MIAMI BEACH, Fla., June 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Car Charging Group, Inc. (OTCQB: CCGI) ("CarCharging"), the largest owner, operator, and provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging services, announced that it has finalized its partnership with the City of Knoxville ("City"), Tennessee for the operation and maintenance of the Blink EV charging stations. The stations were originally deployed in association with the Department of Energy's EV Project, for which ECOtality, the former owner of the Blink related assets, served as Project Manager.

As a part of the agreement, CarCharging will own and operate 14 of the City's Blink EV charging stations located at Caswell Park, Ijams Nature Center, Sequoyah Park, State Street Garage, Victor Ashe Park, West Hills Park, and Jackson Avenue parking lot. Beginning July 1, 2014, Blink's current standard charging fees of $1.00 per hour for Blink members and $2.00 per hour for Blink guests will also be applied to these stations.

"We are excited to work with CarCharging to ensure the continued operation and maintenance of the Blink electric car charging stations," said Erin Gill, Director of Sustainability, City of Knoxville. "We believe that these stations are the critical infrastructure necessary to support use of vehicles that consume less energy and produce fewer emissions."

"We are proud to continue the partnerships with the Blink hosts that participated in the EV Project, such as the City of Knoxville," said Michael D. Farkas, CarCharging's Founder and Chief Executive Officer.  "With the various new business models that we have available and the enhancements made to the Blink Network, we are confident that we can provide Blink hosts and members with exceptional service."

The City of Knoxville's Blink Level II EV charging stations quickly recharge an electric vehicle's battery. EV drivers can easily request Blink's InCard at www.BlinkNetwork.com to initiate use and payment at these locations. Blink's InCard also allows drivers to use charging locations on the Blink Network, the software that operates, monitors, and tracks the Blink stations and all of its charging data. CarCharging's EV charging stations also accept direct payment via credit card.

Users can pinpoint the City's EV charging station locations using the maps at www.BlinkNetwork.com or www.CarCharging.com, or the Blink and CarCharging mobile applications.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will continue to operate the 6 Blink EV charging stations at the Knoxville Coliseum Auditorium and 4 Blink EV charging stations at the Market Square Garage through September 30, 2014 with no changes to their current charging fee policy.

About Car Charging Group, Inc.  
Car Charging Group, Inc. (OTCQB: CCGI) is a pioneer in nationwide public electric vehicle (EV) charging services, enabling EV drivers to easily recharge at locations throughout the United States. Headquartered in Miami Beach, FL with offices in San Jose, CA; New York, NY; and Phoenix, AZ; CarCharging's business model is designed to accelerate the adoption of public EV charging.

CarCharging offers various options to commercial and residential property owners for EV charging services. Our typical business model provides a comprehensive turnkey program where CarCharging owns and operates the EV charging equipment; manages the installation, maintenance, and related services; and shares a portion of the EV charging revenue with the property owner. Alternatively, property partners can share in the equipment and installation expenses with CarCharging operating and managing the EV charging stations and providing network connectivity. For properties interested in purchasing and owning EV charging stations, CarCharging can also provide EV charging hardware, site recommendations, connection to the Blink Network, and management and maintenance services.

Through its subsidiary, Blink Network, CarCharging also provides residential EV charging solutions for single-family homes.  For more information, please visit www.BlinkHQ.com.

CarCharging has strategic partnerships across multiple business sectors including multi-family residential and commercial properties, parking garages, shopping malls, retail parking, and municipalities.  CarCharging's partners include, but are not limited to Walgreens, IKEA, Wal-Mart, Simon Property Group, Equity One, Equity Residential, Forest City, Cinemark USA, Fox Studios, Facebook, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, Mayo Clinic, San Diego Padres, University of Pennsylvania, Ace Parking, Central/USA Parking, Icon Parking, Rapid Parking, Parking Concepts, CVS, Related Management, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, City of Phoenix (AZ), City of Philadelphia (PA), and City of Miami Beach (FL).

CarCharging is committed to creating a robust, feature-rich network for EV charging and is hardware agnostic.  CarCharging's owns the Blink network, and owns and operates EV charging equipment manufactured by Blink, Aerovironment, ChargePoint, General Electric, Nissan, and SemaConnect. CarCharging's Level II charging stations are compatible with EVs sold in the United States including the Tesla Model S, Nissan LEAF, Chevy Volt, Mitsubishi i-Miev, Toyota Prius Plug-In, Honda Fit EV, and Toyota Rav4 EV, as well as many others scheduled for release over the next few years.

For more information about CarCharging, please visit www.CarCharging.com, www.facebook.com/Car.Charging, or www.twitter.com/CarCharging.

About City of Knoxville
The City of Knoxville is committed to integrating sustainable best practices into its operations and services.  By hosting electric vehicle charging stations at its downtown parking locations and parks, the City of Knoxville is supporting the adoption of clean and renewable energy and fuel options by residents and visitors to the city. 

Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement:
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forecasts involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the near future.  Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Car Charging Group, Inc., and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed conditions.

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SOURCE Car Charging Group, Inc.