Recent Trends in the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Market in Japan
Mihail Marinov

1. Outline
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As of December 2017, Japan had a stock of light-duty plug-in vehicles of about
207,200 units.
Sales totaled 24,660 units in 2015, and 24,851 units in 2016.
The segment market share declined from 0.68% in 2014 to 0.59% in 2016.
Declining sales growth reflected the governmental and domestic carmaker decision
to promote hydrogen fuel cell vehicles instead.
Sales recovered in 2017, with almost 56,000 plug-in cars sold, and the segment's
market share reached 1.1%.
In May 2009 the Japanese Diet passed the "Green Vehicle Purchasing Promotion
Measure".
The program provided purchasing subsidies for cars, mini and keis, trucks andbuses, including an extra subsidy for purchases trading in a sufficiently old used car.
The program ended on March 31, 2010.
The Japanese electric vehicle charging infrastructure climbed from 60 public
stations in 2010 to 1,381 in 2012.
Mitsubishi introduced multiple plug-in vehicles: the Mitsubishi i MiEV in 2009, theMitsubishi Minicab MiEV in 2011, a truck version of the Minicab MiEV and the
Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV in 2013. As of December 2014, Mitsubishi had sold
36,386 light-duty plug-ins.
The Nissan Leaf launched in 2010. The Toyota Prius PHEV launched in January
2012, selling 19,100 units through September 2014. Tesla Model S deliveries began
in September 2014.
Leaf sales in 2016 were 14,795 units. Nissan had sold 72,494 units cumulatively
through 2016, making the Leaf Japan's all-time best-selling plug-in car.
Sales of the Outlander PHEV fell sharply from April 2016 as a result ofMitsubishi's fuel mileage scandal. Sales totaled 34,830 units through August 2016.

1

2. Alternative fuel vehicles
2.1. Electric vehicles
In contrast to hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles are powered by one or more electricmotors and make use of electricity which is stored in energy storage devices installed in
the vehicles, usually rechargeable batteries. One characteristic of electric motors is thatthey can provide instant torque (internal combustion engines can not do so), thus
generating smooth and instant acceleration of the vehicle. Also, they are significantly
more efficient than conventional cars with internal combustion engines. Electricvehicles have a long history, the first ones were built in the 1880s1. Their popularity washigh in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, until improved internal
combustion engines, cheaper gasoline and mass production of gasoline-powered carscaused a decline in their use. Further interest in electric cars was generated in the 1970s
and 1980s by the energy crises, however it was short-lived and no electric cars entered
the mass market. Nowadays, the share of electric cars in the mass market is growing.
In recent years technological progress in energy storage devices, fears of depleting
oil resources, and increasing carbon emissions have caused a renewed interest in mass
production of electric vehicles. Subsidies, tax credits, and other economic incentives
have been adopted by a number of governments in order to facilitate the introduction
and mass production of electric vehicles. There are significant benefits from the use ofelectric vehicles. They generate considerably less noise than vehicles with internal
combustion engine and do not emit exhaust gasses2, thus significantly reducing air
pollution. Depending on the way electricity needed for recharging battery packs is
generated, the use of electric vehicles can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Concerns over dependency on foreign oil, disruption of supply, and volatility of oil
price can be addressed by the adoption of electric vehicles. The downside is that battery
recharging may consume significant time and in a large number of places recharging
infrastructure is non-existent. Public chargers that in half an hour can provide around
80% charge are available for vehicles that need to cover long distances3. Anotherdisadvantage, which however is rapidly diminishing, is the high cost of the battery
1

Guarnieri, M. (2012). "Looking back to electric cars". Proc. HISTELCON 2012 - 3rd Region-8 IEEE History ofElectro - Technology Conference: The Origins of Electrotechnologies. 5-7 Sept. 2012,2"Electro Automotive: FAQ on Electric Car Efficiency & Pollution". Electroauto.com.
http://www.electroauto.com/info/pollmyth.shtml Accessed 2017-02-18.
3"13 Key Questions and Answers about Nissan Leaf Battery Pack and Ordering"
http://www.hybridcars.com/news/13-key-questions-and-answers-about-nissan-leaf-battery-pack-and-ordering-28007.
html Accessed 2017-02-18

