Retail Chain Announces Plans for One of the Largest EV-Charging Networks in Japan

Aeon Co, a major Japanese retailer, announced on July 19, 2013, that it is stepping up efforts to build more charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in-hybrid vehicles (PHVs). The company intends to install 1,150 chargers at 490 locations nationwide by the end of fiscal 2014, which would make it one of the largest EV-charging networks in Japan.

Under its "Eco Project," an initiative aimed at achieving environmental targets toward 2020 set by the Aeon Group, the company is participating in a subsidy program administered by the Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry to promote next-generation automobile-charging infrastructure. Considering that EVs and PHVs can be useful means of transportation in times of disaster, Aeon added a disaster-response perspective to its environmental preservation efforts, and will further promote the installation of charging stations, an effort it has been working on since 2008.

In addition to the 95 chargers currently in place at 43 locations, including at Aeon Mall shopping centers, the company will install chargers at its existing 470 stores as well as all of its shopping centers and large supermarkets opening in and after fiscal 2013. To provide continuous and stable services as social infrastructure, the company will start providing fee-based services at all charging stations as soon as they are ready.