TOKYO: Japan said it planned to stop selling new gasoline-powered cars in the mid-2030s, and criticized Toyota Motor Corp.
main that a rapid change to electric vehicles could paralyze the automotive industry.
The plan released Friday followed similar moves by the state of California and major European nations, but has faced resistance from car executives in a country that still manufactures millions of cars a year running on single-engine engines. gasoline.
Japan would still allow the sale of hybrid gas-electric cars after 2035 according to the plan. Many models from the major car manufacturers in Japan: Toyota and Honda Motor Co.
and Nissan Motor Co.
—Come in both traditional and hybrid versions.
Earlier this month, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said that if Japan banned gasoline-powered vehicles and moved them to electric vehicles too quickly, “the current business model of the auto industry will be collapsed. lapsat “. He spoke on behalf of Japanese carmakers in his role as head of a local industry association.
Toyoda said the power grid could not support the additional summer demand and noted that most of Japan’s electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels.
Government officials said vehicle manufacturers needed to review their business models. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pointed to a different part of Mr. Toyoda in which the head of Toyota said he supported the government’s goal of turning Japan into carbon neutral by 2050. Reducing carbon emissions “should be approached as a growth strategy, not as a growth constraint, ”Suga said.
Japan’s Christmas Day launch, which also included a plan to introduce up to 45 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2040, limited a year in which the world’s major economies competed to outdo each other in setting targets for to renewable and electric vehicles.
In September, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said in a video message to the United Nations that China would become carbon neutral by 2060, meaning it would have net carbon dioxide emissions. A month later, Mr Suga advanced ahead of Mr Xi with a commitment to do the same a decade earlier, coinciding with the European Union’s goal.
Japanese officials said carmakers need to review their business models to speed up the movement of gas-powered vehicles. Traffic in Tokyo in April.
Photo:
kimimasa mayama / Shutterstock
The Japanese government’s plan calls for all new cars sold in the country from the mid-2030s to be electrified. This includes electric vehicles, gas-electric hybrid models, and cars whose electricity is generated with hydrogen fuel cells. The plan says the cost of batteries should be reduced so that electric vehicles cost about the same as gasoline vehicles within a decade.
A summary of the plan released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry expressed concern that Europe and China would jump ahead of Japan. He noted that sales of plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles tripled in the EU in the July-September quarter to 270,000 units, while the equivalent figure for Japan was around 6,000.
Masayoshi Arai, a ministry official, said “Japan is far behind” in electrifying vehicles.
Japanese car executives dispute these statements and say that more gas-electric hybrid vehicles are sold in Japan than in any other country. Some question whether all-electric vehicles like those manufactured by Tesla Inc.
they are more environmentally friendly than hybrids given the carbon dioxide emitted in the production of electric vehicles and their parts.
“It’s absolutely not the case that Japan is behind it,” said Toshihiro Mibe, a Honda executive who heads an industry council on environmental technology.
Japan’s move, combined with those in China, Europe and California, is putting pressure on global carmakers to switch to electric vehicles faster, although many are now reaping their benefits from American consumers. hungry for gasoline-powered trucks and sport utility vehicles.
Toyota and Honda have yet to launch specific plans for mass-market electric vehicles in the U.S. and Japan, putting them behind Volkswagen. AG
, which plans to invest about $ 86 billion in the development of electric vehicles and other new technologies over the next five years. Nissan says it will sell the Ariya, an electric crossover SUV, next year in the United States and other markets.
In the largest climate commitment made by any nation, China has pledged to leave carbon neutral in 2060. While it will be a challenge for Beijing to achieve its goal, China’s plan to become a green superpower will have worldwide effects. Illustration: Crystal Tai
The announcement comes as the United States is poised to increase federal investment in electric vehicle development under an energy plan that President-elect Joe Biden intends to implement after taking office in January.
Biden is committed to creating one million new jobs in the automotive industry, including the construction of charging stations for electric vehicles. Its energy plan calls for half a million new charging stations in the US
The president-elect has said he hopes to use federal incentives, including fiscal, trade and investment policies, as well as increased research and development, to make the U.S. the world leader in electric vehicle manufacturing.
He said he would encourage the public to switch to more environmentally friendly vehicles by offering discounts to consumers and incentives to manufacturing facilities that build parts for low-emission vehicles. It also wants to strengthen federal fuel economy standards for vehicles.
Mr Biden’s presidential transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
—Andrew Restuccia contributed to this article.
Write to Peter Landers at [email protected] and Chieko Tsuneoka at [email protected]
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