Kalistani Major History

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Anantonese Automotive Company to Invest heavily in Charging Infrastructure
"AAC investment will allow company to avoid direct competition with MoCo" says CFO
Dahriel, Ananto
Nay 1, 5102


Charging stations for Electric Vehicles pop up across the Republic near shopping and entertainment centers as vehicles make shift to Electricity

Following the decision of the Kalistani Motor Company to begin moving to an all-electric fleet, it was unclear how the upstart Anantonese Automobile Company would respond. "AAC had a number of electric and hybrid options for drivers," said AAC CFO Lucas Flowers, "But MoCo is far better situated in marketshare to allow us to compete successfully against the resources and longstanding brand loyalty that MoCo can bring to bear. So we decided simply to not compete-- We sat down with MoCo and agreed to keep our respective market shares but shift new resources into developing the infrastructure that would allow electric vehicles from both our companies to integrate into a new way of driving in the Republic."

AAC will follow MoCo's lead and abandon gas powered engines within the next three years. "The company has announced its intention to end support for gas powered AAC vehicles still on the road at the end of a normal life span, by 5115, but we will no longer produce gas powered vehicles starting in the 5105 model year. At the same time, we will begin emphasizing our electric options for consumers. New Development however will go into building quick charging stations in cities and along highways across the Republic."

Flowers outlines an extensive plan to make charging stations more than just a place where Kalistani Drivers go and plug their cars in and sit around for four hours. "We are looking to partner with short term entertainment options, like record stores, movie theaters, museums, or bowling alleys, for example, so that as your car is charging, you can be doing something enjoyable. You need to stop anyway: You might as well play a round of miniature golf or see the newest movies or check out your favorite band's latest album while you do it." Flowers noted that charging stations will require a fairly large sum of cash in the initial outlay, but ongoing maintenance costs will be more than offset by the local services that pair with the charging stations.

"We have already built several pilot stations in Kaliburg and Sulari," said Flowers. "In Sulari, for example, we have paired with a massive music mall called 'The Disc Barn', where people charging their vehicles can go and listen to albums, possibly meet bands who are playing live in the store, or socialize with friends while they drink coffee in the coffee shop. AAC takes a percentage of sales from the adjacent location, to ensure that the price of the use of the station is not passed on to consumers. In all, it helps bring people to the Disc Barn, and gives people an opportunity to charge their electric cars."

KMC has stated that the division of the market in this way certainly benefits it, and KalEnCon, who supplies power to Republican households free of charge, is currently in discussions with AAC to provide energy at a reduced rate to its charging stations, so car drivers will not end up paying a private sector rate premium.

The building of a Republic wide distribution infrastructure pushes the Republic one step further toward embracing an all electric car fleet.