How Cameron Wolf of ZappyRide Promotes EV Adoption

Cameron Wolf, marketing manager for EV software company ZappyRide, was interviewed by Bill Pierce, Publisher, EVinfo.net. In this interview, Wolf shares information about Zappyride, as well as his own personal EV adoption story.

BP: Tell us a little about yourself.

CW: I’m Cameron Wolf, marketing manager for an EV software company called ZappyRide.

BP: How and when did you get into EVs? Which EVs have you owned? What have been your most favorite and least favorite features of them?

CW: I’ve been enamored with EVs since Tesla released the Model 3 in 2018. Owning a Tesla seemed like a pipe dream until they announced their goals of making a $35,000 EV. Once that announcement came to fruition, I became Team Tesla for the following years until I was able to purchase my Model 3 – Long Range in August of 2021.

Although it’s hard to pinpoint just one of my favorite features, I have to go with the intelligence of the car. The software and technology is truly second to none and it adds such a unique layer to owning an EV. The performance should go without saying, but I also love being able to pass anyone on the road at any given time.

In the spirit of being as candid as possible, I must say, I absolutely loathe the winter effects on the vehicle. I have 310 miles of range on a full charge, but the adverse effects of cold temps on a battery ensures I get 50-60% of that range before needing to recharge.

BP: How has ZappyRide promoted EV adoption in the past?

CW: Starting in 2018, we embarked on helping organizations get their customers truly transparent EV adoption costs. We have done this via intense data collection, research, and staying on top of this ever changing market. Some of the data we currently handle:

• Localized incentive/rebate information
• Local electricity cost information
• TCO
• Emissions
• Charging maps

With this data, we are white-labeling it into various platforms, like Ford’s Mach-E page, to help them provide their customers with localized cost information.

BP: What plans does ZappyRide have for promoting EV adoption in the future?

CW: As our data builds (thanks to our data/incentive analysis team of ~5 people), we are expanding our offering beyond consumer EV purchases. Recently, we have been getting into the fold of providing mass scale fleet adoption plans. With these tools, we are helping major fleets of the world move to PEVs. An example of this can be seen at fleets.pge.com (note – this is for a California-based utility so their incentives with be local to the city, state, and federal incentives available based on ZIP).

BP: What are the biggest barriers to EV adoption in your opinion? How could these barriers be overcome?

CW: As with all new technology, it’s far from perfection this early on. In my humble opinion, the greatest obstacle for the general public is convenience. It’s been hard-wired in the minds of the general public that refueling should take no more than 10 minutes, no matter what. Even with increased infrastructure, charge times still lag on to take longer than the typical time spent at a gas station. As battery tech improves, I feel like charge times will shorten, but for now, including restaurants, shopping, or other activities can help overcome the convenience barrier.

BP: What do you believe government could do to promote EV adoption that they are not currently doing?

CW: The government has done a lot in the past couple of years to promote EV adoption…on paper. We’ve yet to see anything truly come out of it in the form of the average consumer saving a lot of money. However, renewing and rebuilding the federal incentive tax credits for EVERY vehicle, new or used, would be a great start. It should not be capped or constrained to union-built vehicles.

BP: How could middle class and lower income families be assisted in adopting EVs?

CW: A lot of local utilities are offering charger install rebates, which is great. Every household should be able to install their charger “free of charge” (pun intended). The real pitfall is coming in the form of renting multi-family dwellings. If charging stations were installed at apartment complexes and other areas that provided level 2 charging overnight, free of cost, it would certainly help the cost-reduction of an EV. Even though a typical level 2 charge on daily use costs the typical homeowner about $40 a month, eliminating the initial cost can be huge for first steps of adoption.

Thanks Cameron Wolf for taking the time to speak with us. We greatly appreciate your efforts in EV adoption and your time.

About ZappyRide

ZappyRide is an EV data company which builds white-label websites and tools for OEMs, utilities, and other greentech stakeholders to promote their thought leadership in the electrification of consumer and fleet vehicles. Our products include a consumer and commercial EV catalog, commercial fleet planning tools, an incentive application assistant for EV charging equipment, and several APIs covering data on nationwide incentives, charging equipment, vehicles and their specs, electricity sources and their emissions.

Our partners include the largest OEMs in the US and among the largest in the world, the largest utilities in the country, and several key nonprofits and other advocacy organizations. Our mission is to not only promote electrification, but calculate its benefits and provide guidance on all associated lifestyle changes.

First and foremost, we are your ally.

We are building custom solutions for Utilities, OEMs, and other organizations to bolster their EV expertise and online presence. We are with you every step of the way to ensure you are delighting your customers, and helping your bottom line.

We build it for you.

We take our data and API, build it into your existing online presence, and make you look like EV superstars. Everything we build is in-house, and is hosted white-labeled for you so that your customers can continue to work off of the trust you’ve built with them.

Making EV mainstream.

We provide the data and infrastructure tools to companies to help provide analysis on what it all means. The information we provide is unrivaled in its accuracy and depth and helping consumers find transparent EV costs. On top of acquisition information, we also show and provide hyper-local contractor information down to total installation costs.

TL;dr? We aim to provide tech, data, and development for businesses.

ZappyRide is providing a truly end-to-end Software-as-a-Service solution that helps cities, corporations and environmentally conscious consumers shift from conventional vehicles to electric transport, thus reducing their carbon footprint.

About Us
ZappyRide strives to develop electric transportation – thereby solving a host of environmental, health and geopolitical problems. We also believe that EV’s are enormously cool. Our role in this global movement is to empower consumers and businesses to know, adopt and use the technology. Electric vehicles are new, somewhat complex, and scary for many. As we create ever-improving software and data products, we ease these fears, help our clients, and make a difference for the world. We are helping businesses and their clients in the pursuit of electrifying the road ahead.

Who we work with:
⦁ Power Suppliers
⦁ Auto OEMs
⦁ Charging Solution Suppliers
⦁ Fleet Management Companies
⦁ Fleets
⦁ Local Government
⦁ Ride- Sharing Companies
⦁ Dealer Groups
⦁ Non Profits

Our products

The Consumer EV Shopper
The tool that “put us on the map.” It’s used by utilities across America in the effort to show their customers what EVs are available in their service areas. It also takes in local incentive data, electrician information, and just about anything else a customer could need to make an educated decision regarding their EV purchase.

The Fleet Electrification Planner
It’s our goal to make fleets electric. Doing so has enormous impacts on the environment along with even more enormous impacts on a budget. Our tools show how much money you can save by having an electrified fleet. It incorporates data such as the best time to charge, local incentives, and much more.

Infrastructure Planning and EVSE Data
Updating weekly, our charging and infrastructure map helps thousands of businesses and their clients find where to plug in. Using this information, we can help your business begin electrification planning by gathering, vetting, and using the highest quality data on the market.
We also provide APIs, fuel cost info, aid the incentive application process, and believe it or not, even more.