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50 Build Your Own Electric VehicleJapan Gets More Serious About EVsThe Japanese rise in and now domination of the electric drive world is remarkable andstill continuing. From the Lexus to the Prius to the Camry, hybrid drive is a world-classdrive system. From the Toyota RAV4 EV I drove to the plug-in-hybrid cars they willinevitably launch in the future, Japan is an automotive power. Even before theyachieved world dominance in the internal combustion engine vehicle in the 1980s,leading visionaries at Japan’s state planning agencies had seen the future, and it waselectric vehicles. Japan needed little incentive—it was the world’s largest importer ofoil, had dangerous levels of pollution, and high speeds on its narrow, urban streetswere a fact of life.While the Japanese Electric Vehicle Association and its tight coordination with MITIdirectives did not arrive on the scene until 1976, Japanese government funding of EVprograms began in 1971 with Phase I basic research into batteries, motors, controlsystems, and components across the spectrum of car, truck, and bus platforms.The fruits of its labors, augmented by MITI directives to focus on urban accelerationand range, appeared in Phase II. As Table 3-1 attests, Japan’s 1970s Phase II offeringsfrom Daihatsu, Toyota, Mazda, and Nissan put it into a world-leadership class. TheNissan EV-4P truck’s 188 miles before recharging was a record for lead-acid batterypoweredvehicles, and its EV-4H truck’s 308 miles was the world record for thatperiod.Throughout the rest of the 1970s all Japan’s big nine automakers—Daihatsu, Honda,Isuzu, Mazda (Toyo Kogyo), Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, and Toyota—wereinvolved in EV activities, although some to a greater extent than others (see Figure3-7).Individuals Assisted by More and Better EverythingThe best news of the 1970s was for individuals wanting to do EV conversions. More ofwhat was needed was available for conversions, and how-to books even started toappear. Other than the fact that components—particularly the controllers—were stillunsophisticated, individual converters enjoyed relating their conversion experiences atregular Electric Auto Association meetings and pushed the outside of the speed anddistance envelope at rallies and events. The greatest irony of this period is that at thesame time General Motors was providing extremely negative information to theCongressional hearings, the individuals who had actually done a conversion to anelectric vehicle were reporting high degrees of satisfaction, with operating costs in therange of two cents per mile, and most had yet to replace their first set of batteries.Daihatsu Toyota Mazda Nissan NissanEV-1 car EV-2 car EV-3 tr uck EV-4P tr uck EV-4H tr uckRange (miles) 109 283 127 188 308Top Speed (mph) 55 53 45 54 56Battery Pack lead-acid zinc-air/ lead-acid lead-acid zinc-air/lead-acidlead-acidCurb Weight (lbs) 2500 2770 1720 5000 5490Ta b l e 3-1 Comparison of Japan’ s Second W ave Phase II Electric V ehicles