Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist talks about electric vehicles. Photo courtesy of the State of Michigan
Electric vehicle infrastructure company Volta is installing new chargers across the region to encourage EV adoption through making charging more accessible.
- But Detroit is not getting any of the new chargers just yet.
Why it matters: The EV revolution is underway, but high vehicle costs and a dearth of public charging stations — particularly in lower-income communities — are big obstacles for some drivers.
Driving the news: Volta announced yesterday that it's installing up to eight chargers at Kroger stores in Southgate, Roseville, Westland and Lapeer.
The intrigue: The company got a $98,000 state grant in April to put chargers in low and moderate-income areas lacking EV infrastructure, so Detroit's omission was curious.
- Volta made the announcement at the Detroit Pistons Performance Center near downtown.
- Equitable access to EV chargers is a concern here. The stations are clustered downtown and in Midtown, two areas with larger numbers of white residents, BridgeDetroit reports.
What they're saying: The company plans to expand in Detroit. It currently has less than 20 public charging stations in the city, including some at Pistons Performance Center garage.
- "I'm certain we're going to get a lot more in Detroit over the next months and year," Kevin Samy of Volta tells Axios.
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