Nissan Announces Membership-Based Charging Service

With the electric vehicle industry slowly moving in starting positions, owners of such vehicles are still a minority. One so little that, instead of having anyone charge their vehicle from any available charging point, a membership-based charging service would be a more appropriate way to go.

This is what Japanese manufacturer Nissan must have thought when it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sumitomo Corporation and NEC Corporation, for the creation of such a service.

Intended for EV users, this industry-first service in Japan will benefit from the involvement of all the three companies. Charging facilities which can provide continuous service to EV users will be installed at key locations (apartment buildings and parking lots), while maintenance of charging equipment will be done by working with existing service providers.

“In order to create further synergy for the business, the three companies will leverage their combined know-how in gaining support from a wide-range of organizations from all industries,” Nissan said in a statement.

Sumitomo will take care of the second-life use of lithium-ion batteries in the automotive industry and the auto lease through Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service Company. NEC will bring cloud computing systems in the membership management, including quick charging services, member authentication and payment processing.

The trial of the membership-based charging service will begin in the next fiscal year in the Kanagawa prefecture. The measure is meant to help Nissan tackle the infrastructure problem in the country, one which is thought to prevent the carmaker sell the Leaf EV in the desired numbers in the next fiscal year.