SANTA ROSA, CA – ZAP has launched a Web site where owners of electric cars can find and report the location of public and private charging outlets. The new resource is available by visiting http://www.pluginmap.org. ZAP has been selling its XEBRA electric ‘city car’ and truck since last year. While the range of the $10,000 electric vehicle (EV) is limited compared to gas cars, owners find that by charging at a normal 110-volt, electrical outlet once or twice a day they can do all their in-town driving without ever using a gas vehicle.
“Our goal is to have a global network of places you can plug in,” said ZAP’s Chairman Gary Starr. “Some may be public, some may be private, but we’ve heard of large organizations that are providing free parking for EVs and wanted to create a resource where this information can be shared with other drivers of EVs.”
Starr said that a simple electrical outlet in a parking garage, parking lot, store, work, restaurant, school, library — even a gas station — will give consumers more opportunities to use gas-free, zero-emission vehicles.
A XEBRA customer in Olympia, Washington, Joe Lambrix, inspired ZAP’s web resource. Lambrix started by supporting businesses and other establishments that made EV charging available. Later he made a Web site to list the businesses in his community that offer EV charging: www.pluginolympia.com.
The ZAP XEBRA will normally get a full charge by plugging in overnight, with a full charge taking up to six hours. If the car can plug in during stops around town, ZAP says the XEBRA can get a significant charge back in a short time. The batteries and on board charger used in the XEBRA can recharge faster when they are discharged versus when they are almost full, so less than an hour of charging really helps. If you can plug in for the time it takes to eat lunch, what ZAP calls an ‘opportunity charge,’ you can increase your daily driving range up to 30 percent. For corporate and fleet applications, ZAP also distributes a Rapid Charger that can charge up a vehicle in less than an hour.
