Ford To Deploy "Charging Angels" In Effort To Maintain Charging Network

A common issue that many electric vehicle owners may encounter when out on the road is electric charging stations that don't work. While the occasional charging station being out in a public area can be considered an annoyance, a broken charging station at a Ford dealer is not just a mere annoyance but could also be a juicy target for social media posts. The company has a plan and revealed that it would be deploying an army of "Charging Angels" to help monitor and fix problematic ones.

An Angel For The Electrified Era

This announcement was made by Ford EV lead Darren Palmer during an interview with the publication Automotive News. Palmer revealed that while these angels will not have halos or wings, they will be driving around in specially marked Mach-Es to dealerships and locations marked not only in connected vehicle data but also in "angry social media posts."

"All they'll do all day long is go and check them to see where they fail and why," Palmer told AN. "There are a lot of plugs out there, but some of them are old, and they don't have the quality and reliability that we want. Over 99.5 percent of customers go to 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."

This program will help enhance customer satisfaction, and Ford could also learn new information from their findings, especially if the technicians encounter a problem that might've never been seen before in the testing phase of the chargers.

First Wave Of Program To Kick Off Towards The End Of The Year

Ford reps claim that the firm is finalizing critical details of the program but is confident that the first group of Charge Angels will begin rolling out to charging stations by the end of this year. It will be interesting to see if this will be a nationwide rollout from the start, or if Ford will focus on select regions first before gradually spreading the program out to other areas of the U.S. Regardless of how the initial rollout plays out, having this program will help Ford have a unique advantage over some of its green rivals, especially once the F-150 Lightning makes its way to dealerships.

Photo: Ford Motor Company

Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. In addition to his specialization with Ford, he grew up in a General Motors household and is extensively familiar with their products too. Contact Carl on Twitter at @CarlMalek3, on Instagram and Facebook for automotive news to send news tips.