DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. plans to increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations for its North American employees from 200 to 600 over the next three years as it places a greater emphasis on electrification.
The automaker said this week that it's been studying employee charging habits for three years and has found that access to workplace charging is crucial for EV owners and often influences their purchasing decision.
"Work is the second most likely place people charge their electric vehicles," said Steve Henderson, Ford sustainability and vehicle environmental matters manager, in a statement. "If we give people the ability to charge when they're at work, we can significantly up the potential for mass market adoption of electrified vehicle technology."
Through early August, Ford said its network has provided about 2 million miles of pure electric driving for its workers. Ford hopes that its employees' habits will offer insight into what the larger buying public wants as it rolls out more EVs.
Ford, which says it is the No. 2 seller of electrified vehicles, is in the midst of launching 13 new electrified vehicles over the next five years as part of a $4.5 billion investment. Last week, executives said they were forming a dedicated team, dubbed "Team Edison" to study battery electric vehicle technology and planned to add an unspecified number of pure EVs "post 2020."
What remains to be seen, however, is how Ford will address EV infrastructure for nonemployees.
The automaker last year signed an agreement with BMW Group, Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG to set up charging stations along major highways in Europe. The group initially targeted 400 sites, with plans to set up thousands by 2020.
It has no similar plans for the U.S.
