With the F-150 Lightning set to debut early next year, Ford plans to employ a group of “Charge Angels” to ensure owners of its EVs can find reliable charging when they need it. In an interview with Automotive News, Ford EV lead Darren Palmer said technicians in specially-equipped Mustang Mach-Es will travel the US to test out charging stations where connected vehicle data and “angry social media posts” indicate they may not be working properly.
“All they’ll do all day long is go and check them to see where they fail and why,” Palmer told the outlet. “There are a lot of plugs out there, but some of them are old and they don’t have the quality or reliability we want. Over 99.5 percent of customers go into a charger and get a charge. We’re pleased about that. But a number less than that get a charge the first time they charge.”
The company is reportedly finalizing the details of the program but hopes to have the first group of Charge Angels out on the road by the end of the year. Either way, it’s a smart move for an automaker that has a network of approximately 63,000 chargers across the US but ultimately depends on companies like Electrify America and ChargePoint for that infrastructure.