Hi all,
I am currently looking at buying a new car, in particular a Lexus, if that matters.
We now have some concerns that are more unique to Japan, and I would want to know some opinions on those.
First, we live in Osaka and got our own house with solar and can charge a car at home.
Now to the worries that would lead to us either getting the EV or the PHEV:
(1) EV Charging Infrastructure
I watched several YouTube episodes about EV owners in Japan, and it appears going for long road trips with the family can be quite a hassle, since often there is only one charger available and what if that one is being used? Also the chargers are not the fastest, most tapping out at 50kw. We might go for more than 400km trips 3-4 times per year.
Now since we go with Lexus, I suppose we might have access to maybe a bit of a better infrastructure of dealerships? But the issue would of course be opening times of those.
(2) Emergency Situations
Because it’s Japan, my wife would prefer a PHEV because in case of emergency, it is easier to import gas and fuel our car. But I wonder how big of a deal that really is?
Couldn’t we maybe in worst case have a generator running on fuel, which could charge our car?
What is your take on that? Did any of you choose a PHEV over an EV and for what reasons did you choose one over the other?