Aug. 29, 2011—Cross Country Automotive Services, a provider of driver and vehicle assistance services, on Monday introduced the nation's first mobile charging roadside assistance program for electric vehicle owners.
The program offers emergency charging assistance—about five miles of driving range for 15 minutes of charge—to drivers whose electric vehicle batteries have been depleted.
The program will initially be available in seven markets: Los Angeles; Phoenix; Nashville, Tenn.; Portland, Ore.; San Diego; San Francisco and Seattle. Cross Country will add additional mobile charging units to other areas across the country through its national service provider network, according to the company.
"Serving as the roadside assistance provider for a number of electric vehicle companies, Cross Country recognizes the need to provide unique solutions that are specific in assisting the emerging number of electric vehicle owners, ensuring they will receive the same high levels of service and peace of mind they've come to expect whenever they are behind the steering wheel," said Dave Ferrick, senior vice president at Cross Country. "As a result, we've developed a program that offers mobile chargers in the largest number of markets of any roadside assistance program in the country.”
Electric vehicle charging services will be provided through specially equipped mobile charging units. The charging units consist of propane-powered generators that charge the disabled electric vehicles. The propane fuel burns cleaner than gasoline and avoids significant weight to the service truck, which avoids impacting the truck's fuel efficiency, Ferrick said.
Cross Country manages roadside assistance programs in the U.S. on behalf of global automobile manufacturers and U.S. insurance carriers. The company provides accident scene management, vehicle release_notes management and total loss screening services for insurance carriers, customer care services and connected vehicle services for automotive manufacturers.
For more information, visit crosscountry-auto.com.
