Number of electric mini vehicles in use in Japan 2017-2024

As of March 31, 2024, the Light Motor Vehicle Inspection Organization counted approximately 105.26 thousand battery electric light motor vehicles (BEV) in use in Japan, increasing from around 18.56 thousand in 2017. Electric mini vehicles represented roughly 0.3 percent of all mini vehicles subject to inspection.

Kei cars

Light vehicles, also known as kei cars or mini cars in Japan, are one of three vehicle types under the Japanese categorization system, the other two being “small-sized vehicles” and “normal-sized vehicles”. They comprise the largest segment of Japan’s vehicle fleet accounting for roughly 37 percent of it. Presently, the vast majority of kei cars in use are fully or partially running on combustion engines. Only a small fraction of light vehicles are fully electric. One reason for that is the limited availability of electric kei car models. As of 2023, the Nissan Sakura and the Mitsubishi eK X were the only passenger kei cars on the market. However, more models from Japan’s largest kei car manufacturers are planned to go on sale in the near future.

Charging stations are a concern

Other than the scarce choice of light vehicle electric models, another reason that might inhibit consumers from choosing the electric-only option is the perceived lack of charging stations. Japan's charger infrastructure currently counts around 31.6 thousand functional charging stations that are publicly accessible, most of which are slow-charging facilities. The government plans to reach almost ten times the current figure as of 2030, increasing the number of publicly available stations to 300,000. If this is going to change the consumer sentiment and purchasing behavior of Japanese people remains to be seen.