????日本雖然在開發(fā)電動汽車上走在世界前列，但現(xiàn)在很大程度上已經(jīng)不再迷戀所謂的電動汽車了。

????這并不是說日本人不關(guān)心二氧化碳排放量。日本已經(jīng)花了大筆經(jīng)費研發(fā)內(nèi)燃機引擎的替代產(chǎn)品，同時日本的混合動力汽車銷量笑傲全球。去年，豐田汽車（Toyota）在日本賣出的40%的汽車都是混合動力車型，不可謂不驚人。

????但是，盡管日本政府慷慨地提供了購買電動汽車的補貼，而且甚至連美國產(chǎn)的電動汽車特斯拉（Tesla）都用上了日本的創(chuàng)新技術(shù)，但是日本車主們卻覺得購買電動汽車很不劃算，甚至覺得電動汽車有“政治問題”。

????這是為什么？麥肯錫咨詢公司（McKinsey）近日發(fā)布的一份報告指出，三分之一的日本電動汽車車主表示，他們再也不會買電動汽車了。理由包括：電動車車價太高，電費上漲，以及找充電的地方很麻煩等等。而最新一個讓人們討厭電動汽車的理由是，很多人覺得，這些電動汽車與導(dǎo)致福島核泄露的那家電力公司之間存在某種聯(lián)系。

????根據(jù)當(dāng)?shù)氐囊患抑芸瘓蟮溃诖筅嬗幸患矣?0輛日產(chǎn)聆風(fēng)電動車（Nisan Leaf EV）組成的全電動出租車公司。福島核泄露事故發(fā)生前，這家公司的服務(wù)一度很受歡迎。但是災(zāi)難發(fā)生后，乘客們視電力公司為恥，因此這家出租車公司的業(yè)務(wù)也枯竭了。一位出租車司機告訴這家周刊：“生意糟透了，他們的收入還不到普通出租車的一半，對電動出租車的需求已經(jīng)結(jié)束了。”

????在電動汽車上下注最多的人可能當(dāng)屬日產(chǎn)公司的CEO卡洛斯?高森。不過據(jù)一位分析師表示，日產(chǎn)聆風(fēng)電動車目前只賣出了6萬臺，其中還有一半是在日本售出的，表明人們悄悄地忽略了電動汽車，轉(zhuǎn)而追捧更加熱門的混合動力汽車，比如豐田普銳斯（Toyota Prius）。日產(chǎn)公司仍然表示，希望在2016年之前賣出150萬臺聆風(fēng)電動車。聆風(fēng)的首席設(shè)計師門田英稔表示，聆風(fēng)面臨的最大問，仍然是車主的“里程焦慮癥”和電池容量問題。他說：“如果你問聆風(fēng)的車主，他們會告訴你，他們想要更長的續(xù)航里程。所以不管我們對這款車做出怎樣的改進，不論是電池，還是系統(tǒng)——尤其是電池，我們都在開發(fā)新的方法，使它超過現(xiàn)有的容量。”

????瑞士信貸公司（Credit Suisse）分析師高橋一才表示，較高的價格和有限的續(xù)航里程對少數(shù)既有錢又熱心環(huán)保的日本人并不算什么，但是盡管日本政府向電動車提供了購車補貼，普通人家面對28,000美元的車價還是望而卻步。他說：“電動汽車有一些基本的局限，比如成本、續(xù)航里程，以及充電站的缺乏等等。但是最重要的是，日本大地震之后，電價變得非常昂貴，會刺激消費者的情緒?！?/p>

????Japan -- a leader in the development of electrically powered vehicles -- has largely failed to fall for so-called EVs.

????Not that the Japanese don't care about CO2 emissions. Millions of dollars have been spent by the state to promote greener alternatives to the internal combustion engine, while hybrid car purchases remain the highest in the world. Last year a whopping 40% of Toyota's (TM) sales in Japan were hybrids.

????But despite generous government subsidies to buy EV and Japanese innovations that power even the U.S.-made Tesla (TSLA), Japanese motorists are starting to see them as costly and even, oddly, politically incorrect.

????Why? A report by McKinsey consultancy says up to a third of Japanese customers for EVs say they would not buy again. They were put off by their high price, higher electric bills, and the considerable bother of locating places to charge their cars says the survey. But the new reason to hate the vehicles now is they are tainted by association with the electric power company that suffered and, in many minds, helped cause the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns.

????According to one local weekly an all-electric taxi service in Osaka with 50 Nisan Leaf EVs was a hit before the nuclear disaster. Then, as the crisis developed and passengers came to view power suppliers with contempt, demand dried up. "Business stinks," one driver told the weekly. "Their takings are less than half that of regular cars. Demand for EV taxis is over."

????Arguably the biggest bet on EVs is by Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan (NSANY). But with only 60,000 of its Leaf EVs sold -- half of those in Japan -- the vehicle is being quietly shunned in favor of more popular hybrids like Toyota's Prius, say analysts. Nissan says it still hopes to sell 1.5 million of its green-mobiles by 2016. Motorists' "range-anxiety" and battery capacity remain top issues for Nissan, says its chief vehicle engineer Hidetoshi Kadota. "If you talk to Leaf owners, they want more range. So, whatever we can do to change the car, the battery, the system -- especially the battery, we are developing ways to improve it beyond its current capacity."

????High prices and limited range haven't deterred a minority of rich Japanese eco-enthusiasts, but ordinary motorists have balked at the $28,000 price tag even after the state eco subsidy, says autos analyst Issai Takahashi of Credit Suisse, Tokyo. "There are basic constraints such as cost, range, and lack of recharging stations. But on top of that, after the quake, electricity is getting very expensive, which will drive the sentiment of consumers," he says.