Gustafson Ford owner Kurt Gustafson and his daughter Courtlin, who is involved in the dealership’s electric-vehicle program, are shown with the EV charging stations in the lot east of the dealership.

Electric vehicles are the future of transportation in the United States.

Auto makers are gearing up to produce the vehicles, and the batteries that power them, that will propel us into that future.

And thanks to Gustafson Ford, that future is now in Kewanee.

Several electric-vehicle charging stations have been installed at the dealership on Lexington Avenue.

Six of the stations are in the lot east of the dealership, a parking lot that Gustafson Ford acquired from the city earlier this year.

More stations are being set up in the lot across Lexington Avenue where Gustafson stores its inventory of vehicles for sale.

Those stations will be needed because Gustafson Ford is in the process of becoming a Model E Certified Elite dealer. That means the dealership will offer Ford’s entire range of electric cars and trucks. About half of Ford’s 3,000 dealers are pursuing the certification.

“It makes us a little more exclusive,” dealership owner Kurt Gustafson said.

Gustafson said his dealership will still offer the full array of Ford’s gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles, but “We decided that this was another product that we could offer our customers.”

He said, “EV is not going to fit all customers. But there are customers it will make sense for.”

Gustafson said his is the only dealership between the Quad Cities, Peoria and Chicago to sell and service Ford electric vehicles.The dealership has already sold some electrics, and has several electric cars and trucks in stock now.

Gustafson Ford has also installed some charging stations for electric vehicles. Six of them (the ones in the parking lot east of the dealership) will be open to anyone with an electric vehicle of any make.

Four of those chargers can take a vehicle’s battery from about 10 percent charged to 80 or 90 percent in less than 45 minutes, and the other two, more powerful, chargers can do the job even faster. (Battery manufacturers recommend not charging the batteries to more than 80 percent capacity, because charging them fully every time can reduce battery life.)

The stations will be open 24-7. Customers will be able to pay with a credit card of a smartphone app.

Preparing to sell the electric vehicles has required other preparations at Gustafson Ford. Gustafson said servicing electric vehicles requires a good deal of education for service technicians. One of Gustafson’s technicians has completed the training and another is still taking it.

Training for the sales staff is also required.

The process of buying an electric car has also been customized at Ford. Gustafson said a customer can go online and order the vehicle they want in 10 to 15 minutes. When the car’s delivered to the dealership, the customer can pick it up there.