772 wrote:There are a lot more CHAdeMO than Tesla superchargers, but Tesla has done a better job of spacing them out. Very few people will realistically drive a Tesla cross country, and even less so a Leaf, but having an interconnected network is a big selling point. In NEO, if quick chargers were placed on routes to Pittsburgh, Columbus and Detroit, Nissan would sell a lot more Leafs. But dealers don't seem to be interested in paying for installs. When I went along for delivery, the dealer said they only sold 2 Leafs this year. It's really a chicken and egg problem IMO.
As for SAE vs. CHAdeMO, the way things are going I actually think the Tesla adapter will become the most popular one. They are so much more aggressive about installing their proprietary superchargers as well as destination chargers (HPWCs). By the time SAE starts getting its feet wet in installing charging station, Tesla and CHAdeMO will be way ahead. Why develop a new network from scratch when a compatible one already exists?
Just over a year ago I did research into the CHAdeMO chargers, finding most of them placed around larger cities. So I agree with you there-- it seems like there are plenty of them but only in dense populated areas. Seems a bit silly, but maybe not that much when you consider the largest per capita of them is in the general LA area-- where the EVs typically first go on sale. And having recently visited a friend with a Leaf who lives north of LA, and works in LA ... his car could benefit from quick charging if he wanted to go south of the city, say to Long Beach for example. Even regular 240v charging stations are far more common there than versus say where I live here in Cleveland. Oh-- I agree too that if Nissan (or anyone for that matter) installed CHAdeMO chargers and then advertised them in such a way that it connected Cleveland to Chicago, or Cinci, or Pitt.... yeah that would hugely benefit sales the way Tesla is using that even though many people wont use it. Sort of like Verizon covering the entire USA-- how often do people travel and need that kind of coverage? Sure business folks do, but still they market it to "everyone" because it helps sell phones.
To your second paragraph/point... I'm not sure I agree about the Tesla adapter becoming standard for two reasons. First of all, are they willing to sell off the rights for non-Tesla products? I doubt it... especially because they, like Apple, realize that their car carries prestige. They don't want their customers to brush elbows with common folk. That is why they use a proprietary connector in the first place, because like Apple, theirs is better. (I am a Mac, iPhone, Apple user FYI-- so this is NOT a slam). Second reason I don't think it will happen is because too many car manufacturers already started using the 240v SAE.... so for it to happen the SAE would have to accept the Tesla unit as the new standard. And that seems highly unlikely. For the moment if anything I think that the next SAE standard for EVs will allow either the current plug to be 480v fast/quick... or one that is larger but internall includes the old standard, making migration easier to quick charging. My personal bet is that the Tesla standard will remain just for Tesla, the same way of mini USB versus the Apple lightning connector... but hey, only time will tell.
All I care about right now (for the two remaining years of our lease) would be to see some more chargers in our area, 240v or otherwise....
