DC Fast Charge to be offered for roadside assistance in Japan
Nissan announced today a trial roadside assistance program to begin on June 7, 2011 (tomorrow). This Nissan/Japan Automobile Federation partnership initially will use one vehicle based out of JAF’s Kanagawa facility. As can be seen in the photo above, the charger is a DC Fast Charge system plugged into the CHAdeMO connector of the LEAF. This means that the system will also be usable by Mitsubishi electric vehicles (EVs), along with any other vehicle using the CHAdeMO connector.
Just so you know, this technology has already been demonstrated in the United States. We had reported on it prior to year end, but when our server crashed in January, we lost most of our articles written prior to the that time. In November, 2010, Real Power demonstrated a DC Fast Charge system using a Mitsubishi I-MiEV (to be launched later this year in the U.S. as the Mitsubishi I) at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
The advantage of mounting a DC fast charge system on a mobile platform is that if you do happen to run out of juice, you will get an 80% charge in 30 minutes. While not quite as convenient as having a tow truck bring out a one or two gallon splash of gasoline, it will get you further down the road, and do it in a relatively short time frame. No price was announced for the cost of the service. Also, we have heard of no plans yet to establish a network of roadside assistance vehicles in the U.S.