Toyota and Nissan join forces to promote the electric car

Toyota and Nissan announced Monday will be associated two other automakers and supplier of energy to promote electric vehicles. The partners will establish a particular standard for charging stations.

The representatives of Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Fuji Heavy Industries and Tokyo Electric Power have reunited in a hotel in Tokyo to announce their partnership, bringing together a total of 160 companies, including the French group PSA, and government organizations. The industry group was baptized "CHAdeMO", making reference to the English verbs "load" and "move".

Recalling the concerns related to emissions of greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on oil, the leaders were reunited Monday stressed that it was perhaps time for the entire automotive industry to capitalize on the electric car.

Nissan plans to begin this year sale limited number of electric car called "Leaf", while Mitsubishi and Fuji Heavy already have electric vehicles on the market. Toyota has on his side began offering a leasing a model of its rechargeable hybrid cars.

But the use of electric vehicles for the moment remains largely experimental. The main users are tied in one way or another to government organizations, while customers in the public represent only a niche.

The reliability of batteries, high costs and insufficient charging stations remain obstacles to the development of these cars. Similarly, the variety of charging stations is another problem, even if the group of builders working at their standardization.

Manufacturers must agree on the intensity of the voltage, the model of electrical outlet and some other details if they want to make it possible standardization and also provides efficient and fast recharge.