Japan EV Sales Plummet 33% in 2024, First Decline in Four Years (nikkei.com) 113
Sales of electric vehicles in Japan fell 33% year-on-year to 59,736 cars in 2024, the first decline in four years, according to data from car dealers and importers compiled by Nikkei on Thursday. From the report: EVs' share of all vehicle sales fell below 2% in Japan, the lowest among major advanced economies. While global EV sales are still growing, albeit more slowly, Japan's reluctance to adopt EVs is becoming increasingly apparent.
That's OK (Score:5, Funny)
Re:That's OK (Score:5, Insightful)
Hydrogen may well take off or not, but PHEVs seem to have taken off nicely already. Most of the new cars in my neighborhood are PHEVs now. Excellent choice if you ask me - it covers about 80% of my driving on electricity and I can still go on a longer trip and not worry about chargers and batteries.
Plus, it is a nice car, and not one of these ugly musk abominations.
Re:That's OK (Score:5, Informative)
If Hydrogen takes off, it won't do it on its own merits, except of course if you use "takes off" to mean "leaves the surface of the planet" which it does readily every time there's a leak. Making it is expensive, storing it is expensive, transporting it is expensive, filling stations are expensive and dangerous, fueling takes longer than petroleum-based liquid fuels and can actually take longer than charging an EV when the weather is just wrong, the vehicles are more expensive than BEVs or gasoline hybrids... It has literally not a single thing to recommend it.
Re: (Score:1)
The point: PHEVs are quite hot in Japan
You: missed it.
Re: (Score:2)
I am not obligated to discuss the part of your comment that you find interesting. If this bothers you, you can go write in your secret diary instead and avoid all the unpleasantness of interacting with other humans.
Re: (Score:2)
Then don't reply to me, you cheap karma whore.
Re: (Score:2)
Then don't reply to me, you cheap karma whore.
If you don't want replies, don't post. Problem solved.
If you don't want people to reply to things you write, don't write them. Problem solved.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Your statement was quite rude.
Which part of my response to his comment was rude? Explain why. Is it because of your noted aversion to facts?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Go back and read your reply and think about how you'd feel if someone said the same shit as you...
No problem, if I'd said the same shit he did. Now what?
Re: (Score:3)
What I don't like with PHEV is that you get a small battery, yes sure enough for daily commutes, but you have to recharge it every day.
While for the same price you can usually get a real EV with 400 km of range that you could only plug once a week.
When doing under 50 km, both EVs and PHEV work fine as you can usually do it on the battery alone.
Everytime you do between 50 and 400 km, you are much better off with an EV. PHEV starts to become usefull when you go over 400 km. So I guess it depends how often you
Re: (Score:3)
What I don't like with PHEV is that you get a small battery, yes sure enough for daily commutes, but you have to recharge it every day.
So.... you plug it in when you get home?
I don't see that as too difficult.
And you won't be stranded if you forget to do it, it just costs you extra so you're more likely to remember to do it next time.
Re: (Score:2)
Yes. Not that it is difficult, but a real EV is more convenient for daily commuting since you can be a couple days without having to plug or worry about it.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
ICE cars work great as long as others, not you, pay for the cost of your pollution.
Re: (Score:2)
I've been reading some articles that basically stated that while EV's don't pollute while in operation as a finished vehicle, they often entail a bit MORE pollution in their making, especially all the ICE powered mining equipment and transpiration required for their rare earth elements for batteries, etc....
According to some sources it appears to be close to a wash at this point in the game.
At my age...I'm not terribly wo
Re: That's OK (Score:1)
"I've been reading some articles that basically stated that while EV's don't pollute while in operation as a finished vehicle, they often entail a bit MORE pollution in their making"
Try reading some studies instead, if you can.
Hint: Only cradle to grave measurements matter.
Re: That's OK (Score:2)
What he likes is making the same bullshit argument that has been debunked over and over again because he knows fuck about shit.
Re: (Score:2)
At my age...I'm not terribly worried about it either way.
Yeah, I pretty much figured out that you are selfish, but thanks for admitting it.
I've been reading some articles that basically stated that while EV's don't pollute while in operation as a finished vehicle, they often entail a bit MORE pollution in their making, especially all the ICE powered mining equipment and transpiration required for their rare earth elements for batteries, etc....
