Agreement on Efforts toward Installation of Quick Chargers for Electric Vehicles and Their Provision for General Use-Users will be able to charge their vehicles while shopping at convenience stores!-

Cocostore Corporation, Circle K Sunkus Co., Ltd., Seven Eleven Japan Co., Ltd., Daily Yamazaki Co., Ltd., FamilyMart Co., Ltd., MINISTOP Co., Ltd., Lawson, Inc., Chuden Auto Lease Co., Ltd. and Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (hereafter "the nine companies") today reached an agreement to proceed with efforts to install quick chargers for electric vehicles in convenience store parking lots, and to make them available for use by all electric vehicle users.

The nine companies will install one quick charger in the parking lots of 21 convenience stores in Aichi Prefecture. In addition to offering the installed chargers as charging stations for company electric vehicles belonging to Chubu Electric Power Co., the companies will participate in a membership-based quick charging service,(Note) and will make the devices available for use as charging stations for a wide range of electric vehicle users. The installation, maintenance and management of the quick chargers will be overseen by Chuden Auto Lease, a subsidiary of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. Use of the charging stations is scheduled to commence in fall this year.

The installation of quick chargers in the parking lots of convenience stores, which are closely tied to people's daily lives and are able to be used 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, will significantly boost convenience for electric vehicle users.

By increasing the number of quick chargers installed in Aichi Prefecture, the nine companies are not only expecting to have a direct effect in increasing convenience for electric vehicle users in the prefecture and in the Chubu region more generally, but are also hopeful that this initiative will serve as the starting point for a further expansion of the model, which will contribute to realizing increased convenience for electric vehicle users throughout the country and promoting the more widespread use of electric vehicles.

The nine companies will continue in their efforts toward the realization of a low-carbon society by means of initiatives including the provision of support to promote the more widespread use of electric vehicles.

[Image of quick charger installed in convenience store parking lot]

(Note) Membership-based quick charging service

A service in which the Charging Network Development Organization, LLC(Note 1) makes available to users of electric vehicles a network of quick chargers that have been installed or will be installed in the future throughout the country by a variety of entities.  

• By becoming members, electric vehicle users are able to use the quick chargers in the network established by the Charging Network Development Organization
• By participating in the service, an entity that installs a quick charger receives a portion of membership fees from the Charging Network Development Organization, and is able to use these funds to offset the cost of installing and maintaining the quick charger

(Note 1) Charging Network Development Organization, LLC

Founded in December 2011 on the basis of cooperation between nine companies from diverse industries (an electric company, automakers, a financial institution, a service station company, and trading companies), this business entity operates a membership-based quick charging service for electric vehicles, and seeks to realize the more widespread use of the vehicles by promoting the installation of quick chargers.

Representative:

Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.

Members:

ULVAC, Inc., Kanematsu Corporation, Kandenko Co., Ltd.,

Suzuyo Shoji Co., Ltd., Toyota Motor Corporation,

The Development Bank of Japan, Inc., Honda Motor Co., Ltd.,

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation

Website:

http://www.chademocharge.com (Currently dead link)