Hybrid Vehicles Utilize GPS

GPS Playing Role In Electric Vehicles (EVs)

A simple law of economics states that as the price of a good rises, demand for that good tends to fall. This law tends to hold as long as the good in question is a luxury good i.e. one that people can live without. Gasoline, the historic go-to fuel source for the majority of the world’s transportation needs, is not a luxury but a necessity. This being the case, everybody from day-to-day commuters to corporate fleet tracking managers to law enforcement personnel have been burdened with finding ways to shift their business paradigms in hopes of reducing overall vehicle fuel consumption.

However, the creation and increasingly mainstream availability of hybrid and totally electric vehicles has served to deter this problem. Citizens, law enforcement, and businesses are hopping on the electric vehicle bandwagon, as evidenced by the popularity of the Chevrolet Volt and Tesla electric cars as well as corporate fleet tracking operators at AT&T and Verizon implementing hybrid vehicles into their already substantial fleet of service vehicles. For now, most of the charging required for these electric vehicles has been limited to the home, but charging stations are set to become the new gas station as market for electric and hybrid vehicles continues to grow. With this in mind, Google Inc. has teamed up with the United States Energy Department to make it easier for civilians, law enforcement agencies, and fleet tracking personnel to go electric with the help of GPS tracking technology. 

Google hopes to integrate GPS tracking tech into all electric vehicle charging stations throughout the United States, allowing consumers consistent and up-to-date information on all available locations. Utilizing Google Maps, this partnership with the U.S. Energy Department will coordinate an online network of all charging stations and will serve as the primary data source for GPS tracking and mapping services; hybrid fleet tracking managers, civilians, and law enforcement will be able to find the nearest charging stations from the nearest computer or GPS-enabled mobile device. 

The renewable energy lab, a sub-sector of the Energy Department, stated that while most electric car charging is expected to occur at drivers’ homes, publicly accessible charging stations can dramatically extend the range of plug-in and hybrid electric vehicles, giving consumers more choices for charging while on longer trips. The Energy Department also announced plans to make $5 million available for communities to deploy electric-vehicle infrastructure and charging stations, adding to the value of Google’s partnership. With fuel costs not expected to come down as we head into the summer, don’t be surprised to see a GPS tracking-backed electric vehicle charging station near your hometown in the very near future.