The American Automobile Association—which offers insurance policies, roadside assistance, and travel planning—is expanding its assistive services to serve electric vehicle owners with new mobile charging trucks. Currently the trucks are being rolled out on a trial basis in Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; San Francisco; Los Angeles; and Knoxville, Tennessee. Each metropolitan area will get one charging vehicle, and AAA will add the service to more cities in the next few months. The organization is putting two types of charging trucks into service: one type of truck will feature a removable lithium-ion battery pack for charging stranded electric vehicles and the other will make use of on-board generators. Regardless of how the trucks produce their juice, they will offer between ten and fifteen minutes of quick-charge time at either Level 2 (240 volts AC) or Level 3 (up to 500 volts DC) charging levels.
Triple-A’s charging trucks will not be limited to aiding only battery-powered vehicles; the trucks will still be equipped to handle the problems of fossil fuel–powered rides as well, with capabilities like battery testing, battery jumps and replacement, tire changes, emergency fueling, and lockout assistance. To further support the growing numbers of EVs on the road, AAA is expanding its current hybrid vehicle assistance training regimen to include EV-specific training for its mobile technicians. The initial six-city phase-in of mobile charging trucks begins later this summer.
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