2

packs for electric vehicles, which determines their limited range and somewhat higher
purchase cost than gasoline-powered vehicles. Fear that the electricity stored in thebatteries may not be sufficient to reach the destination may cause range anxiety in somecases.
More than 30 models of electric cars capable to run on highways were available forpurchasing mainly in North America, Western Europe, Japan, and China as ofDecember 2015, and in September 2016 their cumulative global sales reached one
million units4. The top selling electric car capable to run on highways is the Nissan Leaf
which was first sold in December 2010, with worldwide sales exceeding 250,000 by
December 2016. The second top selling electric car is the Tesla Model S, which was
first sold in June 2012, with cumulative global sales exceeding 158,000 units as ofDecember 20165. The Tesla Model S has held the top place in the worldwide sales
ranking in two years, 2015 and 20166.

2.2. Fuel cell vehicles
Fuel cell vehicles use a device called fuel cell instead of a battery pack to power anelectric motor installed in the vehicle. Electricity is generated by the fuel cells in
vehicles using oxygen from the atmosphere and compressed hydrogen carried in thevehicle. Due to the fact that most fuel cell vehicles emit only heat and water, they can
be classified as zero-emission vehicles. In comparison with vehicles with internal
combustion engines, the pollutants associated with the production of hydrogen areusually localized at the site where hydrogen is produced, typically from natural gas.
Hydrogen is may create pollutants also due to transportation and storage7.
Fuel cell vehicles have relatively short history, however they have been used in avariety of vehicles, for example forklifts, that are used indoors, where zero emissions
are needed to maintain the quality of the air. Toyota released the first fuel cell vehicle(Toyota Mirai) that is produced commercially and more car makers appear to be4

Shahan, Zachary. "1 Million Pure EVs Worldwide: EV Revolution Begins!". Clean Technica.
https://cleantechnica.com/2016/11/22/1-million-ev-revolution-begins/ Accessed 2016-02-23.
5
Cobb, Jeff. "Nissan's Quarter-Millionth Leaf Means It's The Best-Selling Plug-in Car In History".
http://www.hybridcars.com/nissans-quarter-millionth-leaf-means-its-the-best-selling-plug-in-car-in-history/ Accessed2017-01-10.
6
Cobb, Jeff. "Tesla Model S Is World's Best-Selling Plug-in Car For Second Year In A Row". HybridCars.com.
http://www.hybridcars.com/tesla-model-s-is-worlds-best-selling-plug-in-car-for-second-year-in-a-row/ Accessed2017-01-26.
7"How Do Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles Work?", Union of Concerned Scientists,
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/electric-vehicles/how-do-hydrogen-fuel-cells-work, Accessed 2017-03-04

3

planning to release their own models. Toyota Mirai is sold in a number of countries,
including Japan, the United Kingdom, Norway and the State of California8. There seems
to be interest in testing and developing fuel cells for motorcycles, boats and buses too.
The infrastructure needed for refueling of fuel cell vehicles is quite limited as of2016, even in the above-mentioned countries where they are commercially available,
however there seem to be plans for expanding this infrastructure, especially in
California. Public hydrogen stations foe refueling are also available or being planned inEurope and Japan. However, it is doubtful whether hydrogen as fuel will be efficientenough or effective in terms of cost when compared with other technologies.

3. SalesCumulative light-duty plug-in electric vehicle sales in Japan totaled about 151,250
units between July 2009 and December 2016, consisting of 86,390 all-electric cars
(57.1%) and 64,860 plug-in hybrids (42.9%)9. Also, as of September 2016, it can becalculated that total Japanese sales of light-duty plug-in vehicles represent 8.1% of the
global stock of plug-ins. These figures indicate that at the end of 2016, Japan ranked as
the world's third largest light-duty plug-in vehicle country market after China and the
U.S. The plug-in segment sales climbed from 1,080 units in 2009 to 12,630 in 2011, andreached 24,440 in 2012. Only all-electric cars were sold in Japan between 2009 and201110. Global sales of pure electric cars in 2012 were led by Japan with a 28% market
share of the segment sales. Japan ranked second after the US in terms of its share ofplug-in hybrid sales in 2012, with 12% of global sales11.

