The New York Auto Show opened up to the public today but I was able to check it out a few days earlier during the Media Preview days. In addition to getting a look at the new EVs on display, I stopped by the Autel Energy booth to see if the company had any new electric vehicle charging equipment news they planned to announce at the show.
I was in luck and caught Autel's COO, John Thomas, at the booth and it just so happened that he had some spare time to lead me on a guided product tour and give me a sneak peek at a new charger they were introducing at the show.
John actually pulled back the cover of the company's new 40 kW portable MaxiCharger DC charger and let me check it out hours before it was formally introduced at the show. It's a dual-port charger that can charge two electric vehicles at once and comes with a 30-foot cable that plugs into the power supply. It also had 16-foot cables which gives the unit a total reach of 46 feet.
That maneuverability will allow businesses to charge many fleet vehicles every day with just one unit and lower the cost of building out infrastructure at the depot. The charger can deliver 40 kW to one vehicle, or split the power dynamically between two EVs.
If both vehicles are calling for 20 kW or more, they will each get 20 kW. However, if one EV is only calling for 10 kW - perhaps it's almost finished charging and lowering its intake, the other EV will get the 30 kW balance of power available.
John also gave me a tour of the entire booth. He gave me an overview of the company's AC offerings for home and business as well as the other DC chargers that Autel currently sells.
I also learned that Autel, after watching my review of its MaxiCharger home EV charger, took my advice and sourced a new cable, one that will perform better in cold weather temperatures. The units with the new cables are just now beginning to be produced, and they won't be available until the current inventory is exhausted. Therefore, if you want a MaxiCharger with the new cable, I'd advise waiting a couple of months before purchasing it.
Overall, I really liked the MaxiCharger and gave it 4.4 stars out of 5 in the review. I plan to review the MaxiCharger again, once I can get one with the new cable, and amend my final score if the new cable is indeed better.
So check out the video and let us know if you have any questions about Autel's product line, and we'll try to get the answers.