If you read some real studies instead of some crap from the fossil fuel lobby or EV haters, they pretty much say that of course EVs pollute more to make, but overall you only need to drive it for something like 100 Mm (mega meters) to catch even. After that, EVs are clear win. Of course it depends on locations are some still use dirty coal to generate electricity.
Re: (Score:2)
And from a maintenance perspective, PHEV is hell (all the components from an EV and an ICE car).
If you believe a PHEV is "hell" to maintain then I'm thinking you are looking at some very narrow segment of PHEV options, this also goes for your comments on "range anxiety".
One variation on the PHEV I saw would be considered a "range extended EV", that is it's in nearly every respect a BEV but has a tiny little gasoline generator on board that can give about 100 miles of added range. For people that rarely drive beyond the 250 mile all battery range (or something in that ballpark, maybe more like 150 mil
Re: (Score:3)
I expect the PHEV to make the "pure" ICEV obsolete. Clearly you see otherwise. We shall see which proves more popular.
Oh, I never said that people made rational choices. Especially on cars. Most people buy cars based on emotions (looks, feeling, identity, etc.)
the maintenance required for the ICE would be minimal, perhaps not needing an oil change until the brakes, tires, or some other maintenance is called for
Most manufacturers mandate an oil change every X months no matter if you use the car or not. On my Mazda CX5 it was a very low 4 months. Also it required 0w20 oil which is only available as synthetic and therefore cost much more than $30. Fortunately, on my new car it's only every 12 months. I doubt on PHEVs they say you can do an oil change only once every 5 years e
Re: (Score:2)
According to Toyota Canada, the Prius PHEV shall have an oil change every 12 months. The exact same schedule as for their ICE cars (using expensive synthetic oil).
https://www.toyota.ca/toyota/e... [toyota.ca]
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Oil changes are just the most obvious example that came to my mind, exhaust is the next. Especially in places favoring rust (close to the ocean or where they put salt on roads in the winter). It appears oil changes have to be performed just as often on PHEV as on ICE cars. I would say exhaust also fail just as fast.
So compared to a real EV you save on battery cost, but you pretty much need the same motor, plus an ICE motor and all associated components. Now, "range-extender" PHEV are different, but most PHE
Re: (Score:2)
But yeah, EVs should be advantageous for people who can't afford to maintain an ICE car, when they become affordable enough for peop
Re: (Score:2)
I was comparing EV and PHEV here.
It's not true that PHEV has basically all the advantages and no inconvenient (the advantages of an EV for commuting and the advantages of an ICE car for long distance). It also has the maintenance of both systems and therefore should not be as reliable, or should require more maintenance.
The brakes, battery and electric drive system of an EV and PHEV can be affected by corrosion equally. But my point was that even if you never use the ICE of a PHEV, you can still have a fail
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
I know a guy who lives in California that has this setup. EV with a small generator in the trunk that can be used on longer trips. It's a pro aftermarket setup so should be safe with regards to fires and CO poisoning. Not sure about rear end accidents tho.
Re: (Score:2)
I expect the PHEV to make the "pure" ICEV obsolete. Clearly you see otherwise. We shall see which proves more popular.
It sure will not do that if it only lasts 10 years.
Re: (Score:2)
What I don't like with PHEV is that you get a small battery, yes sure enough for daily commutes, but you have to recharge it every day.
Why in the world would you think that's a problem? It takes about twenty seconds to plug it in.
Re: (Score:2)
It's a minor annoyance, yes. But it can also be a problem for workplace charging or other places where plugs are shared between multiple cars (such as some apartment buildings). If the typical car only need to charge once per week, you don't need as many plugs as if you need to charge every day. Fortunately, PHEV can be level 1 charged in reasonable time as well, and quite fast with a slow level 2 such as 16A 240V.
Re: That's OK (Score:2)
Average PHEV all-EV range is less than the average American's commute, so in this country, you literally cannot reasonably expect to not have to run the engine.
Re: (Score:2)
It's an average which is impacted by those commuting ridiculously long distances. Maybe 70% of commuters could to it on battery on a Prius PHEV.
If you can charge at work, you only need a battery big enough for half the round trip distance.
But otherwise yes, this is a reason why I consider EVs to be superior to PHEVs.
Re: (Score:2)
People who own their own cars (most EV owners) typically charge about 12 kwH per day back up to 80% or 90% rather than charging a lot once a week.
Re: (Score:2)
A lot of people can charge only once a week and stay in the 20-80% range. But even if it's not the case, then you can charge twice a week and achieve that. My point is that you can often skip plugging when you have an EV. On a PHEV, to be efficient you pretty much have to charge every chance you have.
