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Japan Now Has More Car Charging Points Than Gas Stations

Posted by Soulskill on from the plugging-their-new-toy dept.

An anonymous reader writes: One of the biggest impediments to getting more electric cars on the road is the lack of charging infrastructure. When there's a gas station every other mile and you have to struggle to find a charging station, it's difficult to make a case for convenience and reliability. But this is changing, particularly in smaller, more technologically advanced countries like Japan. Nissan found that there are now about 40,000 charging points in Japan, compared to about 34,000 gas stations. Granted, not all of those charging spots are available to the public — some are in people's homes. But it shows the infrastructure is making real gains. Also, the article suggests an Airbnb-like system may crop up for people to utilize each other's charging stations. It adds, "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."

5 of 215 comments (clear)

  1. Not quite comparable by rossdee · · Score: 3, Insightful

    At a gas station it doesn't take you long to fill your tamk. Charging an electric vehicle takes a lot longer so theres less turnover.
    (Perhaps even all day, or at least all 8 hrs of a shift)

    1. Re:Not quite comparable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Also, wouldn't it be better to compare it to the total number of pumps?

    2. Re:Not quite comparable by runningduck · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes, however you very rarely need to go to a public charge station. Most charging is done at home while you sleep or for some people while they work. I understand that this is not practical for apartment dwellers, but keep in mind that any standard outlet can recharge the typical driving range over night; no charge station needed.

      A more important metric might be how many public charge stations are necessary compared to gas stations.

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      -rd
    3. Re:Not quite comparable by WindBourne · · Score: 4, Insightful

      and yet, the electric cars charge at nighttime at home, while the gas cars MUST go for fill-ups.

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      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    4. Re:Not quite comparable by eth1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Actually if you're comparing it to public filling stations, number of cars filled per hour or per day would probably be a better comparison.

      A single gas pump can probably do about 12 cars per hour (5 minutes for the full transaction). If it takes 6 hours to charge a car, that single pump could fill as many cars as 72 charging stations. Or 7.2 or so 30-minute Supercharger stations (6 + 20%, since it doesn't fill to full, and you'd have to stop and tie up another charging station sooner).