Nissan Begins Giving Out 400 Electric Car Chargers in Europe

Nissan has begun distributing 400 free, electric car chargers to various cities in Europe that can charge the Nissan Leaf to 80% in 30 minutes. The chargers meet the requirements set by CE and TUV and can charge any compliant electric car, not just the Leaf. The charging units recharge the vehicles at 400v of DC power. The chargers will be at airports, rest stops and large retail areas. There will also be a corridor of the units along the route from Paris to Amsterdam.

Nissan is allowing companies to produce the charging units under contract to increase production capacity, and it claims that it will have over 1000 units installed throughout Europe within the next two years. The units cost less than €10,000.

"This is a huge first step in the creation of a European quick charge network, which will open up electric vehicle ownership to many more people. We are creating an infrastructure which can be used by any ChadeMo compliant vehicle, not just Nissan LEAF owners. These chargers are also compatible with our Alliance partner Renault's AC 43kW fast charging system for future network expansion," said Nissan Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Paul Wilcox.