Re: (Score:2)
We have a PHEV (Prius prime) and it is on electricity only form probably 95% of our trips. It is recharged overnight with a Level-1 (not even 2!) 110 volt charger.
IMHO it works quite well. The problem is that we are carrying around hundreds of pounds of useless engine, gas, and other parts. But if we had a regular electric car we would be lugging possibly even more weight in useless extra batteries.
I think the future is pure-electric but PHEV is working very well right now.
Re: (Score:2)
The problem is that we are carrying around hundreds of pounds of useless engine, gas, and other parts. But if we had a regular electric car we would be lugging possibly even more weight in useless extra batteries.
On the bright side, when the car is old and a replacement battery is either not available or too expensive, you still have a perfectly functional gas powered car with hopefully low hours on the engine.
Re: (Score:2)
Is it possible there won't be any drop in replacements for the battery? Sure, it's possible but we're talking about Toyota, not some rando Asian brand most people have never heard of.
I was talking about PHEVs in general, yeah this probably won't be a problem with a Prius, but many early generation Nissan Leaf owners certainly wish they could get a new battery. One of the drawbacks to all the ostensible breakthroughs in battery tech is that as new plants are tooled up, old plants making old chemistries are no longer money makers. The price of new batteries will also be an issue down the road. People driving "beaters" (read cheap old cars) are not going to pay 15K for a battery if they
Re: (Score:2)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada... [www.cbc.ca]
Re: (Score:2)
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Re: (Score:2)
We have a PHEV (Prius prime) and it is on electricity only form probably 95% of our trips.
It means most of your trips are short (under 50 km). Did you evaluate how often you would need to fast charge if you had an EV with 400 km range?
Trips between 50 and 400 km are quite common for a lot of people. Over 400 km, not that much.
Re: (Score:2)
We would need to fast-charge extremely little. I suspect if we had a full EV, we would still drive 50km or less each day, and could do all our recharging overnight using the 110v outlet (though I would be tempted to install a 220v recharger, mostly because it seems silly to not pay for that after paying a bunch for the car).
Re: (Score:2)
Hybrids are at best a transitional technology. They're great for moving from ICE to EV. The first hybrids (non plug-in) with tiny batteries were the first step to show you can achieve better gas mileage this way. PHEVs add to that by adding larger batteries but the engine can also run to give you additional range.
But it's only a transitional technology - it has the worst of both worlds. All the maintenance of an ICE (oil changes, gas, tune-ups, etc), and an EV but with an extremely heavy vehicle weight maki
Re: (Score:2)
What I don't like with PHEV is that you get a small battery, yes sure enough for daily commutes, but you have to recharge it every day.
While for the same price you can usually get a real EV with 400 km of range that you could only plug once a week.
I used to like the concept of the PHEV until I started seeing them become worthless at 10 years because the small batteries which are destroyed after 10 years cannot be replaced, and the vehicle will not operate with a bad battery.
Re: (Score:3)
Hydrogen may well take off or not, but PHEVs seem to have taken off nicely already. Most of the new cars in my neighborhood are PHEVs now. Excellent choice if you ask me - it covers about 80% of my driving on electricity and I can still go on a longer trip and not worry about chargers and batteries.
Plus, it is a nice car, and not one of these ugly musk abominations.
For many people buying a PHEV just ends up being a very expensive way to discover that charging these things on residential electricity tariffs is dirt cheap so they end up doing most of their driving in EV mode and eventually incur repair bills due to the ICE powertrain hardly ever being used leading them to conclude that they should have bought a pure EV in the first place. I have a pure EV that will do about 300 km on 80% of its full charge level arriving at a charging station with 20% charge to spare. I
Re: (Score:2)
For many people buying a PHEV just ends up being a very expensive way to discover that charging these things on residential electricity tariffs is dirt cheap so they end up doing most of their driving in EV mode and eventually incur repair bills due to the ICE powertrain hardly ever being used leading them to conclude that they should have bought a pure EV in the first place.
Excepting some exceedingly old or substandard PHEV there's no risk of having the ICE rust in the vehicle out of disuse.
