エコカー競争 普及への追い風を生かせるか

The Yomiuri Shimbun(Jul. 17, 2009)
Eco-car development needs full support
エコカー競争　普及への追い風を生かせるか（7月17日付・読売社説）

The age of gasoline engine-powered vehicles--a mainstay for the past 100 years--seems to be at a major turning point.
　１世紀続いたガソリン車主流の時代が、転機を迎えているようだ。

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. will this month start putting next-generation electric cars on the domestic market--the first companies in the world to do so. Nissan Motor Co. will sell electric vehicles in Japan and the United States starting next year.
　三菱自動車と富士重工業が、世界で初めて量産型の電気自動車を市販する。日産自動車も来年以降、日米で量産に踏み切る。

There are moves, meanwhile, to further boost the production of gasoline-electric hybrid cars, such as Mazda Motor Corp. having reportedly asked Toyota Motor Corp. to provide core parts for the making of a hybrid car.
　エンジンと電気モーターを併用するハイブリッド車も、マツダがトヨタ自動車に基幹部品の供給を要請するなど、さらに生産を拡大する動きが本格化してきた。

With the help of government tax breaks and subsidies, 200,000 orders have poured in for Toyota's Prius hybrid car. The Japanese auto industry believes the time is ripe to popularize fuel-efficient vehicles, and the trend toward post-fossil fuel automobiles will certainly accelerate from here on.
　エコカー減税や補助金による後押しもあって、トヨタのハイブリッド車「プリウス」に、２０万台もの注文が殺到している。自動車業界は今が普及の好機とみているようだ。「脱・化石燃料」の流れが今後も加速するのは確実だ。

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Benefits outweighing costs

The biggest benefit of an electric car is its cutting of carbon dioxide emissions--a major cause of global warming. When driving, such cars' CO2 emissions are zero. And even when emissions produced during the process of generating electricity are included, CO2 emissions per kilometer of travel by an electric car are 40 percent less than that of a hybrid vehicle.
　電気自動車の最大の利点は、温暖化の要因となる二酸化炭素（ＣＯ２）の排出が少ないことだ。走行中はＣＯ２を全く出さない。発電過程で出る分を加えても、１キロ走行当たりの排出量は、ハイブリッド車より４０％も少ない。

Charging the battery under late-night power rates adds only 1 yen per kilometer on an electricity bill. This would mean a round trip from Tokyo to Osaka would only cost 1,000 yen.
　割安な深夜電力で充電すれば、必要な電気代は１キロ走行につき１円ですむ。東京―大阪間を１０００円で往復できる計算だ。

However, these vehicles carry a price tag of more than 3 million yen, and even when accounting for government subsidies, they still cost more than double the price of the gas-powered minicar model materials they are based on. In addition, it takes 14 hours to fully charge the batteries using a 100-volt home socket, and these electric cars have a range of only 160 kilometers per charge.
　だが、車両価格は国の補助金を利用しても３００万円を超え、同タイプの軽自動車の２倍以上もする。１００ボルトの家庭用コンセントを使えばフル充電に１４時間もかかり、しかも一度の充電で１６０キロしか走れない。

When it comes to practicality, hybrid cars easily best electric cars. But in regard to attaining a situation in which all cars are electrified, hybrids aim in the same direction as electric cars. In both fields, developing batteries with large power outputs at lower costs will be key to popularizing the vehicles.
　実用性では、なおハイブリッド車に軍配があがる。しかし、ハイブリッド車も「車の電化」という点では、目指す方向は電気自動車と同じだ。ともに、大出力で安価な蓄電池の開発が、普及のカギを握ることになろう。

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Bringing industries together

Japanese manufacturers lead the world in the development and mass production of lithium-ion batteries that have great power output and are light in weight. However, some European countries and the United States also are developing batteries under public and private cooperation and the gap between them and Japan is rapidly closing.
　大出力、軽量のリチウムイオン電池の開発・量産では、日本メーカーが世界の先頭に立つ。だが、欧米では官民挙げて電池の開発に乗り出した国もあり、その差は急速に縮まっている。

If Japan is overtaken by other countries in the development of such batteries, the manufacturers that grab the lead could end up dominating the world market. This makes it crucially important for the survival of Japanese companies that they win this development race.
　蓄電池開発で先を越されれば、優位に立ったメーカーに世界市場を席巻される可能性もある。開発競争に勝ち抜くことが、日本企業の生き残りに不可欠といえる。

As batteries come to play an increasingly key role in a vehicle's performance, it is possible that domestic electric appliance makers will begin entering the auto world. The auto industry should be flexibly prepared to reorganize and tie up with companies from other fields.
　電池が車の性能を決めるようになれば、電機メーカーなどによる自動車産業への参入が進む可能性もある。自動車業界は、異業種との再編や提携に柔軟に取り組む覚悟が必要だ。

Although eco-cars are quiet when operating, this attribute can also be seen as a problem. For example, a pedestrian might be unaware of an approaching vehicle and collide with it.
　静粛性が売り物のエコカーだが、歩行者が車の接近に気付かず、接触事故を招くという「死角」も指摘されている。

Keeping in mind such issues, the government should take immediate measures for entering the era of the eco car.
行政はこうした点にも目配りし、エコカー時代への対応を急ぐべきだ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 17, 2009)
（2009年7月17日01時41分 読売新聞）