Over the objection of some of America's staunchest electric-vehicle advocates, California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law a bill that allows all-electric battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) as well as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) to be towed if they park in designated EV-charging parking spaces but are not plugged in. "We think that there's the potential that the law may end up costing the state money, because in essence you now have to have one charger per EV parking space," Jay Friedland, legislative director of the advocacy group Plug In America, told AutoObserver Friday.
In the past, if an electric vehicle (EV) were fully charged, it was acceptable for the owner of an EV parked nearby to unplug the charged vehicle and plug in his or her car, Friedland said. But under the new law, the unplugged car will be at risk of being towed away. Friedland said Plug In America is working with some California lawmakers to introduce a bill early next year that "will fix the problem."
Other opponents complained that PHEVs should not be granted the same right to use the chargers as BEVs, because unlike BEVs they are not entirely dependent on electricity for fuel. PHEVs have onboard gasoline-fuel generators that permit them to generate their own juice once their batteries are depleted. Friedland said Plug In America, possibly the strongest EV advocacy group in the U.S., does not share that sentiment. That's because the group primarily wants vehicles to rely less on fossil fuels and more on electricity, regardless of whether they are plug-in hybrids or BEVs, he said.
Read More: autoobserver.com
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