I don't recall which model of vehicle this was but the engine management computer was programmed to run the engine periodically so that it would maintain lubrication as well as empty the fuel tank at least every six months. The people that engineered this considered the possibility that the engine could rust in place, and the fuel get stale, if the driving habits of the operator didn't oth
Re: (Score:2)
eventually incur repair bills due to the ICE powertrain hardly ever being used leading them to conclude that they should have bought a pure EV
LOL. Did you come up with this piece of fiction on your own, or did you read it on the tesla forums?
I've driven that thing 650 kilometres in one day
Well, you obviously don't drive much. Why don't you take the bus?
with three 25 minute stops
I hear you, you like quality time near chargers and roadside diner junk. I don't.
but in countries with a proper well maintained modern infrastructure
Just get your ass to Mars already, clown. What do you know about driving in any country if your longest trip is 650 km?
I don’t take a bus because I have a car (DUUH!). As for quality time, I’m not an American rugged individualist who drives 1000 miles every day without stopping to take a break :-). First stop is breakfast, 2nd stop lunch, 3rd stop afternoon snack. If I had to drive 1000 km in a day the 4th stop would be dinner. This is the exact pattern I followed when I had a gasoline powered ICE car. As for a trip to Mars, I’m not a Muscovite.
Re: (Score:2)
All the downsides of a fossil - maintenance, no utility mode, complex drivetrain and gearbox etc. Now that EVs have reached price parity with fossil fuel cars it's just not worth getting a hybrid.
Even if you do a few long trips a year, once you figure out how to integrate charging you will find that you save more time overall.
Re: (Score:2)
fossil - maintenance, no utility mode, complex drivetrain and gearbox etc.
I don't really maintain fossils, darling. I don't sleep in the car, either. And what shitty bucket of nuts do you drive so that you have to worry about "the gearbox", a Lada or something Chinese?
Now that EVs have reached price parity with fossil fuel cars
I don't know what a "fossil fuel car" is, I'm discussing hybrids here. Last I checked, a Shitsla 3 cost a bit more than a Lexus PHEV.
Not only is the latter a real car, and not a glorified forklift without the fork, but I don't have to schedule my life around it.
Re: (Score:2)
You are comparing one of the shittiest EVs to a luxury hybrid.
Some manufacturers are offering lifetime warranties on the battery now. Do any combustion engines come with a lifetime warranty?
Re: That's OK (Score:2)
I am comparing vehicles at the same price point, girl, like you asked.
I can buy an electrocart that doesn't suck too badlyy, which would be a q6, but it costs a lot more, contrary to your claims.
But why would I?
Re: (Score:2)
Lass, please. You are cherry picking.
Re: That's OK (Score:2)
call your boyfriend lass, rei. Or give an example of an EV comparable to a phev in quality, comfort and range at least "at the same price point".
No need to mention Chinese models, please.
Re: (Score:2)
You seem to have me confused with someone else.
Re: (Score:2)
Ok, so no examples :)
Thought so, it is a pattern with you.
Re: (Score:2)
You want to exclude Chinese manufacturers, i.e. you are getting shafted by your own racism. There is Dacia but their EVs aren't very good.
Re: (Score:2)
I got you the first time around - you don't have any examples. Like I said, it's you.
Chinese are shafted by me because they're garbage, and I don't buy garbage on general principle, regardless of where it comes from.
Re: (Score:2)
There are some great Chinese EVs on the market now. So good that the new Model Y facelift is a cheap knock off of one.
Re: (Score:2)
Sure, Jan.
Re: (Score:2)
https://electrek.co/2025/01/10... [electrek.co]
The reason for the tariffs is that Chinese EVs are too good.
Re: (Score:2)
Yelontrek? LOL. How about something that isn't paid by EV shills? Like, real reviews?
I can suggest taking a look at some real reviews of EVs coming, for example, from China or Russia. The former is the home of these "EVs", and the latter has, in the past three years, had a major influx of Chinese garbage on their roads for some reason.
The picture is bleak, the Chinese "too good EVs" are an unsupported affair that after a year or two is fit to stuff the landfills.
Re: (Score:2)
Apropos, I'm still waiting for an example of an EV "at the same price point" of a 2023-2024 toyota PHEV with comparable characteristics, quality and comfort that isn't an e-tron. I've tried them all, so I know why you find it difficult to show me one, but don't give up :))))
Re: (Score:2)
Hydrogen is not taking off. Green hydrogen has only a 30% efficiency - that is, for 1kWh of energy you put in, you only get out 300Wh back.
