detail does. His Chevrolet Volt has been ticketed for parking six times since he took office. Granted, those street-sweeping signs are tough to keep track of, but his car has been photographed blocking at a bus stop while grabbing a burrito (who hasn't sinned in the name of a delicious burrito?), and was even caught parked in a crosswalk. The tickets were all dismissed. Read more from the SF Gate. Tesla is looking for office space in Silicon Valley. As the electric car company continues to search for a place to build its $4- to $5-billion battery Gigafactory, it also needs some real estate to expand its operations near its Palo Alto home. Tesla has expanded from 3,000 to 6,000 California-based employees since the end of 2012, and plans to add 500 more by the end of the year. It is currently looking for 200,000 to 300,000 square feet of office space close to its Fremont factory, according to sources in the real estate industry. Read more at the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Related Gallery 2014 Chevrolet Volt View 11 Photos News Source: Portland Business Journal, SF Gate, Silicon Valley Business JournalImage Credit: Paul Sakuma / AP Green Chevrolet Tesla Electric recharge wrapup portland silicon valley parking ticket