Latest News
Tuesday, 10th May 2016
In Japan Travel News,
Electric car charging points outnumber petrol stations in Japan
Japan now has more places to charge an electric car than refuel in the conventional sense, a new report has revealed.
The survey, which was carried out by Nissan, shows how Japan has fully embraced electric cars and is well ahead of the rest of the world in this regard.
With fewer than 35,000 petrol stations across the country, they are outnumbered by the 40,000 places available to recharge electric cars.
Subsidies from the Japanese government for drivers buying electric, hybrid and various other low-emission cars have led to the proliferation of charging points.
Some of these are public while others have been put in place at private residences for the express use of the electric car drivers that live there.
Joseph G Peter, Nissan’s chief finance officer, told Bloomberg: “An important element of the continued market growth is the development of the charging infrastructure.”
Electric cars have not been embraced in the same way in other countries, where many potential customers believe they could end up away from home with no way to recharge.
In the US, where there are 114,500 fuel stations, there are just 9,000 public recharging points in comparison.
It is worth pointing out that many of the chargers counted in the Nissan survey are used by a single owner, while petrol stations service multiple drivers on any given day.
Having said that, experts in the industry predict that apps and websites allowing users to share private charging points are likely to become the next big thing.
Add to that such sites that could help pinpoint the nearest charging stations and many people’s misgivings about being stuck without the means of topping up could be assuaged.
Related news stories:
Electric vehicles growing in popularity (6th December 2010)
Japanese electric car shows glimpse of the future (19th May 2011)
Nissan reveals electric car price (18th May 2010)
Electric taxis trialled in Tokyo (27th April 2010)