Simon Launches Installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

INDIANAPOLIS, April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE: SPG), the country's largest owner, developer and manager of high quality retail real estate and long a leader among developers in integrating energy conservation strategies into mall operations, announces another important initiative as it becomes one of the first retail developers to offer electric vehicle charging stations at its properties.

The initial installation has been completed at Simon's Florida Mall in Orlando and will be complete at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, CA later this month. One 'Level 2' charger, which has the capability to "top off" or partially charge a customer's electric vehicle in a 60 to 120 minute time frame, is now operational near the food court entrance at Florida Mall. One dual unit, with two 'Level 2' chargers, will be installed in the parking deck between Macy's and Bloomingdale's at Stanford Shopping Center.

These EV charging stations will be self-service and easy to operate. Shoppers will be able to just "pull up and plug in" and leave their vehicles at the charging station while they are enjoying time at the mall. Charging will be free during an introductory time period and then a nominal fee will be assessed.

Production numbers from EV automakers project approximately a million EVs on U.S. roads by 2015, and possibly 27 million (or 10 percent of all vehicles in the U.S.) by 2020.

"We believe that a well-developed EV charging infrastructure is going to be key to the success of EVs," said George Caraghiaur, Simon Property Group's senior vice president of energy and procurement. "Meeting the needs of the first-to-market drivers of electric vehicles in the communities we serve is yet another example of our commitment to sustainability."

Simon is working with two companies during this initial rollout. Car Charging, Inc. (OTCBB: CCGI), installed the unit at Florida Mall and 350Green will install the charging units at Stanford Shopping Center. Both companies are dedicated to expanding the EV charging station infrastructure nationally.

Michael D. Farkas, CEO of Car Charging Group, Inc., said "Our collaboration with Simon Property Group is a prime example of our national growth strategy. By partnering with premier national property management companies for installations, we are able to rapidly deploy a nationwide roll out of a robust network of convenient charging stations. We are happy to have brought this amenity to customers at Florida Mall and look forward to bringing it to additional Simon Property Group locations across the nation."

"We are thrilled to be working with Simon on this project to place the first in what will be a larger network of our charging stations in the Bay Area," said Mariana Gerzanych, 350Green's founder and CEO. "The goal is to make EV charging convenient and accessible to anyone who owns an EV – regardless of whether or not they have a charging station at their home or office."

About Car Charging Group, Inc.

Car Charging Group, Inc. is an owner and provider of EV charging stations with the mission to build-out a nationwide infrastructure, enabling EV and PHEV owners to charge their Electric Cars anytime, anywhere.  As part of its strategy, the Company owns, provides, installs and maintains electric car charging stations and works with its landowner partners to identify appropriate locations for its charging stations.  The Company provides convenient, safe and affordable charging stations away from home in customer-friendly public locations, including municipalities, shopping malls, parking garages, multi-family residential and commercial properties. Car Charging Group, Inc. is based in Miami, Florida.  The Company's website can be viewed at www.CarCharging.com.

About 350Green

350Green is a project developer that designs, builds and operates scalable networks of plug-in electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the US. The company distributes its stations by partnering with retail hosts at select, high-traffic shopping centers and other places near where EV drivers live and work, to create an expansive and convenient network of EV charging locations. Current projects totaling several hundred chargers are underway in Chicago, the state of Pennsylvania, and the San Francisco Bay area. More information on 350Green and its projects can be found at its website: http://www.350green.com

About Simon Property Group

Simon Property Group, Inc. is an S&P 500 company and the largest real estate company in the U.S. The Company currently owns or has an interest in 392 retail real estate properties comprising 263 million square feet of gross leasable area in North America, Europe and Asia. Simon Property Group is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and employs more than 5,000 people worldwide. The Company's common stock is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol SPG. For further information, visit the Simon Property Group website at www.simon.com.

SOURCE Simon Property Group, Inc.