The only reason hydrogen is still around is because oil companies have latched onto blue hydrogen - hydrogen that originates from either natural gas (methane) or other hydrocarbons (e.g., oil). Naturally they see this as a continuation of their business, but the problem is carbon emissions. It's one thing if it came out as elemental carbon, but the process in making hydr
Re: (Score:2)
Except the price premium in Australia is $15k for
PHEV which negates the fuel saving.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I've heard the australien government has weird priorities just about everything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Or maybe I just like the girl in the video.
Re: (Score:2)
Hydrogen may well take off or not, but PHEVs seem to have taken off nicely already. Most of the new cars in my neighborhood are PHEVs now. Excellent choice if you ask me - it covers about 80% of my driving on electricity and I can still go on a longer trip and not worry about chargers and batteries.
PHEVs are going to be rich people cars because none of them appear to last more than 10 years. Auctions are filling up with worthless 10 year old PHEVs where the only thing wrong with them is the irreplaceable battery, and somehow they cannot operate without the battery even with an internal combustion battery.
Maybe the resale value of zero does not matter for a PHEV.
Re: (Score:2)
How much did you sell that 2019 e-tron for? Or that 2018 model S?
You missed today's story. (Score:2)
Literally today Toyota has reversed course, admitting that hydrogen for passenger vehicles is a dead end: https://www.ft.com/content/694... [ft.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Literally it has not.
Despite the setbacks, Toyota insiders said they had not given up on hydrogen for passenger cars, with Toyoda discussing a partnership last October with his counterpart at traditional rival Hyundai to advance fuel cell vehicles.
They drew parallels to the decade of patience needed before hybrid sales took off and validated their bet on the Prius, which was first sold in 1997.
Hybrids (Score:5, Interesting)
Keep in mind that most (passenger) cars sold in Japan are gas-electric hybrids (see this, for example: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-19/hybrid-cars-will-be-the-majority-of-sales-in-japan-next-year).
As such, pure electric is a lot less of a draw for them. Japanese manufacturers have been focused on hybrid production for years, and not really moving to pure EVs. That's not a bad strategy, but only in Japan (where quality of cars AND repair is good, that a complex hybrid does not cause more issues than it solves).
Re: (Score:3)
... that a complex hybrid does not cause more issues than it solves
Not all PHEVs are equal. Having a hybrid vehicle can mean simplified mechanicals, simpler than any pure ICEV.
Most early PHEVs I've seen had overly complex transmissions to allow some mixing of power output between the ICE and electric motor. This created a bad reputation for PHEVs. The kind of PHEV seen today will likely have a very simple transmission connecting the ICE to the wheels, perhaps just one gear ratio available for highway driving, with the electric motor doing most of the work. Maybe there
Re: (Score:1)
While that strategy might work for the domestic Japanese market at the moment, long-term it's a terrible strategy, as Japan automakers are losing significant market share to Chinese EVs in the EU, UK, Australia, Mexico, and SE Asia. Last month Honda and Nissan and Mitsubishi merged in an effort to save themselves. EVs from Honda, Toyota and Mazda are some of the dullest and least innovative EVs on the market, and way too expensive to boot. Their CEOs are arrogantly (and quite wrongly) claiming hydrogen and
Re: (Score:2)
Japanese manufacturers up and down the supply chain bet big on hybrids. Huge investments in the technology, expected to pay off over 50 years.
Now they are looking at most of that drivetrain going away, and needing to invest heavily in battery technology. European and Chinese companies hold a lot of the patents.
They bet on the wrong technology, thinking that batteries wouldn't improve as fast as they did. Now EVs have reached price parity with fossil cars, and hybrids look expensive.
Probably only a matter of time (Score:2)
Without external financial pressures, I don't see Toyota or Honda changing anything any time soon. A drop in EV adoption only strengthens that.
Perhaps some Japanese slashdotters can chime-in on regarding any cultural distaste, but I feel it's probably only a matter of time (50 years) before China dominates that market. BYD already has a presence in Japan and the current and upcoming battery tech from BYD and CATL, including range, safety, weight, and cost, are starting to make the move to their EVs a no-bra
Re: (Score:1)
Where in Japan have you seen a Chinese car in the wild, I'm curious. There are almost no Korean cars, and these are much better than the China garbage. Japan drives Japanese or German.
What did they expect? (Score:1)
The market has saturated. Those who were interested in getting an EV, got one. Most of us are not interested or can't afford one.
People want cheap cars, with long range, running on cheap fuel and cheap to insure. EVs are anything but.
