"Which comes first, the cars or the charging stations?" Zarwin asked. "There should be a wave of electric cars and trucks in the future."
Indeed, there is much buzz these days about electric vehicles.
General Electric Co., which also plans to move into the vehicle-charging market, announced Thursday that it would buy 25,000 electric vehicles in the next five years to jump-start the market.
General Motors Co., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Ford Motor Co., and Toyota Motor Corp. all have plans to roll out electric vehicles soon.
And Smith Electric Vehicles, a British manufacturer, brought its electrified Smith Newton delivery truck to a media event Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is considering how to distribute $470,000 in grants to build charging stations. Philadelphia International Airport and Parkway Corp. have applied for funds, according to Tony Bandiero, director of the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Program, a federally funded nonprofit group that is promoting alternative-fuel vehicles.
Zarwin said each charging unit manufactured by Coulomb Technologies Inc. costs about $10,000 installed. A vehicle with an empty battery requires four hours to charge, but Zarwin said he believed most people would require only an hour or two to top off.
More elaborate units, which can recharge a vehicle in 15 minutes, cost about $70,000 installed, he said.
"I'm not even sure if [it] will be profitable," he said. He expects the market to take five to 10 years to develop.
Contact staff writer Andrew Maykuth at 215-854-2947 or amaykuth@phillynews.com.
