It’s been a year since Robert Darmanin purchased his Ford Mustang Mach-E and he still loves it.
“When I factored in tax credits charging at home versus paying for gas, etc., switching to an EV made good financial sense,” said Darmanin, who, like many of his friends around the Motor City, grew up in an automotive family. “The performance of the Mach-E was the icing on the cake. It’s more fun to drive than any vehicle I’ve ever owned. It would be hard to go back to a gas-powered car.”
Prior to purchasing an electric vehicle Darmanin drove a 300-horsepower Nissan Maxima SR.
“It was a fun car that served me very well,” said Darmanin, who works as a communications manager for a Troy-based company that is a 30 mile commute from his Macomb Township home. His drive cost more than a few tanks of gas a week.
So, he put a deposit on the car on Dec. 19, 2019, took delivery of the vehicle on Sept. 30, 2021 and could not be happier.
“Ford did a great job designing and engineering this vehicle. The fit and finish are outstanding,” Darmanin said. “It drives like a sports car but has a surprisingly forgiving ride. It’s also all-wheel-drive, so it handles amazingly well in the snow. You can’t say that about many performance cars.”
To accommodate his new ride, Darmanin worked with a local electrical contracting firm that provided and installed a charging station in his garage. “I typically charge my car when the range drops below 50%,” Darmanin said. “It normally takes five to seven hours for a full charge. The maximum I have gotten is about 281 miles.”
So, theoretically he could drive as far as Traverse City, Columbus, Ohio and even Niagara Falls, Ontario on one charge and still be charged enough to find a hotel or restaurant.
However, not all cars go that far.
Wendy Mutch of Novi purchased a 2015 Chevy Volt.
Unlike Darmanin her car only gets about 36 miles on a full charge but it’s a plug-in hybrid vehicle, so she can stop at a gas station or use the charging stations at the Novi Public Library to replenish the charge.
As with most EV drivers she’s glad to hear that Michigan is partnering with private sector and governmental agencies in using federal dollars to create an electric vehicle charging network across the state.
“Electric vehicles are not the bulk of the vehicles on the road now, but I believe it to be true that there’s going to be increased competition for the charging stations,” said Mutch. “I’m glad the state is being proactive. We’ll see how it goes.”
According to U.S. Department of Energy data, there are over 2,500 electric vehicle chargers in Michigan, including around 2,300 for use by the public. This represents a 39% increase from 2021.
For 2021, the most recent data available, there were around 17,500 registered electric vehicles in Michigan, an increase of 64.7% from 2020. Based on federal data, there’s about one charging station for every 7 Michigan electric vehicle drivers.
Last month, the federal government announced that Michigan will receive a $110 million grant from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, as part of the federal infrastructure law. The money will be used to increase the charging network to support long-distance travel and provide convenient charging options. Along with the money, MDOT’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Deployment Plan was approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The plan is to install four 150 kilowatt (kW)-or-greater vehicle chargers spaced no more than 50 miles apart along each of the state’s designated Alternative Fuel Corridors, which include all seven of the state’s major highways that will serve as the backbone of Michigan’s vehicle charging network. This includes Interstate-69, I-75, I-94, I-96, I-196, I-275, I-696.
Once the highway charging network is completed, the remaining money becomes discretionary and can be used on any public road or in other publicly accessible areas.
Charging network
Judson Herzer, managing director of policy in the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, said federal resources are incredibly important as the state grows its vehicle charging infrastructure to help defeat the notion of range anxiety.
Mutch said her family lives in Grand Rapids so she relies on gasoline to get her there and back.
“It’s a top barrier for potential EV purchasers,” he said. “Being able to drive an electric car or truck anywhere across the United States without fear of being out of range of a charging opportunity will have a big impact on EV sales – which is important for Detroit auto manufacturers and Michigan’s economy.”
Last month, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unveiled a new statewide strategy to ensure Michigan remains the global leader in the future of mobility.
The MI Future Mobility Plan aims to coordinate efforts across multiple state departments and agencies to address challenges and support growth in the mobility and electrification industry. The plan was developed by the governor’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification and its Council on Future Mobility and Electrification, both of which were formed in February 2020.
One of the goals of the plan is to provide safer, greener, and more accessible transportation infrastructure. That includes increasing the number of vehicle chargers across the state.
According to the plan, the state will install 100,000 vehicle chargers to support 2 million electric vehicles by the year 2030. To meet the goal over 12,000 vehicle chargers would need to be installed per year.
Charging Macomb
Among the proprietors of the future is Steve Nalu, owner of Towns Mart Marathon Center on 32 Mile Road and M-53 in Washington Township.
Nalu’s facility has two Level 3 DC fast-charging stations that were installed with the assistance of the electric vehicle charging company ChargePointe and grant funding from the state and DTE Energy.
The other Level 3 charging stations are located on Gratiot Avenue, south of Hall Road in Clinton Township, and two locations at a Meijer store on Little Mack Avenue south of 13 Mile Road in Roseville. The county currently has 29 charging stations within its boundaries. The Washington Township charging station opened in February 2021.
