EV owners won’t have to roam as much for plug-ins

Of all the trends emerging from this year’s Los Angeles International Auto Show, likely the best one for consumers that are making their way to electric plug-in cars is the formation of ROEV, a consortium of electric car manufacturers and charging systems.

This new grouping of CarCharging/Blink, ChargePoint and NRG EVgo will allow consumers easier access to all networked, public EV chargers, so that they may comfortably recharge their vehicles throughout the U.S.A. using a participating EV charging network account.

“Driving an EV will be easier thanks to ROEV. The EV driver’s ability to find, and charge at, any member public station, using an EV charging network account of their choice, is paramount to a simple driving and charging experience,” said Simon Lonsdale, Chair of the Board of ROEV. “The ROEV Association is working to streamline EV charging access across multiple charging networks in order to help bring EVs further into the mainstream.”

More than 90 percent of public networked EV charging ports are operated by the ROEV founders and drivers will be able to access charging stations nationwide, across multiple networks, using their account of choice.  Currently there are 19,000 public, networked EV charging ports in the United States, according to the Department of Energy alternative fueling station locator. At this time, drivers have to search for the network to which they’ve subscribed in order to recharge their vehicles.

With this new group, that’ll change as drivers won’t have to forage for electricity nearly as much as they’ve had to in the past. It’ll be a lot like bank debit cards that make it possible to withdraw funds from any ATM, hopefully without those added fees.

Drivers working with a participating EV charging network account can access a recharge at any participating charging station. By improving the convenience of EV charging to the public, ROEV expects to enhance the EV ownership experience for current and future drivers.

BMW and Nissan were among the participating manufacturers on-hand to announce the endeavor in Los Angeles. Beyond the founders, several companies have already joined ROEV, including Audi, Honda, Efacec, Portland General Electric, SemaConnect and BTC Power. Notable by its current absence is Tesla.

ROEV expects their charging network interoperability will increase the appeal of electric car ownership; it is currently recruiting additional members and associates from the EV industry. For more information, contact ROEV.org.

By Anne Proffit