Nissan Pavilion Opens In Japan And Accepts Electricity For Parking Fees

Japanese electric car owners have many reasons to visit the Nissan Pavilion in Yokohama, Japan. Apparently, guests can pay for parking with electricity from their EVs. This novel idea is a global first and showcases the many innovative features unique to Nissan's Pavilion.

"The Pavilion is a place where customers can see, feel, and be inspired by our near-future vision for society and mobility," said Makoto Uchina, CEO of Nissan. "As the world shifts to electric mobility, EVs will be integrated into society in ways that go beyond just transportation."

For starters, the Pavilion serves to highlight Nissan's Energy Share and Nissan Energy Storage technologies. Both features allow electricity stored from EV batteries to be transferred, stored, shared, and repurposed to power homes and businesses. For instance, the Nissan Chaya Café inside the Pavilion operates using power supplied by Nissan Leaf EVs and solar energy.

In its home market of Japan, Nissan has forged agreements with the local government to utilize Leaf electric cars as mobile batteries. With this setup, the vehicles can supply energy during calamities or natural disasters. Nissan is also working on revitalizing EV batteries to illuminate streetlights within the city.

And of course, Nissan Pavilion is a place to test drive the carmaker's newest Ariya EV. The event also offers virtual experiences of Formula E electric street racing to show the future of electric motorsports. The Pavilion is housed in a 10,000 square-meter facility and is solely powered by solar panels and renewable hydroelectric energy.

It's no secret that Nissan is planning to expand its global EV lineup. The company plans to sell at least 1 million electrified vehicles by 2023. The Pavilion is strategically located near the Nissan HQ in Yokohama and is open to the public from August 1 to October 23, 2020. You can take a virtual tour of Nissan Pavilion by clicking here.