Japan’s carmakers have treated battery-electric vehicles as niche, betting instead on hybrids, hydrogen and e-fuels. Now, China, with its EVs and batteries as core industries, is set to define the future of mobility
Chinese firms such as CATL and BYD supply the majority of the world’s EV batteries. The country accounts for the largest share in the production and export of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Photo by Sosnxiu Laim MingNaingh/Wikimedia Commons
Japan’s carmakers have treated battery-electric vehicles as niche, betting instead on hybrids, hydrogen and e-fuels. Now, China, with its EVs and batteries as core industries, is set to define the future of mobility
Japan’s slow-motion retreat from the car industry’s technological frontier is now impossible to ignore.
Honda’s recent decision to cancel three new battery-electric models for the US market — a massive write-down and refocus on hybrids — is not an isolated corporate mishap; it is a symptom of a deeper national problem. These are the classic hallmarks of late, cautious entry rather than bold experimentation.
