In April 2024, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) established the “Study Group for Prevention of Fraudulent Activities in Relation to Vehicle Type Designation” including outside experts, in order to prevent the recurrence of such fraudulent activities. In December, the committee compiled a summary of measures to prevent fraudulent acts in connection with applications for type designation of motor vehicles.
The following is a summary of this summary and an outline of the system based on this summary.

Examples of Approaches to Improve Quality Explanatory Capability in Compliance with Regulations and Standards in the Era of SDV/Automatic Driving

With the advent of the SDV era, the scale and complexity of development of in-vehicle systems have increased dramatically.
At the same time, compliance with regulations such as UN-R155/156/157/171 and related international standards has become a necessity, and it is said that more rigorous process and trail management, including SMS (Safety Management System), will be required in the future.
This presentation will discuss the need for more efficient information management to enhance quality accountability in the development of in-vehicle systems for the SDV era, and will introduce two examples of Veriserve’s quality accountability services using the ALM tool “ConTrack” as concrete examples.
One is an example of quality improvement and streamlining of test design by automatic extraction of change points for exchanging specification changes with clients, and the other is an example of more efficient explanation enhancement by incorporating specific deliverables and AI-based trace management for cybersecurity standards and regulations.

Latest Trends in Decarbonized Liquid Fuels – Efforts and Challenges in Expanding the Use of Biofuels in Japan

The 7th Basic Energy Plan was approved by the Cabinet. In addition, the plan, together with the “GX2040 Vision” and the “Global Warming Prevention Plan” approved by the Cabinet at the same time, sets forth the direction of efforts to simultaneously realize stable energy supply, economic growth, and decarbonization.
The plan also includes a focus on the use of biofuels in the transportation sector, and clearly states that efforts will be made to introduce and promote the use of decarbonized liquid fuels such as bio-alcohol blended gasoline, biodiesel, and SAF, which is used as aviation fuel.
This presentation will explain the policies and specific initiatives for decarbonizing liquid fuels that are currently under consideration in Japan.

The direction of Japan’s decarbonization policy and trends in decarbonizing liquid fuels, including bioethanol blended gasoline such as E10/E20, biodiesel such as HVO, and SAF.
The Green Fuel Certificate System as a transfer system of environmental values.

How OEMs can win and survive in the era of tariffs – from current automotive demand to market forecasts for major countries – in a nutshell.

U.S. tariffs are a pressing issue. We analyze not only the amount of tariffs borne by each company, but also the impact on the volume of demand in the U.S. as a result of price shifting.
On the other hand, the spread of BEVs is further delayed, and demand for HEVs is growing stronger. Since the multi-pathway strategy that Japanese-affiliated companies are pursuing is working, there is no need to be pessimistic about the future outlook as long as they can break through the tariff difficulties.

Looking beyond the U.S., we can look to ASEAN, where demand is sluggish and China’s NEVs are on the offensive; India, which has the world’s largest population; and the rekindling of the alliance with Honda, as Nissan Motor Co.
Demand trends and market forecasts for major markets including Japan, the U.S., China, India, and ASEAN. Demand for HEVs is expected to increase. However, there is a possibility that the gap between Toyota and non-Toyota HEVs will widen in the future.
The spread of BEVs “at the same price as ICEs” will be delayed by several years compared to the conventional forecast of 2027?