Japan Wants To Ban Gasoline-Powered Vehicles

Not so long ago,Europe banned salesof new muscle cars like theFord Mustang Shelby GT500due to their failure to meet ever-stricter emissions standards. Lucky for Europe, the new 2021 Mustang Mach 1 is fuel-efficient enough that it avoids the ban, but in a few years time, it won't matter; a number of countries are pledging to ban gasoline-powered passenger cars in general. Most recently, theUK announcedits intention to ban all internal combustion-powered car sales, possibly by 2030, after the US state of California announced a pledge to do the same by 2035.

Now, we can add Japan to the list.

Reuters reports that the Land of the Rising Sun could enact an internal combustion car ban by the mid-2030s as part of a broader government plan to cut carbon emissions to zero on a net basis by 2050. Japan intends to issue a more detailed plan for its combustion engine ban by the end of the year.

The fact that two G7 nations share this same goal hasn't gone unnoticed by automakers. GM recently announced plans to speed up the introduction of up to30 new all-electric vehiclesglobally by 2025. Volkswagen Group's laser-like focus on surpassing Tesla as the world's dominant EV automaker in terms of both product and technology continues to intensify.

Meanwhile, Ford recently issued a somewhatcontroversial pleato all automakers urging them to support California's new zero-emissions standards before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20, 2021.