A year ago this month, Nissan confirmed that it planned to abandon the CHAdeMO fast-charging standard and migrate to CCS-format DC fast charging with its upcoming Ariya electric crossover.
That leaves a single U.S.-market EV offering a standard CHAdeMO fast-charging connector: the Nissan Leaf. If you factor in the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid, there are only two models built with the port that’s perhaps easiest to find.
So it’s surprising that there has been significant growth in the network offering CHAdeMO—even over the past year. Maps and road-trip routes aside, Green Car Reports this week took stock of the nation’s fast-charging tally and was surprised to see that yes, CCS is catching up—and now leading CHAdeMO in connectors. But it still isn’t offered at as many stations.
CHAdeMO, CCS, and Supercharger - Alternative Fuels Data Center, July 20, 2021
According to the U.S. Alternative Fuels Data Center, as of this week there are 3,757 CHAdeMO stations, versus 3,635 CCS stations. There are 5,161 CHAdeMO connectors, versus 7,006 CCS connectors.
Tesla continues to follow a different strategy, with well-placed stations along strategic road-trip routes offering many more connectors per station. For just 1,076 stations, it posted 10,626 connectors—figuring out to nearly 10 connectors per station across the network.
Electrify America DC fast-chargers - CCS and CHAdeMO
It’s also useful to see how these networks have grown. Versus about exactly a year ago, when we did a similar data pull, the Tesla Supercharger network has grown 26% in stations and 30% in connectors. CCS growth is the most dramatic—as it should be as the market depends on it—with the number of stations up neatly 50% and the number of connectors up 36% of what it was then.
But perhaps the zinger of them all is that CHAdeMO has been growing faster than Tesla Supercharging—with 42% growth in stations and 25% more connectors versus 12 months ago (see below for July 2020, above for July 2021).
U.S. DC fast chargers - July 15, 2020 - Alternative Fuels Data Center
Yes, through Cycle 2 (until January 2022) Electrify America is installing a lone CHAdeMO connector at all of its stations, as part of aims to be brand -agnostic and support EV equity efforts (and the usability of used Leafs). But that doesn’t speak for all of the growth.
Tesla charging on EVgo network
Tesla is of course part of the story. With an adapter, Tesla owners can charge on CHAdeMO connectors, and they’re often useful for adding some range in the middle of a busy day around major metro areas.
How is the oldest, somewhat orphaned fast-charging standard still growing? How does Tesla manage to do more with fewer locations? And why aren’t there more CCS locations by now? Please leave us your thoughts below.
