Your EV’s electricity can pay for parking at Nissan’s new exhibition
If Nissan has its way, you might not need to pay for a parking spot if your electric car has some range to spare. Autoblog notes that the automaker has opened an exhibition space in Yokohama, the Pavilion, that lets you pay for parking by sending electricity from the Leaf and other EVs into the building. You won’t have to worry about the cost of trip (beyond whatever it costs to recharge elsewhere, of course) if you’re determined to see the Ariya crossover or get a taste of Formula E racing.
It’s meant as a demonstration of Nissan’s Energy Share and electricity storage technologies, such as the use of Leaf cars to power homes and city infrastructure during disasters. The exhibition, which also highlights connected car and semi-autonomous driving tech, is open until October 23rd.
The implications are much broader, of course. This hints at a future where building and park owners could ask you to share some of your electricity to discount or eliminate your parking fees. You’d likely have to pay for the electricity at some point (if just by installing solar panels at home), and it wouldn’t be surprising if some operators kept charging money to reduce urban congestion. When this pay-with-electricity makes sense, though, it could lower the cost of traveling while keeping the lights on.
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