Japan Mobility Show: Toyota, Nissan, Honda and others to showcase electric cars to prove credentials

The pressure is on domestic carmakers at this week’s Japan Mobility Show to prove they are serious not only about going carbon neutral, but also revolutionising the way people and goods move around.

The event gets under way on Thursday as the rebranded successor to the Tokyo Motor Show, which began in 1954 and was last held in 2019, attracting 1.3 million attendees before going into hiatus during the pandemic. The goal this year is to get 1 million visitors, organisers said.

Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Nissan Motor and their Japanese peers have long been criticised for their hesitation to phase out petrol-powered cars. This week, they will pepper the show floor with electric vehicle (EV) concepts to send the message they are willing and able to make battery-powered car sightings more common on the country’s roads in the years to come.

Battery-electric vehicles accounted for just 1.5 per cent of new-car sales in Japan in 2022, lagging well behind other wealthy countries, according to BloombergNEF. By comparison, almost one in five new cars sold were battery-electric in China, which became the world’s top car exporter early this year.

“There’s a strong concern that the growing costs of energy and labour will make it difficult to manufacture in Japan, let alone sell cars,” said Masami Tanaka, director general of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association’s Next-Generation Mobility Division. “Key industries need support for the sake of the country’s economic growth.”

Japan’s top carmakers pioneered the use of petrol-electric hybrid power trains, only to take the view that the global EV transition will take longer than expected and vary by region. They have advocated for multiple approaches to reducing emissions, which has drawn the ire of environmental advocacy groups.