Toyota Expands Dealership Fast Chargers — But Still Miles Behind Nissan and Mitsubishi
Charging at a Toyota Showroom
Toyota has announced plans to install an additional 500 fast chargers at its Japanese dealerships by the end of the fiscal year (March 2026). That will bring the total to about 900 fast chargers nationwide, alongside roughly 3,800 regular AC chargers that are mostly for plug-in hybrids.
It’s an improvement, but let’s not get carried away. The company originally promised to equip all 5,000 dealerships in Japan with fast chargers by the end of 2025. So even after this expansion, Toyota will still be nowhere near that goal.
A spokesperson told Bloomberg that Toyota “does not focus on achieving a set number of chargers, but rather installs them based on needs and usage.” In other words: we’ll do it when we feel like it.
Meanwhile, Toyota’s rivals are already way ahead. Nissan has fast chargers at 90% of its dealerships, and Mitsubishibeats even that, with 94% coverage. For a company that sells more plug-in hybrids than full EVs, Toyota seems in no rush to make fast charging convenient for its own customers.
It’s a similar story with EV production. Toyota pledged in 2021 to launch 30 EVs by 2030, with ten of those by 2026. With only a handful of true EVs on the market, that promise is already looking shaky. CEO Koji Sato has even hinted that Toyota might need to “revise” its target of selling 1.5 million EVs annually by 2026 — a line now familiar across the global auto industry.
Fast CHAdeMO Chargers are Less Common
What Toyota’s 3,800 “Chargers” Really Are
Toyota loves to boast about its 3,800 dealership chargers, but here’s the reality: most of them are slow 200 V AC outletsdesigned for plug-in hybrids, not real EVs. These units are used for service cars, demo vehicles, and showroom test drives — not for public charging.
Leaving your car at a dealership for eight hours while it slowly fills up isn’t practical, and most sites close their gates after business hours anyway. In other words, these are marketing chargers, not mobility chargers.
Charging at Toyota Requires Registration
The Fast Chargers: Technically Public, Functionally Pointless
Toyota’s new high-speed chargers are better, but they come with a catch — or several. While they use the CHAdeMO standard (so in theory any EV can connect, even Teslas with an adapter), in practice, you can’t just pull up and charge.
Most Toyota chargers are locked behind authentication systems tied to Toyota’s own ecosystem:
The Toyota PHV/EV Charging Support Card (monthly membership + per-minute fees)
The Toyota Wallet app, which links to the same paid network
Or, if you’re lucky, e-Mobility Power (eMP) roaming access — assuming the dealership participates.
So yes, technically, a Tesla with a CHAdeMO adapter can use them. But only if the charger is physically accessible, the dealer staff permit it, and you have the right subscription card or app.
That means no simple pay-per-use option, and no 24-hour access like Japan’s Flash Chargers (rapid 90–150 kW units) found at AEON, convenience stores, or expressway rest stops. Those let you plug in and go — no Toyota Wallet, no dealer gate, no waiting room coffee.
The contrast says it all: Toyota’s approach to charging is corporate, gated, and brand-first, while Japan’s newer public networks are fast, open, and practical.
Final Thoughts
Toyota’s announcement sounds impressive on paper — 500 new fast chargers, big headlines, the illusion of progress. But between restricted access, slow chargers dressed up as infrastructure, and the lingering dependence on memberships and apps, the average EV driver still won’t benefit much.
When other manufacturers are building open, universal charging ecosystems, Toyota is still asking drivers to download an app, apply for a card, and charge during business hours.
That’s not how you lead an electric revolution — it’s how you delay it.
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