CHAdeMO EV Support Association Established in Japan

As the electric and hybrid vehicles market expands, so does the the necessity for the support facilities, such as charging points.

Various companies that activate in this sector of the automotive industry are making efforts to provide the necessary facilities, but the development exceeds an individual business’ normal possibilities, so the big players on the market are forming strategic alliance. The latest example for such a partnership comes from Japan, where Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan Motor Company, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Fuji Heavy Industries (the company that owns Subaru) and the Tokyo electric power Company have officially created the “CHAdeMo Association” today. The five companies are now executive members of the association.

CHAdeMo plans to provide a decent level of availability for the quick charging stations around the world and introduce a global standard for all the charging systems. The project was initiated in August 2009, when Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors, Fuji Heavy Industries and TEPCO established a preparatory committee. Subsequently, Toyota joined the committee and the association was created.

The new association will expand, as 158 companies (out of which 20 are non-Japanese) and multiple government bodies are expected to join in.

The “CHAdeMO” name has been borrowed form the industry, as it normally describes a quick charging method that the new association plans to use as standard. It is an abbreviation of “CHArge de MOve” and is a jest about “O cha demo ikaga desuka” in Japanese, which can be translated into “Let’s have a tea while charging”.