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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan may ban sales of
new gasoline-engine cars by the mid-2030s in favour of hybrid or electric
vehicles, public broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday, aligning it with other
countries and regions that are imposing curbs on fossil fuel vehicles, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.
The
move would follow Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's pledge in October for Japan to
slash carbon emissions to zero on a net basis by 2050 and make the country the
second G7 nation to set a deadline for phasing out gasoline vehicles in a little
over two weeks. Japan's industry ministry will map out a plan by the year-end,
chief government spokesman Katsunobu Kato told a news conference on
Thursday.
The likelihood of state interventions to lower carbon emissions
is fuelling a technological race among carmakers to build electric cars and
hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles that will lure drivers as they switch from
gasoline models, particularly in the world's two biggest auto markets, China and
the U.S.
Measures already in place in Japan mean Japanese automakers,
particularly big ones such as Toyota Motor Corp with greater research and
development resources, could use electric vehicle technology they have already
developed at home.
Nissan Motor Co chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta
last month told Reuters his company was ready to respond to Britain's decision
to hasten a phase-out date for new petrol and diesel powered cars and vans by
five years to 2030 because it was part of a global trend. Japan's industry
ministry is considering requiring all new vehicles to be electric, including
hybrid vehicles, NHK reported earlier, adding the ministry would finalise a
formal target following expert-panel debates as early as the
year-end.
Japanese automakers for now are keeping quiet on what impact
those measures could have on their businesses. Toyota, Honda Motor Co, Nissan
and its alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp declined to comment. In Japan,
the share of electricity vehicles is expected to increase to 55% in 2030, Boston
Consulting Group said in a report on prospects for battery-powered
cars.
Globally, "the speed of expansion of the share of electric vehicles
will accelerate due to the fact that battery prices are falling more rapidly
than previously expected," Boston Consulting said in the report. Japan, China
and South Korea recently announced firm targets to end net emissions of carbon,
which has given momentum for companies and banks to push for cutbacks to keep
global warming in check.
Apart from Britain, parts of the United States
and Canada, Norway and Germany, are or plan to imposed curbs on fossil fuel
cars. The wider European Union is expected to decide on future restrictions as
early as this month.
As per MRC, Agilyx Corp.,
Tigard, Oregon, and Toyo Styrene Co. Ltd., a Toyko-based affiliate of Denka Co.
Ltd., have announced they are 30% complete with the final phase of developing
the front-end loading design to deploy Agilyx's technology near Toyo Styrene’s
facility in the Chiba prefecture of Japan. According to a news release from
Agilyx, the facility will focus on recycling postuse polystyrene (PS) plastic
back to a styrene monomer. In April, Agilyx had announced the licensing of its
technology to Toyo Styrene.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report,
Russia's estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics totalled 362,820
tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, down by 1% year on year. |
