Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reported that 1,353,369 low-emission vehicles (LEVs) were registered in the second half of FY2002 (October 2002 to March 2003), accounting for 64.5 percent of all newly registered vehicles. They also reported that the total number of LEVs as of March 31, 2003 was about 4.58 million, or 9 percent of all registered vehicles.

The automobile green tax system took effect starting in FY 2001. Just before this, in the second half of FY2000, the rate of newly registered LEVs was 21.1 percent of all small to medium-sized vehicles, but after the tax system took effect, this increased to 34.2 percent (first half of FY2001). The rate continued to increase steadily, to 44.6 percent in the second half of FY2001 and 57.3 percent in the first half of FY2002.

The Ministry believes that these large increases in LEVs are mainly the result of efforts by automakers to develop more models that are eligible for low-emission tax credits.

LEVs include electric vehicles, methanol-fueled vehicles, CNG (compressed natural gas) vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and other vehicles that meet the low-emission and fuel-efficiency standards set by the Ministry.



Posted: 2003/07/04 10:01:17 AM
Japanese version

TAG Energy , Global warming , Government , Manufacturing industry , System/Law , Transportation