8"First Toyota Mirai delivered to Uno-X Hydrogen in Norway, with plans to harness the power of renewables fortrue zero-emission" (Press release). Brussels: Toyota Europe. 2016-06-20.
http://newsroom.toyota.eu/first-toyota-mirai-delivered-to-uno-x-hydrogen-in-norway-with-plans-to-harness-the-power-of-renewables-for-true-zero-emission-2/ Accessed 2017-02-24.
9International Energy Agency (IEA), Clean Energy Ministerial, and Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI) (June 2017).
"Global EV Outlook 2017: Two million and counting". IEA Publications. Accessed 2018-01-20. See pp. 5–7, 12–22,
27–28, and Statistical annex, pp. 49–51.
https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/GlobalEVOutlook2017.pdf
10International Energy Agency (IEA), Clean Energy Ministerial, and Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI) (May 2016).
"Global EV Outlook 2016: Beyond one million electric cars". IEA Publications. Accessed 2017-10-01. See pp. 4-5,
and 24-25 and Statistical annex, pp. 34-37.
https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/Global_EV_Outlook_2016.pdf
11International Energy Agency, Clean Energy Ministerial, and Electric Vehicles Initiative (April 2013). "Global EV
Outlook 2013 - Understanding the Electric Vehicle Landscape to 2020". International Energy Agency. Accessed2017-11-20. See pp. 4, 6-8, and 11-12.
http://www.iea.org/publications/globalevoutlook_2013.pdf

4About 30,600 highway-capable plug-in electric vehicles were sold in the country in
2013, representing a 0.58% market share of the 5.3 million new automobiles and kei
cars sold in 201312. In 2014 the segment sales remained flat with over 30,000 plug-in
electric vehicles were sold, with the plug-in market share achieving a record market
share of 1.06% of new car sales (kei cars not included). Accounting for kei cars, theplug-in segment market share falls to 0.7%13. During 2014, cumulative plug-in sales in
the Japanese market passed the 100,000 unit mark. However, as a result of the slow
growth from 2013, Japan was surpassed in 2014 by China, with over 50,000 units sold,as the second largest world market that year. Plug-in vehicle sales totaled 24,660 units
in 2015 and 24,851 units in 2016, with the segment market share declining from 0.68%
in 2014 to 0.59% in 201614. As a result of the decline in sales that occurred after 2013,
annual sales fell behind Europe, the U.S. and China during 2014 and 2015.

3.1. First battery switch station
The first prototype battery switch station from Better Place15 was demonstrated in
Yokohama on May 14, 2009 and in April 2010, a 90-day switchable-battery electric taxi
demonstration project was launched in Tokyo, using three Nissan Rogue crossover
utility vehicles, converted into electric cars with switchable batteries provided by A123
Systems16. The battery switch station deployed in Tokyo is more advanced than the
Yokohama switch system demonstrated in 200917. During the three-month field test the
EV taxis accumulated over 25,000 miles (40,000 km) and swapped batteries 2,122 times,
with an average battery swap time of 59.1 seconds. Despite these encouraging results,
Nissan decided to continue the trial until late November 201018.

12

See note 9.
See note 10.
14
See note 9
15
A venture-backed international company that developed and sold battery-charging and battery-switching services
for electric cars.
16
A wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese Wanxiang Group and a developer and manufacturer of lithium iron
phosphate batteries and energy storage systems.
17
John Murphy (2009-05-09). "A High-Tech Twist on the Filling Station; In Japan, a California Start-Up Unveils
System for Quickly Swapping Batteries in Electric Cars". Wall Street Journal. Accessed 2017-10-05.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124223719358315997
18
Sam Abuelsamid (2010-08-27). "Tokyo battery swap trials". AutoblogGreen. Accessed 2018-03-20.
https://www.autoblog.com/2010/08/27/better-place-expands-tokyo-battery-swap-trials-taxis-have-chang/
135

3.2. Mitsubishi
The first electric car available in the Japanese market was the Mitsubishi i-MiEV,
launched for fleet customers in Japan in late July 200919. Retail sales to the public began
in April 2010 and the cumulative sales since July 2009 reached 11,144 i-MiEVs throughApril 201620. Sales of the Mitsubishi Minicab MiEV electric van began in December
2011, and a total of 6,172 units have been sold through April 2016, and a truck versionof the Minicab MiEV was launched in January 2013, with sales of 927 units throughApril 201621. Mitsubishi also launched in January 2013 a plug-in hybrid version of the
Outlander, called the Mitsubishi Outlander P-HEV, becoming the first SUV plug-in
hybrid in the world's market, with a significant for the time all-electric range of 60 km22.
The Outlander P-HEV sold 9,608 units during 2013, ranking as the second top sellingplug-in electric car in Japan after the Nissan Leaf23. As of April 2016, Mitsubishi
Motors had sold 52,234 plug-in electric vehicles in Japan since July 200924.

