TOKYO, May 10, 2021—Behind on most fronts: Japan’s aggregate number of electric vehicle charging stations in fiscal 2020, ended in March 2021, decreased approximately1,087 or 3.3 percent year-on-year to 29,214 locations, Zenrin Co., Ltd., Japan’s top mapping company was quoted by the Japanese media May 10.
The drop was the first time since the company began registering EV charging stations on its mapping apps in 2010. A enrin spokeswoman confirmed the numbers but did not expand on the data, including reasons for the decrease and the outlook over the coming years.
Much of the decrease owed to the pullout of quick charging stations in the hospitality industry hit head-on by the Covid-19 pandemic and infrequent EV visits to charging stations. EVs account for less than 1 percent of Japan’s new car sales, only a few EV models are sold.
Among problems drivers raise about EV charging stations is that a station typically can accommodate only one EV at a time, so other EVs visiting it will be forced to wait in the queue. EVs also are priced much higher than gas-powered vehicles and government subsidies for purchase are less generous than in other countries, drivers say.
Yet, it remains unknown whether EV charging stations will continue decreasing, with the finding coming weeks after prime minister Yoshihide Suga’s April 22 announcement to slash greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 by 46 percent, compared with 2013, to drive Japan carbon neutral by 2050 by proactively promoting EVs.
The number of gas stations was slightly less than 29,600 as of July 2020, down 1.44 percent, according to the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The number has been shrinking steadily over years in line with improving vehicle fuel efficiency and shortening vehicle ridership, or traveling mileage.
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