Re: (Score:2)
I live in the Western USA where long range really is important (it's hundreds of miles between cities), but it's a little surprising that long range would be such an big selector in Japan. I guess I had always thought of that country as geographically dense (or at least not anything like North America or Australia).
Re: (Score:3)
The market has saturated. Those who were interested in getting an EV, got one. Most of us are not interested or can't afford one.
People want cheap cars, with long range, running on cheap fuel and cheap to insure. EVs are anything but.
...?
EV sales in japan have been pretty much trending downwards, and they were never really that high [statista.com] to begin with. In 2024, EVs made up less than 2% of car sales in Japan—that’s not saturation; that’s barely scratching the surface. A 33% drop in sales in *Japan* says something shifted in the market *in Japan*, not that everyone who wants an EV already has one. In the U.S., EVs accounted for about 8% of vehicle sales in 2023, up from 4% in 2021, with record sales of 344,000 units in Q3 20 [yahoo.com]
Including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles? (Score:4, Informative)
Is this sales of only BEVs, battery electric vehicles? Or does this include PHEVs, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles?
The fine article is behind a firewall so I sought an alternate source, that didn't shed any light on if this statistic included PHEV.
https://www.just-auto.com/news... [just-auto.com]
Around here BEVs are not that popular. I'm in the Midwest USA where people tend to drive long distances. On top of long distances is the low population density that can make it difficult to make a profit on EV chargers. Something of a chicken-and-egg issue that might need a lot of time to resolve. It's not that there's no EV chargers, only that they'd be clustered in city centers. With few chargers along the highways there's going to be "range anxiety" for most anyone considering a BEV. News articles like this aren't likely to help: https://www.newsweek.com/tesla... [newsweek.com]
I'll hear of plenty of people at least considering a PHEV. With a PHEV there's the option for all electric driving for daily commutes, and running from gasoline on long trips. There's no concern for finding any EV charger in this case, they'd expect to charge nowhere else but at home. I've seen some limited range in some models of PHEV, such as only 100 miles on a tiny fuel tank, but that's plenty to get from one filling station to the next on anything but the longest trips through some barren part of the USA.
A feature that is becoming popular on PHEVs, and EVs in general, is the ability to export power. For a PHEV this means people can run their vehicle like a portable generator. This is handy for people that like to camp out, a popular summer activity around here. Also this is useful for the occasional power outage. There's been some big storms in recent memory where there were lengthy and widespread power outages, prompting people to keep generators or find some other means of providing backup power.
This is about Japan though, not the USA, but I wanted to make some comparisons. Japan might not see snow and wind like we do but they have experienced large power outages before. They may not drive as far as we do in the USA but they have seen rising electricity prices, that can impact total cost of ownership.
The practicality of a BEV as a primary vehicle has always been questioned, and unless there's some big leap in technology I don't expect this to change. BEVs will likely come in two flavors, the luxury sport vehicles like those from Tesla, and small commuter vehicles (a "neighborhood electric vehicle" as an example) with limited range and at low cost for those needing a second vehicle or have ample access to public transit for most of their travel needs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] Will there be some options in between those two flavors? Of course, I just have no expectations of them being all that popular.
Re: (Score:2)
You post an article about range anxiety in the boonies and cite an article about how the Tesla chargers in downtown Chiacgo all shit the bed on a cold day.
Re: (Score:2)
How does this confuse you? Downtown Chicago would be a popular destination for people all across the Midwest. It should not be some surprise that people might drive for hours to get there with the expectation to find operational EV chargers.
Technically the chargers were fine, it's that the cars refused to take a charge with the batteries so cold, that's something of an engineering oversight from Tesla since they didn't account for this condition in their programming. For some it was just that the EV char
Re: (Score:2)
1. Manpower: Rideshare companies and the companies leasing vehicles to rideshare drivers were adding financial incentives to EV leases in certain markets, including Chicago. This had two effects:
1.1: Lots of new drivers with no
Japan is far behind in EV markets (Score:4, Interesting)
After so many years on top of the global auto industry it is very difficult for Japanese industrial and government officials to acknowledge that their domestic manufacturers are seriously behind on sellable EV vehicles and their domestic EV market is not even close to world standards. Dedicated fans of various Japanese auto brands have an equally difficult time with this also as can been seen on many auto board discussion threads - lots of talk about magic technology that will allow Toyota in particular to storm back to the front of EV design and sales while Tesla, GM, and VW are flooding the market with multiple models, new designs/technology, and sales support.
