Alexandru Arba
Research expert covering Japan
Electric vehicles in Japan - statistics & facts
The first electrified vehicle to be widely available on the Japanese car market was the Toyota Prius, which is a hybrid electric vehicle. Launched in 1997, it enjoyed remarkable success, marking the beginning of the commercial involvement of Japan's automotive industry with electrified vehicles, paving the way for the advent of electrified cars. Today, hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) are the most-bought type of passenger car in Japan, dethroning gasoline-only automobiles.
There are four different types of electrified vehicles which all use, partly or entirely, electricity as a source of energy. Vehicle types that combine classic combustion engines with electric propulsion include hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). Battery electric vehicles (BEV) solely rely on the onboard battery for propulsion. Lastly, fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) utilize hydrogen as fuel. BEVs, FCEVs, and PHEVs require an infrastructure of dedicated recharging or fueling stations, while HEVs use the existing petroleum-based infrastructure to refuel.
While HEVs continue to enjoy success on the domestic market, other vehicle types struggle. In 2023, the share of BEV, PHEV, and FCEV sales in Japan's domestic automobile market amounted to less than four percent of total vehicle sales, although BEV recorded an improvement compared to previous years.
The road to carbon neutrality in Japan’s transportation sector is still long and winding. While the success of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) is a cause for celebration, this vehicle type is not emission-free as it also utilizes a conventional combustion engine. Other electric vehicle types have zero tailpipe emissions, but currently comprise a negligible portion of the vehicle market in Japan. Moreover, even vehicle types that have zero tailpipe emissions, such as BEVs and FCEVs, are often not entirely green. For instance, hydrogen refueling stations used by FCEVs typically provide “blue” or “gray” hydrogen created in industrial processes that emit CO². Similarly, recharging stations for BEVs use energy from Japan’s energy supply grid, which still largely relies on fossil fuel resources.
While HEVs continue to enjoy success on the domestic market, other vehicle types struggle. In 2023, the share of BEV, PHEV, and FCEV sales in Japan's domestic automobile market amounted to less than four percent of total vehicle sales, although BEV recorded an improvement compared to previous years.
Carbon neutrality in the transportation sector
The transportation sector in Japan emits significant amounts of CO², most of which is caused by private and commercial road vehicles. In 2021, about 15.1 percent of Japan’s CO² emissions came from automobiles. Since Japan aims to become carbon-neutral by 2050, the transportation sector has to undergo drastic changes to achieve this goal. One of the stated targets of the automobile industry is for all sales on the domestic market to be electrified vehicles by 2035.The road to carbon neutrality in Japan’s transportation sector is still long and winding. While the success of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) is a cause for celebration, this vehicle type is not emission-free as it also utilizes a conventional combustion engine. Other electric vehicle types have zero tailpipe emissions, but currently comprise a negligible portion of the vehicle market in Japan. Moreover, even vehicle types that have zero tailpipe emissions, such as BEVs and FCEVs, are often not entirely green. For instance, hydrogen refueling stations used by FCEVs typically provide “blue” or “gray” hydrogen created in industrial processes that emit CO². Similarly, recharging stations for BEVs use energy from Japan’s energy supply grid, which still largely relies on fossil fuel resources.
