After spending two weeks in Japan, I’m amazed at the vehicles I didn’t see. Our travels took us to several cities around the country, including Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, and Kyoto. As someone who loves cars, I kept looking at the different small vehicles that people drive. Hybrids like the Toyota Prius, Sienta minivans, and small Honda Freed minivans are everywhere, but I did not see any pure EVs.
Japan, much like the U.S., relies heavily on fossil fuels and is not set up for home charging. The country has a bullet train system to handle great distances at high speeds, so range anxiety isn’t what is slowing adoption. It appears that Japanese drivers are pleased with the great mileage numbers that their hybrids provide and aren’t anxious to switch to EVs. According to recent reports, hybrid electric vehicles make up about 40 percent of all new vehicle sales, while EV sales barely make up two percent.
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The vehicles themselves are tiny. For example, the Toyota Sienta minivan is about a foot shorter than the Prius you see in America. The Sienta is about three feet shorter than the Sienna minivan that you see here. I use that as an example because that is what my nephew drives for his family outside Nagoya. It has a 1.5L engine with its hybrid system. Toyota says it holds up to seven people, but they would have to be much more petite than the average American. Depending on the configuration, Toyota estimates that the Sienta gets 65 to 66 miles per gallon.
You can understand why the drivers are reluctant to take on the challenges of switching to EVs. Gas stations appear to be plentiful, especially along the highways. It is also important to note that many Japanese families live in multi-family units which makes individual home charging difficult. Most of the parking in the larger cities is in huge vertical structures. Many of the parking structures use car elevators to raise and lower the vehicles. Building in charging stations would be difficult and extremely expensive.
Because most of the vehicles are so small and the hybrids are so efficient, drivers in Japan have great confidence in the car or minivan’s range. Hybrids can provide total driving ranges of more than 480 to 600 miles using gasoline and electric assist. That is assuming the vehicles can hold 8-10 gallons of fuel. That is more than enough range to go to the mountains to escape the summer heat in the cities or travel for skiing in the winter.
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Lessons for Detroit
Companies like Toyota, Honda, and Nissan have focused heavily on advanced hybrid technology and next-generation hybrid batteries, which is why we see so many Japanese automakers ready to incorporate hybrid technology while American automakers are struggling. The most recent numbers indicate that Toyota, Honda and Nissan are selling the most hybrids in the United States. American automakers are scrambling to shift to hybrid production after losing billions on pure EV technology that buyers didn’t want.
According to the outlet, hybrid electric vehicles made up a record 15.4 percent share of total new light-duty vehicle sales in the United States during the first half of 2026. Those sales were more than double the market share of pure battery-electric vehicles (EVs) sold during the same period. One of the biggest issues is that the Detroit three focused on EVs rather than also developing effective hybrids. The automakers are scrambling to do that now. Hybrids don’t require the huge investments in home charging, nor are the vehicles overly dependent on the electric grid that has seen its share of shutdowns this summer.
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It is easy to see the contrast between the two markets. Japan has a strong rail infrastructure, and commuters rely heavily on that. America and its automakers can learn a lot about the importance of hybrids in improving fuel efficiency and reducing the use of fossil fuels. You don’t see many American vehicles in Japan. Coming up, I will report on the one American vehicle that you do see and why that also surprised me.
I don’t believe that Japan’s tiny vehicles are a good fit for the U.S. but aggressively switching to effective hybrids could certainly help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
