Electric Vehicles Face Bumpy Road Ahead in Japan

Tokyo, June 6 (Jiji Press)--Japanese automakers are increasingly
looking to electric vehicles but face a bumpy road ahead in their quest for
growth in the zero-emission field.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. <7211> and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.
<7270> will start delivering their electric cars, the i-MiEV and the Plug-in
Stella, respectively, late next month. Nissan Motor Co. <7201> plans to
launch its own model next year.
Battery-powered electric vehicles are considered an ultimate
eco-friendly option for motorists because they are free from greenhouse gas
emissions while driving.
But they cannot drive as long as gasoline-powered vehicles do, a
disadvantage that could limit the use of electric vehicles to short trips.
The i-MiEV can travel 160 kilometers on a single charge, only a
third of what a gasoline vehicle can run per pump.
In addition, a lack of battery-charging stations makes it
inconvenient to use electric vehicles.
Mitsubishi's president, Osamu Masuko, said his company will
cooperate with supermarkets and convenience stores to increase the number of
battery chargers.
Automakers also need to cooperate with the central and local
governments to make available as much charging stations as possible.
Another big problem is high costs involved. The i-MiEV retails for
4,599,000 yen, or 2,990,000 yen even after state subsidies are used.
Mitsubishi aims to lower the price to less than 2 million yen as
early as possible by increasing economies of scale through higher
production. It plans to boost the percentage of electric vehicles in its
overall auto production to 20 pct by 2020.
Research firm Fuji Keizai Co. said electric vehicles are unlikely
to go mainstream until late 2020s or 2030s.