The Japanese auto industry hopes the government's new incentives for green cars will increase overall sales by about 900,000 vehicles in 2012 at a time when exports aren't likely to grow sharply amid the strong yen and overseas economic slowdown, the head of the industry's lobby group said.
"We hope the incentives will become a booster similar to the previous ones," Toshiyuki Shiga, chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, told a group of reporters in a recent interview.
Approved by the government Dec. 20, the incentive program worth ¥300 billion is aimed at shoring up domestic sales of electric vehicles, hybrids and other environmentally friendly cars. The government also decided earlier in the month to extend a tax break for green cars for three years beyond its April expiration.