Normally the stuff of sci-fi films, electric vehicles can now be used to pay for parking at a Nissan exhibition space in Japan.
Located near the company’s global headquarters in Yokohama and opened on 1 August to the public, the venue provides a number of innovations to showcase the future for mobility and electric vehicles – including the ability for visitors in electric cars to pay for parking by discharging energy from their car’s battery pack.
The 10,000-square-metre, zero-emission Pavilion – which is equipped with solar panels and supplied with renewable hydroelectric power – also features the Nissan Chaya Cafe that operates on power supplied by Nissan Leaf electric cars and solar energy, and provides a Mobility Hub with services including EV car-sharing and rental bicycles.
Visitors can also take part in virtual experiences to try out Formula E electric street racing or test the Nissan Ariya EV crossover. Due 2021 and bringing a rival to the Tesla Model Y, it’s part of the Nissan Next transformation plan, which looks to roll out 12 new models in 18 months. The carmaker aims to sell more than one million electrified vehicles a year by the end of fiscal 2023.
Nissan’s work on expanding the use of EVs draws on its Energy Share and Energy Storage technologies, which allow electricity from EV batteries to be stored, shared and repurposed, for instance by powering homes or businesses – such as the off-grid cafe in the Nissan Pavilion.
In Japan, Nissan has also entered agreements with local governments to use Leaf cars as mobile batteries that can supply energy during natural disasters.
It’s also working on repurposing used EV batteries to power streetlights.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said: “As the world shifts to electric mobility, EVs will be integrated into society in ways that go beyond just transportation.”
