Japan to provide subsidy for electric cars

Japans Environment Ministry has decided to provide a subsidy to local governments to cover half the price difference between conventional and electric-powered cars, to promote the electric cars, government sources said. The ministry plans to seek ¥100 million (US$951,742) for subsidies in its initial budget request for fiscal 2009. The ministry expects that if more local governments have more electric vehicles, infrastructure such as recharging facilities also will increase, resulting in greater use of the eco-friendly cars among the public. The ministry also aims to help carmakers, which plan to start full-fledged release of electric cars into the market in 2009. Lithium-ion batteries that can be recharged from a household wall socket and are capable of running 80 to 160 kilometers on a single charge will power the new electric cars. (August 20, 2008)