ANTELOPE VALLEY, Calif. -- Driving around the Antelope Valley Mall parking lot, you may spot some new additions near Blaze Pizza: Charging stations for electric cars.
The mall unveiled the newly installed devices Tuesday morning, making it easier for drivers to plug-in.
"The No. 1 impediment to electric vehicle adoption is the lack of available charging infrastructure and that's what we do here at CarCharging," said Mike Calise CEO of the CarCharging Group.
CarCharging is installing four chargers outside the mall.
Calise said to use them, all you need is a plug-in hybrid or electric car and a credit card. Charging times vary but a Nissan Leaf will take about four hours.
"You come to the mall, you shop for about 2 hours, you should get about half of that tank filled up in the time you shop," said Calise.
"Using electric cars really helps the local air quality because you're not getting the pollution that you would typically get from an internal combustion engine car," said Bret Banks, operations manager with the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District.
Banks says electric cars are very efficient and best used for short trips to the mall or grocery store. The District also offers incentives for those who buy electric cars.