FRANKFURT, Germany/TOKYO -- The electric car represents a breakthrough both in combating climate change and transforming industry through technology. But for Japan and Germany, whose economic success rests on gasoline- and diesel-powered cars, the disappearance of combustion engines comes with painful job cuts.
Japan wants all new cars to be electric vehicles by the mid-2030s, an ambitious goal for a country where purely gasoline powered cars account for about 60% of autos sold nationally. Over 30% are hybrids while pure EVs, plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles together account for only 1%.
