Feb 6th - EV charging standard competition casts a shadow over Japanese manufacturers

Japanese automotive manufacturers face slower growth of global EV sales. Nissan, one of the Japanese automakers conducting EV mass-production, has a global sales target of 1.5 million EVs by 2016, but has only achieved in 2012, total sales of 38,000 units (the same as in 2010). Fast charging systems are one of the key elements in disseminating EVs: they enable EVs to charge in tens of minutes compared to eight hours for normal charging at home. A TEPCO subsidiary has created a fast charging technology called the “CHAdeMO” system, launched in 2010 with major partners Nissan and Toyota. The system has been commercialised, with more than 1,600 CHAdeMO fast-charging stations already installed worldwide. Japanese companies have made a great effort to advocate the CHAdeMO as the global standard system. But in October 2012, SAE International, the US automotive industry’s standardisation body, decided to adopt the “Combo” as the US fast-charging standard system. Prior to SAE’s announcement, several major US and European automakers, including GM and Volkswagen who plan to introduce their EVs in 2013, announced they would use the Combo system. The perception is that the Combo system has been chosen to avoid Japanese domination of the EV market.

The Combo has one connector responding to both fast and normal charging, while the CHAdeMo supports only fast charging. With the US (the world’s second biggest EV market after Japan) adopting the Combo, Japanese players will need to shift their strategy. China, another big market for EVs, is developing its own EV charging system. Multiple standards create burdens for customers and manufacturers and there is no compatibility among system standards so far. 

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