Japan is Ahead of the Game (Score:3)
As I understand it, almost all vehicles in Japan are electric if you include hybrids.
I think its important to remember that one of the major driving forces for EV's is the idea that eventually they will replace higher emission vehicles. But the emission benefit of an EV replacing a hybrid that only uses less than a couple gallons to go 100 miles is not that great. Its considerably less than the advantage of the hybrid replacing a vehicle that uses 5 gallons to go 100 miles. And that doesn't consider the hi
Re: (Score:2)
Hybrids with no plug-in charge capability can be quite efficient, but they are not in any sense EVs. Toyota took the lead from Honda in regen-only hybrids with the Gen 1 Prius and then... did essentially nothing to develop new technology from that point (admittedly they were being pressured by the Japanese government to work on hydrogen fueled vehicles, but they were a large enough company to do both).
Re: (Score:2)
They are not in any sense EVs.
They use batteries to store electricity and use it to replace fossil fuel. Toyota has been making the case that with limited batteries hybrids will do more to reduce emissions than putting the same amount of batteries in an EV. If you have cars that use 5 gallons to go 100 miles and you replace them with a hybrids that use less than 2 gallons you are reducing emissions further than it you replace the hybrids with BEVs. Japan has replaced most vehicles with hybrids. If they had put those same batteries into
Re: (Score:2)
And Honda also did nothing to develop EV technology, which is why right now they are selling a rebadged GM product which is guaranteed to disappoint Honda customers; its controls are all the usual GM flimsy plastic bullshit so it doesn't feel like a Honda, and it also won't last like one. Then again, Honda reliability has trended downwards of late, so perhaps it will fit in OK.
Only Nissan did anything to push actual EVs forwards in Japan, and now look at them, praying for acquisition. Clearly Japanese peopl
Re: (Score:2)
Well, isn't Japans largest market for the most part, the US?
In the US, we're seeing largely the same thing...the EV market for those that want on, is largely saturated...
So, if Japan's local market isn't pushing for EVs and
Re: (Score:2)
The S-curve may be bending a bit but I have not seen any evidence from any non-oil company source that the US EV market is "saturated".
Re: (Score:2)
Well....EVs during the last year or two..were piling up on lots unsold in the US....I saw some interesting videos from CNBC on this, they're on YouTube if you search.
They also saw trends that there are a significant number of folks that tried the EV lifestyle and found it unpleasant...and said their next car would be ICE again.
Did ICE sales also 'plummet'? (Score:2)
Sale of vehicles go up and down all the time. This is only significant if the sales of other vehicle types didn't have a similar decline, but the visible part of the linked article doesn't state how ICE or hybrids are selling by comparison.
One detail that the summary fails to mention: "Nissan retained top spot"... If your nation's top EV producer is a failing company that's about to be swallowed by another, this may explain the downturn. Nissan hasn't really been near the forefront of EV tech globally since
Too damn expensive (Score:3)
Few Options (Score:2)
Given that the auto market in Japan is mostly Japanese brands, this isn't surprising. I had some difficulty finding the correct number, but I found some indications that it's over 80% Japanese brands. So with the Japanese auto manufacturers not pushing EVs, it's no surprise that they're not popular. Here in the US, there are a number of options from a number of popular brands, including Ford, VW, Honda, Hyundai, and of course GM. (I'm sure I'm forgetting something. :) )
Not a good idea (Score:2)
Do they know they have to import all their oil? Its mad for an island to be dependent on foreign imports for basics. Especially Japan that is no longer the lead for anything.
Re: (Score:2)
A bit of searching the web tells me that Japan imports half of its petroleum. I'd invite anyone that can provide an updated definitive source on this matter.
I would not expect any nation to be completely self sufficient on every basic commodity, that would likely make quite a few of these same commodities exceedingly expensive. There's not likely to be any resolution to this, not any time soon anyway. Japan has about half the population of the USA with less than 1/10th the land area, that's going to make
Re: (Score:2)
Not sure where you see they imports only half of their petroleum, the highest number I saw was 97% (everywhere else says 99%). Reference: https://www.eia.gov/internatio... [eia.gov].
They could be energy independent only if they switched everything to nuclear and solar, and drove electric cars. Energy independence should have been the highest imperative of Japan's government. Being dependent on imports is a recipe for economic disaster.