3.3. Nissan, Toyota, Honda and Tesla
Sales of the Nissan Leaf began on December 22, 2010, when the first ten vehicles
were delivered to the government of Kanagawa Prefecture. The prefecture government
decided to assign six Leafs for official use and the other four were made available forthe car rental service run by the local government25. As for Toyota, sales of the Prius
Plug-in Hybrid began in January 2012, and a total of 19,100 units have been soldthrough September 2014. The Honda Accord Plug-in Hybrid was introduced in Japan inJune 2013 and it is available only for leasing, primarily to corporations and government

19

Yuri Kageyama (2010-04-01). "Japanese Start Buying Affordable Electric Cars". ABC News. Associated Press.
Accessed 2018-01-12. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/06/imiev-20090605.html
20"三菱 i-MiEV などの 2016 年 4 月度 販売実績" [Mitsubishi i-MiEV production and sales results for April 2016](in Japanese). Electric Vehicle News. 2016-05-31. Accessed 2017-11-19. http://evn.blog.eonet.jp/weblog/2016/05/
21
See note 822
Jay Cole (2013-01-24). "Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV On Sale In Japan Today, Extended Promotional Video
Released". Inside EVs. Accessed 2018-01-28.
http://insideevs.com/mitsubishi-outlander-phev-on-sale-in-japan-today-extended-promotional-video-released/
23"三菱 i-MiEV などの 2013 年 12 月度 販売実績" [Mitsubishi i-MiEV sales results for December 2013] (inJapanese). Electric Vehicle News. 2014-01-29. Accessed 2018-02-01.
http://evn.blog.eonet.jp/weblog/2014/01/i-miev201312-5b80.html
24
See note 20
25"Nissan delivers first LEAF cars in Japan". International Business Times. 2010-12-22. Accessed 2017-12-23.
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/94510/20101222/nissan-leaf-japan-kanagawa-prefectural-government.htm

6agencies. As of December 2013, the Accord PHEV ranked as the third best sellingplug-in hybrid in the Japanese market26.
Sales of the plug-in electric drive segment during 2013 were led by the Nissan
Leaf with 13,021 units sold, up from 11,115 in 2012, allowing the Leaf to continue as
the top selling plug-in electric car in the country since 2011, and also during 2013, a
total of 45 Nissan NMC all-electric low-speed neighborhood vehicles were sold in the
country27. Sales during the first nine months of 2014 again were led by the Nissan Leaf
with 10,877 units, followed by the Outlander P-HEV with 8,630 units, together
representing 78.8% of the plug-in segment sales during this period28.
Retail deliveries of the Tesla Model S began in Japan in September 2014, however,the Leaf continued as the market leader in 2014 for the fourth year running with 14,177
units sold, followed by the Outlander P-HEV with 10,064 units, together representing
about 80% of the plug-in segment sales in Japan in 201429.
In 2015 the Outlander plug-in hybrid surpassed the Leaf as the top selling plug-in
electric car in the country that year with 10,996 units sold, while the Leaf sold 9,057
units30. Japan is the Outlander P-HEV largest country market with 30,668 units soldthrough December 2015, however, at the end of 2015 the Nissan Leaf continued to rank
as the all-time best-selling plug-in car in the country with 57,699 units sold, and as ofDecember 2015, cumulative sales of plug-in electric cars totaled 126,420 units since200931.
During the first eight months of 2016 the Nissan Leaf led sales with 11,120 units
delivered, and since December 2010, Nissan has sold 68,819 units through August 2016,
making the Leaf the all-time best-selling plug-in car in the country32. Between January
and August 2016, a total of 4,162 Outlander P-HEVs were sold in Japan33, however,26

