GM touts 400th electric car charging station

General Motors is touting the installation of its 400th and 401st electric car changing stations at its U.S. facilities. 

The company said the charging stations, which are mostly located in Michigan, would make it easier for employees to convince automobile purchases of the value of electric cars like the Chevrolet Volt. 

“Workplace charging is one of the most important things a company can do to raise plug-in electric vehicle awareness and energize employees,” GM’s Advanced Vehicle Commercialization Policy Director Britta Gross said in a statement. 

{mosads}“Once employees see how easy it is to plug in at home and work, and they realize the fuel savings, plug-in electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt begin to sell themselves,” Gross continued. 

GM said 269 of its corporate electric car charging stations are located in Michigan, which is followed by 51 in New York, 30 in Ohio and 26 in California.  

Gross said “workplace charging is now part of GM’s corporate sustainability plan and our employees want to be part of this positive change.

“The key for any company is to take the first step and make it simple for employees to engage – in our case we started with outlets and free charging,” she said. 

The announcement comes as GM is facing turmoil in Washington for recalls of its older vehicles that have topped five million cars. The problems with the older cars range from faulty ignition switches to problems with power steering mechanisms . 

GM announced a new recall of 2.42 million vehicles on Tuesday that it said a “potential fire hazard.” 

The Chevy Volt has been GM’s first large-scale foray In to electric  vehicles. Prior to the older model recalls, GM faced criticism over the Volt’s retail price, which started at around $41,000, and early problems with its batteries.