Nissan move to CCS fast-chagring

Ariya electric crossover is equipped with CCS-format DC fast charging rather than the CHAdeMO-format charging it’s used—and actively supported—since 2010, when it introduced the Leaf.

Nissn decided to go with CCS in the U.S. and Europe and didn’t want to give customers any disadvantage in terms of coverage and infrastructure. Japan will be the one exception; the Ariya is launching with CHAdeMO there.

Unlike CCS, CHAdeMO charging was designed from the start to accommodate bidirectional charging. Japanese versions of the Leaf have been offered to companies and consumers with solutions that enable some of this functionality.

CHAdeMO has continued to evolve. A long-awaited CHAdeMO 3.0 standard, updated for a charging power of up to 500 kw, offering bi-directional capability plus back-compatibility with China’s GB/T standard and possibly with CCS.

Meanwhile, Nissan in the U.S. has, to put it bluntly, squandered the advantage it had with the format. It sponsored some compelling demos and pilot programs demonstrating what the car can do, but for whatever reason—possibly the daunting task of looping in thousands of local and regional utility providers—it hasn’t offered the hardware here.

Nissan has up until recently remained very committed to CHAdeMO. Less than a year ago it announced the deployment, with charging network EVgo, of 200 charging stations capable of delivering 100 kw on the CHAdeMO standard.

CHAdeMO predates Tesla Supercharging and CCS, and it got a strong start in the U.S. with the launch of the Leaf and Nissan’s commitment to building out the infrastructure with (and ahead of) the car.

Nissan has made clear that the Ariya doesn’t replace the Leaf, and that a next-generation Leaf is at least on the drawing board. To speculate for a moment, if the Ariya is the technology flagship, there’s still space for the Leaf to be the efficiency and sustainability leader.