by nate on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 | Automotive, Business, News, Tech/Gadget

After the next 18 months, the number of electric vehicle will grow exponentially as automakers like General Motors, Nissan, Ford, Volkswagen and Toyota roll out models that use electricity for all or part of the car’s energy. President Obama has suggested that the U.S. could have as many as 1 million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015.

So where will they all juice up?

Thankfully, the plug challenge is nearly resolved. While no two cell phones can use the same charger, carmakers have agreed on the basic design of a common five-prong plug for use across the industry. The plug will fit into a car’s socket, with the other end fitting into a standard 110-volt or 220-volt outlet. It will become the industry standard by 2011. “There aren’t going to be any Beta vs. VHS issues to confuse the introduction of electric cars,” says Gery Kissel, a General Motors Corp. engineer who served as chairman of the Society of Automotive Engineers committee, which compiled the EV-charging standards to which all manufacturers have agreed.

For the retail car owner, it’s likely to be an evolutionary change. Fred Standish, a spokesman for Nissan, which is preparing to launch the all-electric Leaf next year in the U.S., says the Japanese automaker expects the first EV drivers to be people who have garages where they can plug in at night. Owing to the lack of charging stations, he says they will also likely limit their EVs to short trips. “There is going to have to be a lot of education, because this a major change,” he says.

Tags: car charging, Electric Vehicle, EV, gas savings, General Motors, nissan