The Japanese government first outlined the importance of the country shifting away from conventional internal combustion engines automobiles in a major way in the Next Generation Automobile Strategy published by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2010. While the 2010 strategy mainly relied on the increased adoption of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric vehicles, it was followed by the 2014 Strategic Roadmap for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells and the 2017 Basic Strategy for Hydrogen in which the government expressed its commitment to realizing a “hydrogen society.”
With Japan planning to make its power generation mix cleaner over the coming decade, and the Japanese automakers including Toyota and Nissan generating a considerable portion of their revenues overseas where regulations are more stringent and targets around EVs and FCVs more aggressive, there are EV- and FCV-related opportunities in Japan that are well-worth exploring.
Besides exploring the opportunities–and related threats–further, our report outlines the macro-environment of the market for electric and fuel cell vehicles using the PESTEL framework and the micro-environment by looking at the types of companies present in the ecosystem. It also presents the most important trends in the market as well as the factors that drive and constrain its growth.
Editor’s Note: This report was written and finalized prior to the full outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Hence, some of its effects may not be reflected within the research.