Naoki Watanabe (2014-02-12). "Plug-in hybrids quickly becoming Japan's favorite way to drive green". Nikkei
Asian Review. Accessed 2018-02-19. http://asia.nikkei.com/print/article/16829
27
Mark Kane (2014-01-30). "Nissan LEAF Sales In Japan Up 17% in 2013". InsideEVs.com. Accessed 2018-02-21.
See graph for Leaf sales by year between 2009 and 2013.
http://insideevs.com/nissan-leaf-sales-in-japan-up-17-in-2013/28"三菱 i-MiEV などの 2014 年 9 月度 生産・販売実績" [Mitsubishi i-MiEV production and sales results for
September 2014] (in Japanese). Electric Vehicle News. 2014-10-27. Accessed 2017-10-27. Also, see note 19.
http://evn.blog.eonet.jp/weblog/2014/10/mitsubishi-moto-2c47.html
29
Jose Pontes (2015-01-30). "Japan December 2014". EVSales.com. Accessed 2015-02-18.
http://www.ev-sales.blogspot.ca/2015/01/japan-december-2014.html
30
Jose, Pontes (2016-02-08). "Japan December 2015". EVSales.com. Accessed 2018-02-25.
http://ev-sales.blogspot.com.br/2016/02/japan-december-2015.html
31
See note 10.
32
See note 1033"三菱 アイミーブなどの 2016 年８月度 販売実績" [Mitsubishi i-MiEV production and sales results forAugust 2016]. Electric Vehicle News (in Japanese). 2016-09-28. Accessed 2017-10-01.
http://evn.blog.eonet.jp/weblog/2016/09/mitsubishi-moto-2c47-1.html

7sales of the Outlander plug-in hybrid fell sharply from April 2016, which can be
attributed to Mitsubishi's fuel mileage scandal. Since its release, sales of the plug-in
hybrid totaled 34,830 units through August 201634.
The following table presents sales for the top selling highway-capable plug-in
electric vehicles by year since July 2009 up to April 2016.
Figure 1. Top selling highway-capable plug-in electric vehicles available in the Japanese market between 2009
and April 2016 (1)Model(2)
Nissan Leaf

Market

Total

2016

launch

sales

CYTD

Dec 2010

64,978

Jan 2013

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

7,279

9,057

14,177

13,021

11,115

10,31019

33,991

3,323

10,996

10,064

9,608

Jan 2012

22,100

148

1,344

5,187

4,452

10,970Jul 2009

11,144

86

635

1,021

1,491

2,295

2,290

2,340

Dec 2011

6,172

111

501

865

1,461

2,487

747

Jan 2013

927

35

161

177

554

2014

+ 400

NA

NA

+ 400(3)

139,712

10,982

22,69431,89130,587 26,867

13,3472009

Mitsubishi
Outlander
P-HEV
Toyota Prius
PHV
Mitsubishi
i-MiEV986

Mitsubishi
Minicab MiEVvan
Mitsubishi
Minicab MiEV
truck
BMW i3

Total sales shown models
Jul 2009 - Apr 2016

2,359

986

Notes:(1) Data source: Annual Reports on Registered New Vehicles 2007-1016 [新車登録台数年報 2007-2016]
published by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association(2) The Tesla Model S and Smart ED are also available in Japan, but sales figures are not available.
(3) Sales only between April and August 2014.

34

See note 33.

8

4. Future trends
The sales data indicate that the rate of growth of the Japanese plug-in segment
slowed down from 2013, with annual sales falling behind Europe, the U.S. and China
during 2014 and 2015. There are a number of reasons for this slow decline, the mostsignificant of which appears to be the Japanese government and the major domestic
carmakers decision to adopt and promote hydrogen fuel cell vehicles instead of plug-in
electric vehicles. The Japanese strategy aims to focus in investing heavily in fuel-cell
technology and infrastructure as part of a national policy to foster what it calls ahydrogen society, where the zero-emission fuel would power homes and vehicles35.
In August 2012, Toyota announced its plans to start retail sales of a hydrogenfuel-cell sedan in California in 201536. This indicates that Toyota expects to become aleader in this technology. Furthermore, in September 2012 Toyota announced that it isbacking away from fully electric vehicles. The company's vice chairman at that time,
Takeshi Uchiyamada, pointed out that the current capabilities of electric vehicles do notmeet society’s needs, whether it may be the distance the cars can run, or the costs, or
how it takes a long time to charge. Toyota's emphasis would be re-focused on the hybrid
concept, and 21 new hybrid gas-electric models scheduled to be on the market by201537.
As part of Toyota's effort to maintain its alternative propulsion lead, it launched forretail customers the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in late 2014, and Honda
began retail deliveries of the Clarity Fuel Cell in late 201638. Toyota seems to be
responding to interest in the hydrogen economy in its home market, where, as ofDecember 2014, there were 100,000 residential hydrogen fuel cells already installed
across Japan. The country is aiming for 5.3 million households, or roughly 10%, to havefuel cells by 203039. Nevertheless, it appears that in recent years Toyota has made a

