Project for developing electric trucks initiated in JapanThe Japanese government has decided to go all out and give the major auto manufacturers in the country the competitive advantage over others in the world in the area of electric trucks.

Currently, buses and trucks account for over 7% of Japan’s combined carbon dioxide emissions.  If there were to be a significant switch over to electric trucks in the country this would impact the amount of emissions considerably.  A more wide spread use of electric trucks and better emission controls would certainly lower carbon dioxide emissions.
japan electric trucks
In a bid to popularize the use of electric trucks across Japan, the Transport Ministry is now going to execute a project in collaboration with leading automakers for developing new technologies and establishing performance standards and rules for the small and midsize electric trucks.
This project is expected to give the Japanese auto makers an edge in the global market in the area of electric trucks, a market that is still largely untapped.  The Transport Ministry is considering investing a huge sum of over 1 billion yen by way of subsidies into this venture over the next four years.
In April, the Ministry will be calling for participation from among the different vehicle makers in the country and hopes to commence with verification testing in the fiscal year 2012.  Some of the companies that have been reported to have expressed an interest in this project include Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp., Hino Motors, Isuzu Motors, and also UD Trucks Corp., which was earlier called Nissan Diesel.
One of the key goals of this project will be to develop a high-performance control system so that the stack of batteries in the electric truck will be more efficiently used for powering the electric motor.  Later on, by fiscal 2014, the Transport Ministry intends to lay down the basic criteria for ensuring battery durability, including factors such as impacts and vibrations, and also set manufacturing guidelines.
Zero-emission electric trucks like the Mitsubishi Fuso Truck are very suitable for use in crowded traffic conditions.  That is why the Transport Ministry is trying to do its part in supporting and promoting the use of such electric trucks.  Nowadays, there is also a growing awareness among truck owners that going in for cleaner solutions like making the switch to all-electric trucks would also mean considerable price savings.  And with the Transport Ministry supporting development of new technologies, the efficiency of electric trucks in Japan will improve too.