Japan Has More Car Chargers Than Gas Stations

[jimmy olsen]

Wow, really promising progress

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-13/japan-has-more-car-chargers-than-gas-stations-carbon-climate

Japan Has More Car Chargers Than Gas Stations

(Bloomberg) -- There are more electric-car charging points in Japan than there are gas stations.

That surprising discovery comes from Nissan Motor Co., which reported that the number of power points in Japan, including fast-chargers and those in homes, has surged to 40,000, surpassing the nation's 34,000 gas stations.

The figure shows that in the relatively brief time since electric vehicles were introduced, the infrastructure to support them has become bigger than what the oil industry built over decades in the world's third-biggest economy -- at least by this one measure.

Why that matters is obvious. Nissan's battery-powered Leaf can travel 84 miles (135 kilometers) on a charge, and the anxiety of being stuck away from home without power has restrained consumer demand. As the charging network expands and batteries become more powerful, that concern will wane.

"An important element of the continued market growth is the development of the charging infrastructure," Joseph G. Peter, Nissan chief financial officer, told analysts on a conference call.

As charging stations become more common, electric-car support services are also emerging. Open Charge Map, for example, operates an online listing of public charging points worldwide. A mobile app combines the data with GPS technology to guide drivers to the nearest site.

Of course, gas stations typically have multiple pumps and can serve more vehicles in a day than an electric-car charging point.

Private Chargers

Also, one criticism of Nissan's number is that many of those charging sites are in private garages. Considering the emerging so-called sharing economy, such as the online home-sharing service operated by Airbnb Inc., homeowners may soon be willing to make their chargers available to other drivers.

And more charging locations are being built all the time. Automakers have recognized that oil companies are unlikely to install plugs next to gasoline pumps, and are building their own networks.

Tesla Motors Inc. has its own network of charging stations, and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Volkswagen AG announced in January that they are joining the network operated by ChargePoint Inc., and plan to build as many as 100 fast chargers along the busiest corridors of the U.S. coasts, from Portland to San Diego in the west and from Boston to Washington, in the east.

Free Charging

Utilities are joining in. Great Plains Energy Inc., the Kansas City, Missouri-based utility holding company, announced in January plans to build a network of more than 1,000 charging stations in the region by mid-2015. Charging will even be free to everyone for the first two years.

Given that there are only about 9,000 public charging stations in the entire U.S., the initiative gives Kansas City, the nation's 29th largest metropolitan area, a chance to become the nation's electric car capital with as much as 10 percent of the nation's chargers.

Kansas City may not be able to retain that position. PG&E Corp., owner of California's biggest utility, asked regulators Feb. 9 for permission to build a network of about 25,000 chargers in public areas over a five-year period.

[Monoriu]

I don't think you can compare the two figures.  A gas station is a public place with staff (the majority of gas stations in Japan are full service ones) that can serve hundreds or thousands of cars per day.  An electric car charger in my home serves my car only and I WILL NOT let anybody else use it. 

[Admiral Yi]

Outrageous.

[jimmy olsen]

I don't think you can compare the two figures.  A gas station is a public place with staff (the majority of gas stations in Japan are full service ones) that can serve hundreds or thousands of cars per day.  An electric car charger in my home serves my car only and I WILL NOT let anybody else use it.

It's an astounding level of growth that has occured in just five years. It augurs well for the future and the transition of an oil based transportation economy to an electric one.

Outrageous.

Huh

[Monoriu]

It's an astounding level of growth that has occured in just five years. It augurs well for the future and the transition of an oil based transportation economy to an electric one.

In that case a much better comparison is between the no. of electric car chargers 5 years ago to the current number.  Comparing the no. of car chargers and gas stations is misleading.  If they want to make the comparison with gas stations, they need to produce the number of public places with at least several electric car chargers that are accessible.  I am sure they have the number; they just don't want to state it because the number is low. 

[alfred russel]

Wow, really promising progress

This post was sponsored by Clean Coal Technologies and Natural Gas Fracking Companies United.

[The Brain]

Now if only Japan had the clean electricity to use in the cars.

[Jaron]

Where the HELL is grumbler?

Someone needs to tear Tim's article apart.

[Brazen]

All car parks in the UK have charge points and the charge and parking space are both free to encourage lower carbon emissions at point of use (average London car park fees are about £2 for up to two hours). I've seen one in use in my home town twice.

Petrol is very expensive in Japan as they have limited domestic oil resources, but electricity used to be comparatively cheap until many of the nuclear power stations got closed down after Fukushima. Coal is widely used, and there's great potential for geothermal and hydroelectric energy which will probably be exploited more.

[Josquius]

What Mono says.
Though during my time in Japan I did notice an awful lot of petrol stations closing or recently closed. I think they're in some sort of transition period from a lot of small places in residential neighbourhoods to a few big places on main roads.


Petrol is pretty cheap in Japan actually. Less than 80p a litre. I guess due to their society being so car based taxes are kept low.

Though yes. They really should kick on with geothermal.

Now if only Japan had the clean electricity to use in the cars.

They used to do OK. But then Fukushima happened and everyone got paranoid about the n word.

[Siege]

My gas car will always beat your electric car.

The day electric cars are cheaper and perform better than gas cars, I will state the opposite.

[Siege]

What Mono says.
Though during my time in Japan I did notice an awful lot of petrol stations closing or recently closed. I think they're in some sort of transition period from a lot of small places in residential neighbourhoods to a few big places on main roads.


Petrol is pretty cheap in Japan actually. Less than 80p a litre. I guess due to their society being so car based taxes are kept low.

Though yes. They really should kick on with geothermal.

Now if only Japan had the clean electricity to use in the cars.

They used to do OK. But then Fukushima happened and everyone got paranoid about the n word.

Arent't all societies car based?

A non-car based society would a be poor society.

[Josquius]

Arent't all societies car based?

A non-car based society would a be poor society.

Not at all.
A good public transit system is a clear sign of development.
Its usually in the richer parts of countries  (particularly rich countries. Including Japan) that people don't have to drive.

[Valmy]

My gas car will always beat your electric car.

The day electric cars are cheaper and perform better than gas cars, I will state the opposite.

So...it will always beat it until it doesn't. Bold prediction sir.

[Siege]

My gas car will always beat your electric car.

The day electric cars are cheaper and perform better than gas cars, I will state the opposite.

So...it will always beat it until it doesn't. Bold prediction sir.

I got no car in this race.
Wheather the gas or the electric wins, they both will be self-driving cars, or autocars as they are being called.