Nissan to install EV chargers at its dealerships

MANILA: There has been quite a while since Nissan cleared that the Philippines will indeed be getting the Leaf in 2020. And with that, the Japanese automaker will create history by becoming the first brand to introduce an all-electric car to the Filipinos.

While the news has created a vibe amongst the automobile and go-green enthusiasts, there are few questions which need to be answered before the Leaf makes its way to the Philippine shores. The most important of the lot is the question of charging the Leaf.

Worry not, though, as the Nissan Leaf will come along with a Level 1 charger that will be installed at the owner’s house. This charger can be plugged in a standard 220 V socket and can charge the Leaf in a considerably high amount of time. To be specific, this charger juices up the Leaf’s battery pack overnight.

However, there is also a Level 2 charger which is available in other markets that can charge the EV in 5 to 8 hours. The major problem is that electric vehicle charging infrastructure is just not at par in the Philippines yet. While the likes of Japan have fast chargers at fuel stations capable of charging the EV up to 80 % in a mere 30 minutes, the Philippines only has a handful of these units.

To overcome the hurdles, Nissan Philippines will install DC fast chargers at its dealerships to provide the Leaf customers with fast and reliable charging solutions. As the fast chargers need voltage in excess of 400 V to charge the EV up to 80 % in 30 minutes, the dealerships would be the most convenient solution for the automaker.

While Nissan Philippines has not made it clear whether all of its dealerships in the country will get the facility or just a few select ones, we believe that the automaker will start with the regions with high EV success potential. Whether or not Nissan will charge the customers for using these fast chargers, remains a mystery, however, the electricity in the Philippines is not cheap and we expect Nissan to bill its customers for using the facility.

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