| ▲ | yanhangyhy 2 hours ago |
| why bother? japan hate EV |
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| ▲ | mc3301 2 hours ago | parent | next [-] |
| I used to follow it closely and be in the industry, but it still seems like Japan is gonna be the last "mostly ICE cars" of the developed countries. Which is a shame, because it has a perfect combination of short-range needs (I mean, look at kei-cars), tons of wonderful places to hang out while charging (toll-way rest areas are so good), rare sub-freezing temperatures in most of the country, mandatory vehicle inspections (which could collect great safety data as well as preventative maintenance), general love of new cars and brand loyalty, lack of political or individual divide of "big gas trucks are manly", mobile-power-station earthquake preparedness (a nice bonus), generally cooperative nation-wide infrastructure... I guess we just have to hope the main automakers can hold on long enough for solid-state batteries and move faster than a snail's pace when it does. |
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| ▲ | xbmcuser 37 minutes ago | parent | next [-] | | Why cars though I think people are still stuck with the cars mindset. But with electric we can get smaller ebikes/pods for individuals instead of cars | |
| ▲ | an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | [deleted] | |
| ▲ | cammikebrown 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | If you live in Tokyo or Osaka you really shouldn’t own a car | | |
| ▲ | mc3301 7 minutes ago | parent | next [-] | | If you live in New York City or San Francisco, you really shouldn't own a car. | |
| ▲ | klempner 22 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | And one of the points that's a little more obvious living here: Japan is a remarkably car centric culture. Not quite to the extent of America, but in much of the country you really do need a car. If anything the main exceptions to that are exactly the places tourists are most likely to go. | |
| ▲ | zdragnar 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | What about the parent comment implied Tokyo or Osaka residence? | |
| ▲ | cyberax an hour ago | parent | prev [-] | | Hence nobody should live in Tokyo and Osaka. |
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| ▲ | inatreecrown2 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | Isn't the reason they are so slow to adapt them that they have not enough electricity? | | | |
| ▲ | tyre 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | In your opinion/experience, why is it that they aren't switching? | | |
| ▲ | mc3301 11 minutes ago | parent | next [-] | | Probably a mix between oil-ties and the fact that decisions in Japan are made slowly. Edit: I also think there's a fear of this: wide acceptance of EVs open the door to BYD (or similar) huge takeover of the car market. | |
| ▲ | chubs an hour ago | parent | prev [-] | | I have a theory: Japanese car's have excellent reliability, their interiors and design are lacking. If every car in the world is an EV, which due to their relative simplicity tend to be reliable, what remaining unique selling points does eg a toyota have? |
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| ▲ | cyberax an hour ago | parent | prev [-] | | Solid-state batteries are facing production hell now, with lots of issues cropping up when tested at large-scale in real devices. So they are not expected in meaningful quantities until the early 2030-s. And the LFP chemistry has now advanced so much that solid-state batteries might not even matter anymore, except for some niche uses like aviation/drones. |
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| ▲ | chvid 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| It is curious - you would think they would love it? But they don't - is it simply the case of the Chinese beating them - stubbornness and pride? Or is there something more going on? Toyota was seemingly decades ahead at one point with their hybrid cars; but now they have resigned to a defensive position compared to Tesla, Chinese automakers, even the European ones. |
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| ▲ | yanhangyhy an hour ago | parent | next [-] | | > you would think they would love it? no. i just found it funny. > Or is there something more going on? I remember BYD actually had to design models specifically tailored to the Japanese market (k-car)—their preferences are honestly so bizarre. I think a lot of this comes down to their national character. Once external momentum fades—like the industrial transfers from the US—they seem to lose the drive for technological innovation. They just cling to whatever they already have and refuse to adapt to global shifts.People in Japan are still using Yahoo and fax machines（not to mention their own bizarrely proprietary text editors,Hidemaru/SAKURA editor, to compare, in china, it's also vscode）. Toyota is still digging its heels in on gas-powered cars, even though the fact that Tesla used Japanese batteries in its early days proves Japan was once ahead of the curve.but they always seem to retreat right back into their comfort zone after a brief flash of brilliance, watching the rest of the world race ahead while they continue living in the past. | | |
| ▲ | hnav an hour ago | parent [-] | | That's probably a good thing, the world needs appliance-like cars for markets where EV charging isn't there yet. Meanwhile Toyota is #1, moving millions of units, something like half of them are electrified in most markets. A 2026 Camry, for $30k, gives the buyer a low-TCO, value retaining, 50mpg, 230hp appliance of a car. That's a rarity. |
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| ▲ | BLKNSLVR an hour ago | parent | prev [-] | | Toyota's first Prius (hybrid) came out in 1997 and Nissan's first Leaf (full electric) in 2010. Both Japanese, both ahead of the curve, now way behind it. It is an interesting situation. Anecdote: I have a 2014 Leaf, purchased a couple of years ago as the first foray into EVs. It's a great little car, perfect for the daily short trips for which we bought it. Use-case matters! |
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| ▲ | jazzyjackson 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Japan wants domestic industry and specializes in things other than battery production |
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| ▲ | jeffbee an hour ago | parent | prev [-] |
| Every Tesla made in America contains 500 kilos of Japan's finest batteries. Honda may hate the EV but Panasonic does not. |
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| ▲ | rootusrootus 37 minutes ago | parent [-] | | > Japan's finest batteries Aren’t all Teslas made in the US supplied with American made batteries? In partnership with Panasonic, for the Model 3, but still a Tesla factory in Nevada. And I think 4680s are all Tesla made, correct? | | |
| ▲ | jeffbee 18 minutes ago | parent [-] | | No, they are all 100% made by Panasonic, with Panasonic technology, in buildings that Panasonic master-leases from Tesla. The only thing Tesla has contributed is the shell and the sign outside. Panasonic developed the 4680 form factor at Tesla's request, by the way that program has been a major failure. | | |
| ▲ | JumpCrisscross 15 minutes ago | parent [-] | | > No, they are all 100% made by Panasonic, with Panasonic technology, in buildings that Panasonic master-leases from Tesla Gigafactory Nevada is jointly operated by Tesla and Panasonic [1]. That's in America. (No clue on the master lease bit. Would be curious for your source.) [1] https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/panaso... | | |
| ▲ | mc3301 a few seconds ago | parent [-] | | Fun, somewhat related, fact. For a long time (not sure about now), the high-voltage connectors in Tesla were made by (but not labeled) Yazaki. Made in Japan. But the QC tests to Yazaki's deisred level didn't exist yet, and Tesla did their own tests. And Tesla was maximizing it's "Made in the US" stance, which either goes by weight or components. So Yazaki was secretly making unlabeled high-voltage connectors in Japan, selling them to Tesla, who could then test them themselves and claim falsely the source of production. |
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