Sometimes to get ahead, you have to get together. That's how Honda is approaching the issue of charging stations in its home country of Japan. Although they're one of the leaders in electric and hydrogen fuel cell technology, the infrastructure hasn't quite caught up to the times just yet. To solve this problem, they've partnered with three other automakers--Nissan, Toyota, and Mitsubishi.
You may not know it, but drivers in Japan are turning to electric vehicles more than ever, and the local automakers are doing their best to keep up. As of 2013, there are 1,700 quick charge stations available throughout the country, along with 3,000 regular ones, but these aren't nearly enough to be considered a sustainable infrastructure.
Given the number of EV (electric vehicles), PHEVs (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles) and PHVs (Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles) on the road, it's definitely not enough. By banding together and helping to absorb the cost, Honda hopes to bolster the number of quick-chargers to 4,000 and regular chargers by 8,000. The result will be greater convenience for owners of these all-electric and gasoline-electric cars.
Of course, creating better infrastructure in their home country is just the first step. Electric vehicles, such as the ever-popular Honda Fit EV are becoming more and more popular in the U.S. as well. Whether or not we'll see similar initiatives stateside remains to be seen, but we can hope that the Japanese automaker and their partners will make similar steps here, too, to improve availability of EVs in our Rock Hill, SC locale.
Of course, we'll give you word of that when we hear it, right here on our blog. In the meantime, Honda Cars of Rock Hill invite you to swing on down to our showroom, also serving Charlotte and Gastonia. We have a whole caboodle of eco-friendly autos on our lot, such as the Accord Plug-in and Civic Hybrid. Drop by, and we can set you up with a test drive.
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