Electric vehicle targets

The Government of Japan does not mandate the use of alternative fuels, except for biofuels. Instead, it promotes green procurement schemes which include favoring the purchase of low emission vehicles, e.g. hybrid/electric vehicles (EV)/ natural gas/LPG vehicles, over conventional vehicles.

In July 2008, the government announced its “Action Plan for Creating a Low-Carbon Society” aiming for low carbon vehicles, such as EV and plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) to account for 50% of new vehicle sales by 2020.

In 2010, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced the Next Generation Vehicle Strategy, setting goals to popularize these vehicles between 2020 and 2030. Next generation vehicles (NGV) are defined as hybrid EV (HEV), plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV), battery or