The need is there and the forecasts are being made. As far as the needs of electric cars, charging stations are bound to be the next demand in the motoring industry, something that has already started but is way off from covering the needs of the projected number of electric cars expected to be out in the market.

As far as the Pike Research is concerned, there will be over 5 million charging stations up, obviously foreseeing the major influx of electric cars running around in the streets by then.

“While electric vehicles will be primarily charged at home, a strong funding push by governments will mean that more than half of all charge points will be public charging stations by 2015,” says industry analyst John Gartner. “Retailers will also install public access stations primarily as a marketing tool, and many companies will also offer workplace charging stations for their employees.”

Indeed, people can satisfy themselves for now with a one-time charge. But the next question is up to where can they go? Most electric cars today have a specified mileage depending on the charging capacity and unlike fueled cars, charging stations just in case of extended road trips is obviously lacking. Then again, who knows if they will be that plenty come 2015? We can only wait and see.

(Source) Press

Tags: 5 million, electric cars, electric vehicle, electric vehicles, fueled cars, gartner, governments, industry analyst, influx, marketing tool, mileage, public access, road trips, time charge

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Due to continued poor sales, General Motors has boldly announced that it will be closing down 1,100 dealers late next year, a move that all the more puts the car industry into deeper turmoil. GM’s announcement is more bad economic news for dealers, communities and businesses still reeling from Chrysler’s similar nationwide dealer cuts a day earlier. Both automakers are scrambling to reorganize and stay alive in a severe recession that has devastated sales of cars and trucks.

While GM doesn’t own the dealers, its network is too big, causing dealers to compete with each other and giving shoppers too much leverage to talk down prices and hurt the company’s future sales.

“Too many dealers, in actuality, are a problem,” Mark LaNeve, GM’s vice president of North American sales and marketing, said in a conference call with reporters.

GM declined to reveal which dealers will be eliminated and left it up to franchise owners to report the decision to customers.

The cuts are part of a larger GM plan to drop 2,600, or nearly 42 percent of its 6,200 dealerships as the automaker tries to restructure outside of bankruptcy court and become profitable again. Thousands of jobs will likely be lost and governments will lose untold dollars in tax revenue as dealerships are forced to close.

(Source) Memphis Daily

Tags: actuality, automaker, automakers, bankruptcy court, car industry, Chrysler, conference call, economic news, future sales, General Motors, GM, governments, leverage, mark laneve, memphis, recession, sales and marketing, shoppers, turmoil, vice president

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