35

Shirouzu, Norihiko; Lienert, Paul (2015-10-28). "Auto power play: Japan's hydrogen car vs China's battery drive".
Reuters. Accessed 2017-12-19.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-japan-electric-insight-idUSKCN0SM04F20151028
36
Alisa Priddle (2013-03-17). "Toyota to start selling hydrogen fuel-cell car in 2015". USA Today. Accessed
2012-08-08.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2012/08/toyota-to-start-selling-hydrogen-fuel-cell-car-in-2015/1#.UXK8KLWG18E
37
Ludwig, Sean (2012-09-24). "Toyota kills electric car plans, says 'capabilities of electric vehicles do not meetsociety's needs'". VentureBeat. Accessed 2017-11-10.
https://venturebeat.com/2012/09/24/toyota-kills-electric-car-plans/38
See note 35.
39
Deign, Jason (2015-02-10). "Japan Makes a Big Bet on the Hydrogen Economy". Green Tech Media. Accessed2017-12-19. http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/japans-big-bet-on-hydrogen9significant effort to continue a strong promotion of plug-in hybrids starting with theintroduction of the Prius Prime.
However, further improvement of fuel economy may involve solving increasingly
difficult problems. In September 2016, Shoichi Kaneko, assistant chief engineer for thePrius Prime, said in an interview with the website AutoblogGreen that creating thenext-generation Prius will be a tremendously difficult challenge due to the physicallimitations to improve the Prius' fuel economy. And considering that Toyota wants tolead the way in reducing (and eventually eliminating) fossil fuels from its vehicles,
simply making a better standard hybrid powertrain might not be enough, the carmaker isconsidering making every future Prius a plug-in hybrid beginning with thefifth-generation models40.

5. Charging infrastructure
The Japanese electric vehicle charging infrastructure climbed from only 60 publiccharging stations in early 2010 to 1,381 public quick-charge stations as of December
2012, representing the largest deployment of fast chargers in the world, and the numberof non-domestic slow charger points increased to around 300 units41.These numbers,
when compared to the number of sold electric vehicles, indicates that Japan is also thecountry with the highest ratio of quick charging points to electric vehicles, with a ratioof 0.030 as of December 2012. There are 1,967 CHAdeMO quick charging stations
across the country by April 2014, and the Japanese government has set up a target to
deploy 2 million slow chargers and 5,000 fast charging points by 202042. Currently all
Family Mart convenience stores with sufficient parking space have one space
specialized for quick-charge use or are in the process of having one installed.

6. Government incentives
The Japanese government introduced the first electric vehicle incentive program in
1996, and it was integrated in 1998 with the Clean Energy Vehicles Introduction Project,which provided subsidies and tax discounts for the purchase of electric, natural gas,
40

Blanco, Sebastian (2016-09-28). "Toyota: Every future Prius might be a plug-in hybrid". Autoblog.com. Accessed2017-10-02. http://www.autoblog.com/2016/09/28/toyota-every-future-prius-plug-in-hybrid/
41
See note 11.
42
See note 11.

10methanol and hybrid electric vehicles. The project provided a purchase subsidy of up to
50% of the incremental costs of a clean energy vehicle as compared with the price of aconventional engine vehicle. This project was extended until 200343.
In May 2009 the Japanese Diet passed the "Green Vehicle Purchasing Promotion
Measure" that went into effect on June 19, 2009, but retroactive to April 10, 2009. The
program established tax deductions and exemptions for environmentally friendly andfuel efficient vehicles, according to a set of stipulated environmental performance
criteria, and the requirements are applied equally to both foreign and domestically
produced vehicles. The program provided purchasing subsidies for two type of cases,
consumers purchasing a new passenger car without trade-in (non-replacement program),and for those consumers buying a new car trading an used car registered 13 years ago or
earlier44.

