A couple of years ago, there was a news story about a gas station in Texas or Arizona that was giving away $25 of free gasoline per customer for several hours one morning. The marketing tactic worked because there was something of a frenzy of drivers lined up to get the gas and there was at least one online news article published, so the station got some media attention. Imagine what would happen if there were 100 free EV chargers installed in public places. The EV manufacturer Lucid has installed 100 such chargers in Saudi Arabia, according to this source. Apparently, there are many other free EV chargers in Saudi Arabia as well. This is what Kia Saudi Arabia wrote on its website, saying, “There are many public charging points throughout our society you can drop by to fill up your vehicle’s batteries. Many employers are installing charging points at their workplace, and access to the points are offered mostly for free. Likewise, charging points are available at supermarkets, malls, public parking lots, cinemas, etc., and often, they are free for their customers or visitors to use. However, despite the free charging available at public charging points, almost all the electric car owners tend to charge the batteries at home. Those public charging stations are good for your wallet, no doubt. So, plan ahead and enjoy the free charging!” Lucid may do well in Saudi Arabia because there are well over 300,000 millionaires who live there. This is not to say it is necessary to be a millionaire to buy a Lucid, but Lucid does make expensive luxury vehicles which are not in reach of most middle class people. Lucid has also received billions of dollars in investments from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). There man be many more public fast chargers coming to Saudi Arabia in just the next several years, as “The PIF-backed Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Company (EVIQ) — a joint venture between the sovereign wealth fund and the Saudi Electricity Company — is targeting 5,000 fast chargers across 1,000 locations by the end of the decade.” Giving away some free charging is a compelling incentive for switching from gas or diesel vehicles to fully electric vehicles (not hybrids). Of course, the ability to charge from home is another significant advantage. People who have large home solar power systems and charge their electric vehicles with their own electricity understand how much potential savings there can be after the upfront costs and the payback period.
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