The Japanese government on Tuesday decided to make US cars eligible for a subsidiary programme for the purchase of environment-friendly vehicles.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry made the decision amid US criticism that the subsidy programme had excluded American cars, Kyodo News reported.
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Some 700 US cars sold in Japan were expected to qualify for the programme, which was targeted at new cars that meet certain fuel consumption and emission standards, METI officials said.
The ministry decided to expand the coverage of the programme to ”as many imported cars as possible from the viewpoint of environmental protection and economic stimulation,” METI minister Masayuki Naoshima said.
Although the subsidy programme is not limited to locally produced cars, no car models imported from the United States currently qualified for the programme, the ministry said.
As not many cars are imported from the United States, most are certified under a simplified system, making it difficult to show that they meet the standards set by the Japanese government.
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By GlobalDataThe ministry will examine the eligibility of imported cars based on official fuel efficiency data supplied by producer countries.
