Nissan joins BMW, Ford, and Honda in ChargeScape vehicle-to-grid charging joint venture
One month after OEMs BMW, Ford, and Honda announced a new joint venture focused on electric vehicle-to-grid integration called ChargeScape, Nissan has now joined. The Japanese automaker will take a stake in the joint venture and begin offering its charging solutions to customers.
ChargeScape is a new joint venture initially formed, owned, and operated by Ford, BMW, and Honda. The venture is focused on a software platform dedicated to home EV charging solutions, specifically vehicle-to-grid capabilities. Per the company:
ChargeScape’s software wirelessly connects to electric vehicles and manages the flow of electrons in line with real-time grid conditions, temporarily reducing demand when the grid is constrained through smart charging (V1G) and even leveraging sending energy back into the power grid when needed (V2G). By providing a single platform for power utilities, automakers and their customers, ChargeScape streamlines the complexity of electric vehicle-grid integration.
Now, less than a month after the initial announcement that ChargeScape had been founded and named its first CEO, Nissan has joined the joint venture as a fourth partner.
Nissan takes a 25% stake in ChargeScape joint venture
The Japanese automaker shared details of its new investment in ChargeScape today, which, when completed, will make it a 25% even partner in the charging joint venture alongside BMW, Ford, and Honda.
Once the transaction is completed, Nissan will begin rolling out ChargeScape’s services to its EV drivers across the US and Canada. Soon, Nissan will be able to offer its EV drivers the potential for energy savings using ChargeScape’s backend software.
For example, EV owners will be able to temporarily pause charging sessions during periods of high demand and pending regulatory approvals, eventually be able to sell their vehicle’s stored energy back to their local power grid for incentives. Kent O’Hara, president of Nissan’s 4R battery business, elaborated:
ChargeScape helps us more conveniently and effectively connect utilities to EV drivers, making the ownership experience more valuable for drivers by giving them incentives for participating in managed charging and vehicle-to-grid programs. Joining ChargeScape helps us contribute to a nationwide reduction in CO2 emissions by enabling utilities to use EV battery energy storage to balance peak grid demands, while optimizing the use of renewable electricity sources.”
Nissan shared that ChargeScape’s potential to unlock vehicle-to-grid services for many will also help grid operators avoid the reliance on expensive and polluting “peaker plants” when the grid becomes overloaded.
The young joint venture is already developing and erecting “virtual power plants” in California, Texas, and other markets. Per the press release, the four initial joint venture partners expect additional automakers beyond Nissan to join “in the coming months.”
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ACME stock soars on today’s cartoonishly silly episode of Quick Charge, we watch Tesla Autopilot crash into a wall with a painting on it, make the Elon stans look silly when they point out shady behavior from their fearless leader, and toss out the notion that some franchise dealers might help the troubled EV brand make more sales in red states.
We also cover Toyota as it moves to position itself for global battery dominance by suppling batteries to more than 400,000 electrified Honda vehicles per year, plus an upgraded Xpeng G6 electric SUV that makes everything on this side of the Pacific look positively plebeian. All this and more, enjoy!
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Tesla has already started offering 0% APR on loans for the new Model Y in China, showing a clear sign of weak demand.
We recently reported that Tesla is under increased pressure from competition in China, the world’s largest EV market.
The Tesla Model 3 was recently surpassed in sales by the Xiaomi SU7 in a record short period from starting production. The SU7 not only outsells Model 3 in China, but Xiaomi’s electric sedan has a 31-34-week-long order backlog compared to just 1-3 weeks for Tesla’s.
Last month, Tesla started offering a new RMB 8,000 ($1,100 USD) insurance subsidy and 0% loans on new Model 3 orders.
Tesla didn’t apply these same offers to new Model Y orders because Tesla enjoyed more demand for the vehicle due to the launch of the Model Y refresh, and the production launch limited the supplies.
However, we also noted that reports of more than 200,000 orders for the new Model Y were exaggerated and the current delivery timelines pointed to soft demand for the new Model Y.
We noted that a good indication of when Tesla is running out of the backlog of orders, which was opened in January, for the newly delivered vehicle would be if Tesla brings back financing incentives on the Model Y.
Today, Tesla announced that it was bringing back the 0% interest loans on the base version of the new Model Y:
The Model Y RWD is by far Tesla’s best-selling car in China and Tesla is now offering up to 3 years at 0% for a 30% down payment and some discounted rates for a smaller down payment.
The incentive starts now and up to April 30. Tesla wrote:
If you purchase a Model Y rear-wheel drive version from March 18, 2025 to April 30, 2025 and pick up the car before the order expiration date according to the delivery and payment terms in the order, eligible customers can apply for the following financial preferential plans:
Tesla currently quotes “2-4 weeks” as a delivery timeline for new orders for the new Model Y RWD, and 6-10 weeks for Long Range AWD.
The Long Range appears to enjoy a bit more demand. Tesla even slightly increased the price by RMB 10,000 yuan ($1,380).
Electrek’s Take
It’s important to consider that Tesla is believed to be selling a mix of RWD vs AWD around 3 to 1 or even 4 to 1. Therefore, any change in pricing and subsidized loans to the Short Range RWD would have a massive impact on Tesla.
I have to say, I’m surprised. I suspected Tesla would have some issues selling the new Model Y in the second half of the year after some excitement for the new version wore off and competition like the Xiaomi YU7 would arrive, but I didn’t think it would come so fast.
Even if this is because Tesla was able to ramp up production of the new version faster, which could mean more deliveries in Q1, the fact that they are already discounting them is a terrible sign of demand.
I didn’t have high hopes for Tesla’s prospects in China in 2025, but even I thought this would not come for another 3-5 months.
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The World Liberty Financial website arranged on a smartphone in New York, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial crypto project said on Monday that it raised $250 million in its second token sale, bringing the total amount of coins sold to $550 million.
WLFI, a venture backed by the first family that describes itself as a sort of crypto banking platform, launched in October, weeks before Trump’s election victory. In a document published at the time of launch, WLFI said the Trump family could take home 75% of net revenue.
In Monday’s release, WLFI said more than 85,000 participants underwent so-called know-your-customer verification to gain access to the token sale. Co-founder Zach Witkoff, son of billionaire U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, is quoted in the release as saying that “WLFI is on track to supercharge DeFi,” or decentralized finance.
In January, Tron blockchain founder Justin Sun upped his stake in WLFI tokens to $75 million. A court filing the following month showed that Sun and the SEC were exploring a resolution to the regulator’s civil fraud case against the crypto entrepreneur.
WLFI is one of several crypto projects in the Trump family that are kicking off just as the president is pushing a crypto-friendly agenda. Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
According to a memo from the White House last week, David Sacks, the Trump administration’s AI and crypto czar, sold over $200 million worth of digital asset-related investments personally and through his firm, Craft Ventures, before starting the job. Sacks said in a podcast that he “didn’t want to even have the appearance of a conflict.”
At the end of February, the SEC declared that meme tokens are not securities. The announcement came after the president and First Lady Melania Trump launched their own meme coins in the days leading up to the inauguration.
WATCH: Trump’s bitcoin reserve leaves crypto investors disappointed
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