Four of Japan’s largest automakers will work together to promote the installation of chargers for electric vehicles and build a charging network that offers greater convenience to drivers in Japan.
Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi announced on July 29 that, with subsidies from the Japanese government, the four automakers will bear part of the cost to install the charging facilities.
They will also work together to build a convenient and accessible charging network in collaboration with companies that are already providing charging services in which each of the four automakers already have a financial stake.
The four corporations said in a statement, “The move is in recognition of the critical need to swiftly develop charging infrastructure facilities to promote the use of electric-powered vehicles.”
Today there are about 1,700 quick chargers and just over 3,000 normal chargers in Japan, which is considered to be insufficient. Coordination among existing charging providers can be improved to offer better charging service to customers.
The Japanese government has announced subsidies for installation of charging facilities totaling 100.5 billion yen (US$1 billion) as part of its economic policy for fiscal year 2013 to quickly develop the charging infrastructure and expand the use of electric-powered vehicles using alternative energy sources.
Right now, each prefecture in Japan is defining its vision for the use of the government subsidies. With this support, the four automakers will work together to install the chargers.
Before this agreement, each automaker assessed potential locations for charging facilities on its own. Now, they will work together to get the infrastructure built quickly during the limited period that the government subsidies are available.