“We know there is work to do when it comes to building our our EV charging infrastructure network,” said Vicky Rowinski, director of Macomb County Planning and Economic Development, who attended the opening of the charging stations in order to highlight the grant funding and programs available to both private and public entities wishing to install charging stations at their facility. “We envision this equipment at hotels, shopping malls, educational facilities and other locations where people can park and charge. There is a good amount of capacity in our community for this type of equipment.’
Towns Mart Marathon gas station is an example of what other business owners can do.
The cost to install the two fast charging stations came to $200,000, and grant funding from the state and DTE covered half of that total. Rowinski said several grant, rebate and reimbursement initiatives are available for Individuals and companies interested in this type of support.
Partnerships
Rivian, an electric vehicle manufacturer that also makes its own chargers, is one of the state’s partners working to help expand the vehicle charging network in Michigan.
Earlier this year, the company announced a partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Michigan Economic Development Corporation to install Rivian Waypoints chargers at 20 state parks. The first were installed earlier this year at Holland State Park.
Chris Nevers, Rivian’s senior director of public policy, said this $110 million investment from the federal government lays the foundation for a reliable charging network needed to support Michigan’s growing number of electric vehicles.
Nevers added that a robust charging network provides immediate economic benefits and lays the foundation for future to help meet more complex charging needs.
“Expanded charging infrastructure supports the electric vehicle transition and grows the Michigan economy with Michigan’s largest employers having invested billions in this technological shift,” he said.
In addition, Judson Herzer, managing director of policy in the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, said having a robust vehicle charging network will improve the perception of the state as friendly to electric vehicles.
“Smoothing out the demand for electricity across the distribution grid and throughout the day will help lower the cost of energy for all Michiganders,” he said. “On a more macro level, the entire country – including Michigan – will benefit from lowering our dependence on foreign oil, and from improved health benefits and equity opportunities that will result from decarbonizing the transportation sector.”
One way to improve the state’s reputation as a leader in electric vehicles is to ensure that the vehicles, batteries and parts are manufactured here in Michigan.
Earlier this month, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) board approved more than $400 million in incentives for two vehicle battery factories estimated to cost $4 billion and bring 4,500 jobs to the state.
A Michigan company, Our Next Energy, would receive $236 million in the agreement for a $1.6 billion project in Van Buren Township southwest of Detroit. Another $175 million in incentives will go to a $2.4 billion factory planned by Gotion, a Chinese manufacturer, for Big Rapids in northern Michigan. The factories would produce components used for electric vehicle batteries.
Herzer added part of being a global leader in electrification means being a leader in the deployment of EV chargers.
Mobility challenges
James Fabin, a Farmington Hills resident, traded his 2021 BMW X5 45e electric-only sport utility vehicle for a 2023 Hyundai Palisade gas-powered sport utility vehicle because he doesn’t believe Michigan has a robust vehicle charging network.
Fabin, who works for an automotive supplier, was surprised at the lack of vehicle chargers in Michigan when he moved from Ohio.
“I thought there would have been chargers everywhere around Detroit and in the larger communities around the city,” he said. “I was just blown away. We don’t even have a bank of chargers at my work or at my local stores.”
He has plans to go back to an electric vehicle, but only after he feels the state has enough chargers for him to feel confident on long road trips.
“Every weekend my family is out and about driving and that’s part of the problem with electric vehicles,” he said. “We go up north, but wonder if there are enough chargers and how much time we will have to spend to charge up. It’s much easier with a gas engine right now.”
Kelsey Peterson, DTE’s manager of transportation electrification, said range anxiety, or lack of confidence in refueling infrastructure, continues to be one of the barriers to EV adoption.
“Growing the network of charging stations is critical for EVs to achieve widespread adoption,” she said. The $110 million in NEVI program funding is more than eleven times greater than what Michigan received from the Volkswagen Settlement to establish the Charge Up Michigan program.
She added: “Even so, that amount won’t be enough for all of Michigan’s charging needs, so federal, state, utility, and local government partnerships are critical to achieving Michigan’s mobility goals. With more EVs on the road, EV charging has followed and is more important than ever.”
Michigan electric vehicle incentives
DTE Energy offers a $500 rebate for the installation of a Level 2 EV charging station to qualified residential customers that purchase or lease an electric vehicle.
The company, through its Charging Forward Program, also offers rebates of between $2,000 and $55,000 for business and commercial electric customers that install EV chargers.
Over the past three years, Peterson said DTE has approved over 1,000 rebates for businesses to deploy Level 2 chargers and almost 130 rebates for public fast chargers.
“Over 600 of those have been installed to date,” she said. “DTE also works with state agencies to promote transportation electrification for all. Most recently, we have partnered with the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification and Volta, an EV charger company, to bring additional EV charging stations at six underserved locations.”
The state recognizes that EVs are the future, said Darmanin. “Virtually every auto company has committed to converting a substantial percentage of their production to EVs over the next several years. It will be great to have the charging infrastructure in place to support the transition to EVs.”
Oakland Press Staff Writer Mark Cavitt contributed to this report
