Combo standard specifications for Korea, the US, and Europe surpass Japan's CHAdeMO in market share.
Nissan, a key player in CHAdeMO adoption, transitions to the Combo rapid charging standard.

While Japan's CHAdeMO's market share is faltering, reports have emerged that CCS (hereinafter referred to as Combo), the rapid charging standard of Korea, the United States, and Europe, is becoming the global standard.

According to the Korea Automobile Research Institute (KARI)'s industry trend report titled "Trends and Implications of Standardization of Electric Vehicle Rapid Charging Specifications," CHAdeMO, which was developed first, initially had a high market share, but Combo overtook it as Japan was passive in developing electric vehicles and charging technology.

In addition to the CCS (hereinafter Combo) standard of the US, Europe, and Korea, the CHAdeMO of Japan, and the GB/T of China, Tesla's proprietary standard also exists, and unifying the standard can improve convenience and reduce costs.

The Combo type can perform slow, rapid, and emergency rapid charging with one charging port, and is ahead of CHAdeMO and GB/T in terms of high-power charger distribution, so it has a faster rapid charging speed and is more convenient. It is divided into Combo1 and Combo2, but has the advantage of good compatibility by using the same signal protocol.

On the other hand, when using PLC communication, information such as remaining battery capacity and charging speed is not shared with the charger during charging.However, there is also a disadvantage in that charging information cannot be provided smoothly when frequency interference occurs.

According to an analysis by Precedence Research last year, the global charger market share (by value) is expected to grow for Combo to 38.7%, 44.9%, and 48.0% in 2021, 2025, and 2027, while CHAdeMO is expected to decrease to 27.5%, 21.5%, and 18.5%, respectively.

Nissan, which was at the forefront of CHAdeMO development and distribution, recently switched from the 'ARIYA' rapid charging standard to Combo, which clearly shows that CHAdeMO's driving force has weakened and it is difficult to reverse its weakness.

Tesla has already secured compatibility with the Combo in Europe, but has maintained an exclusive strategy in the US. However, it is currently strengthening compatibility with the Combo to meet the subsidy eligibility requirements of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) project.

Through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) project, the U.S. government plans to spend $7.5 billion over five years starting last year to subsidize the installation of electric vehicle chargers, but to receive the subsidy, you must install a Combo charger.

Hanjayeon said that strengthening international cooperation is necessary to ensure that the construction of rapid charging infrastructure in emerging markets does not work against Korean companies.

The argument is that emerging countries are likely to distribute electric vehicles and chargers based solely on price without a long-term strategy, and if China's GB/T or ChaoJi standards become mainstream in emerging markets, this could be a disadvantage for our companies.

For example, Shanghai GM Wuling of China applied GB/T to the Indonesian 'Wuling Air EV', and the model ranked first in electric vehicle sales in 2022 due to its price competitiveness, and Hyundai Motor's 'IONIQ5'' missed the top spot by finishing in second place.

Therefore, Hanjayeon emphasized the need to convey through international cooperation the fact that the spread of the Combo standard, a global standard, is essential for emerging countries that have begun to implement policies to promote local production and export of electric vehicles in order to be incorporated into the international supply chain.