Japanese insurance conglomerate Orix Group has signed an agreement with Ubiden Inc., an electric vehicle (EV) charging provider, to install chargers at existing apartment complexes across Japan, Bloomberg reported.
Orix has businesses including life insurance, banking, car rentals, and real estate. It manages the largest number of condominiums in Japan with about 540,000 units, or 10% of the total stock, through its subsidiaries, Daikyo Astage Inc. and Anabuki Community Inc.
The company decided to partner with Ubiden to decrease tenants’ reliance on public charging stations as more residents continue to ask about EV charging spots.
Many Japanese want to buy EVs but are discouraged because of the lack of charging facilities, according to Ubiden chief operating officer Tatsuro Shiraishi. He added that installing EV charges with support from the government would accelerate the uptake of EVs in the country.
Japan’s current EV sales are just less than 2% of the total, lagging behind other countries in electrified passenger transport. Car manufacturers have been slow to offer new EV models and it is more difficult to install EV chargers in city-based high-rise apartments.
The Japanese government is investing $50 million in subsidies for installing chargers at condominiums. In Tokyo, the government has allotted ¥3.6 billion for the endeavor.
As part of the agreement, Orix and Ubiden plan to introduce renewable energy options like solar panels to apartments to help reduce electricity bills.
According to the Bloomberg report, Ubiden has installed 2,000 EV charges in Japan so far and plans to install 150,000 more at condominiums by 2027.
The Japanese economic ministry is requesting that housing complex developers actively install EV charging facilities, and residents at greenfield sites usually reach a consensus right away.
However, it is more difficult to get approval from residents of older apartments, according to Kenji Yamamoto, who oversees the project at Daikyo Astage. He said that this is because of few EV users in Japan.
Ubiden’s service is subscription-based, ranging from 30 kilowatt hours for ¥1,780 or about US$11 to 210 kilowatt hours for ¥8,000 or about US$50.
