Japan's leaders want more efficient cars on the roads and at the same time are hoping to improve air quality. They hope a new financial incentive program will spur both carmakers and consumers to bypass traditional vehicles for new alternative driving options.
The country has announced it will offer at least 2 million yen, which equates to about $19,700 in U.S. dollars, in subsidies for those willing to purchase a fuel-cell car. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the goal is to both get drivers on board and more carmakers thinking about more efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles.
"This is the car of a new era because it doesn't emit any carbon dioxide and it's environmentally friendly," Abe stated in media reports. "The government needs to support this."
Currently a Toyota fuel-cell sedan, which should hit the market by March of next year, will cost about 7 million yen. The subsidy may pay for 5 million, said reports. Honda is slated to put a fuel-cell car in the market next year as well.
The subsidy, according to Abe, is just the beginning of Japan's push for such new vehicles. Hydrogen energy cars is another alternative option Japan hopes to see on the market.
But such alternative energy cars require new technology that industry watchers believe may take decades to take root with consumers. One big obstacle is the cost and infrastructure needed to support hydrogen fuel stations.
Fuel-cell cars use hydrogen to fuel them and run on electricity from cells that combine hydrogen with oxygen and emit only water vapor and heat. While the cars don't emit carbon dioxide, some carbon dioxide is emitted when hydrogen is produced from hydrocarbons.
Car buyers opting for the all-electric Tesla in China are facing a similar energy supply issue, as there is a big lack of charging stations in the country. But as Tech Times reported this week, one savvy Tesla owner created his own wireless charging system where he needed it.