6.1. Incentives for purchasing new environmentally friendly vehicles
Subsidies for purchases of new environmentally friendly vehicles without
scrapping a used car are 100,000 yen (~US$1,100) for the purchase of a standard or
small car, and 50,000 yen (~US$550) for the purchase of a mini or kei vehicle.
Subsidies for purchasing trucks and buses meeting the stipulated fuel efficiency andemission criteria vary between 200,000 yen (~US$2,100) to 900,000 yen(~US$9,600)46.
Subsidies for purchases of new environmentally friendly vehicles in the case ofowners scrapping a 13-year or older vehicle are 250,000 yen (~US$2,700) for thepurchase of a standard or small car, and 125,000 yen (~US$1,300) for the purchase of amini or kei vehicle. Subsidies for purchasing trucks and buses meeting the stipulated
fuel efficiency and emission criteria vary between 400,000 yen (~US$4,300) to
1,800,000 yen (~US$19,000)47. The above-mentioned incentives for new purchases withor without trading were applicable in Japan's fiscal year 2009, from April 1, 2009
through March 31, 2010.

43

Max Ahman (2006). "Government policy and the development of electric vehicles in Japan". Energy Policy Vol 34,
Issue 4, pp. 433–443.
44"Fact Sheet- Japanese Government Incentives for the Purchase of Environmentally Friendly Vehicles". Japan
Automobile Manufacturers Association. Accessed 2017-12-24. http://jama.org/pdf/FactSheet10-2009-09-24.pdf
46
See note 44
47
See note 4411

6.2. Tonnage and acquisition tax reductions
New next generation vehicles, including electric and fuel cell vehicles, plug-in
hybrids, hybrid electric vehicles, clean diesel and natural gas vehicles are exemptedfrom both the acquisition tax and the tonnage tax48. Acquisition taxes on used vehicles
are reduced by 1.6% to 2.7%, or between 150,000 yen (~US$1,600) and 300,000 yen(~US$3,200). Electric and fuel cell vehicles have a 2.7% reduction while plug-in
hybrids have a 2.4% reduction49.
These incentives were in effect from April 1, 2009 until March 31, 2012 for theacquisition tax which is paid once at the time of purchase. The tonnage tax reductions
were in effect from April 1, 2009 until April 30, 2012 and the incentive is applicable
once, at the time of the first mandatory inspection, three years after the vehicle purchase.
As an example, the amount exempted for the purchase of a new next generation vehicle
is 81,000 yen (~US$975) corresponding to the acquisition tax, and 22,500 yen(~US$271) for the tonnage tax, for a total of 103,500 yen (~US$1,246). Moreover,consumers purchasing new next generation electric vehicles, including fuel cell, benefitof a 50% reduction of the annual automobile tax. These incentives were in effect from
April 1, 2009 until March 31, 2010, applicable only once50.
A specific example of how these incentives apply and what price reductions areachieved can be given with Mitsubishi i-MiEV. The sales price of this electric vehicle inJapan during the period when the above-mentioned incentives were in effect wasapproximately 4,000,000 yen. This price fell to 2,800,000 yen after all government
incentives were discounted from it, which is a significant reduction of 30% from theoriginal sales price.

7. Conclusion
Sales of plug-in electrified vehicles have been increasing worldwide since theiradvent in 2008, however, Japan has slipped from its leading position and is now behind
Europe, the United States, and China. On the other hand, Japan’s push to develophydrogen storage technologies has received a significant boost in recent years. This
push is a form or response to interest in the hydrogen economy in the Japanese home
48

"The Motor Industry of Japan 2010". Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. Accessed 2017-12-24. See
pages 45–46. http://www.jama-english.jp/publications/MIJ2010.pdf
49
See note 47
50
See note 47

12market. By December 2014, there were 100,000 residential hydrogen fuel cells alreadyinstalled across Japan. However, transportation is where Japan is making its strongest
hydrogen bet. All the major Japanese automakers have fuel-cell models. To help sales,
Japan is introducing a massive subsidy program worth more than three times the one
being offered to prospective owners of Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV electric cars. Refuelingease is another reason Japanese consumers are increasingly choosing hydrogen. Car
owners can top up a hydrogen tank within about five minutes, compared to the twohours or so that it can take to recharge lithium-ion car batteries. Finally, Toyota Mirai
comes with a range of about 500 kilometers per tank, beating electric models. The Tesla
Model S with an 85 Kwh battery pack has a range of about 420 kilometers.

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