The consortium includes Forking Co., a major vending machine operator, and Panasonic Electric Works, which will develop and produce electric car chargers with rivals.
Forking has business ties to companies that own a combined 1.2 million vending machines across Japan, or about half of the national total.
The companies plan to install 10,000 electric vehicle chargers at vending machine sites in the first year of the project, which is scheduled to begin by the end of March, he added.
Charging stations will be installed in existing beverage vending machines or alongside new ones. There are several options.
SoftBank Telecom and Mobile SoftBank will provide the telecommunications services to connect the charging systems, the group said in a press release.
Automakers like Nissan, which launched its 100% electric car, the Leaf, last year, are betting that zero-emission electric cars are the future and that gasoline-powered cars will disappear from the streets.
However, many consider the lack of a charging network as the main obstacle to the proliferation of electric vehicles, which led to consumer concerns, such as anxiety or fear that their cars will run out of charge on the road.
Authors: Val
