Japan tax breaks boost green-car sales

[rickaren]

Nissan says Japan tax breaks boost green-car sales

Posted Wednesday, May 20, 2009, 11:28 am in Employee News

Nissan Motor Co. said on Tuesday orders for its eco-friendly cars are up 30 percent in Japan so far in May from the same period a year earlier, helped by the government’s new tax incentives for low-emission cars, Reuters reported.

With the addition of the NV200 Vanette light commercial vehicle on Tuesday, Japan’s No. 3 automaker now has 15 vehicles in its domestic lineup that are eligible for the tax breaks, COO Toshiyuki Shiga told a news conference and Reuters reported. Japan lowered taxes on greener vehicles last month in a step the auto industry expects will add 310,000 vehicles sales in the financial year to March 2010, the news service said.

To make the most of the incentive, Nissan made improvements in its engines to expand its lineup of eligible cars from the previous six and kicked off a big marketing push for its eco-friendly vehicles, Reuters said. So far this month, orders are “up slightly,” a spokeswoman said, adding that the rise was a single-digit percentage. A climb in May would mark the first increase in Nissan’s domestic sales in 10 months, the story said. (Reuters/Automotive News)