According to Reuters, other Japanese manufacturers also turned their attention to mini-sized EV, since they are popular in Japan, as a way to cut on emissions in the country.

Honda's upcoming electric van should offer 200 kilometers of range and it could be selling for as low as around 7.200 USD.

Hybrid vehicles are still the more popular choice in Japan, as battery-powered vehicles only accounted for 1% of the sales in the country last year.

Given that some 40% of the cars that roam Japan's roads are micro-sized, manufacturers believe that making such small EVs could be a good way to popularize clean power vehicles.

Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said that "we believe that the fastest way to spread the use of electric vehicles in Japan is to first capture the commercial market, especially in the area of light vehicles, which are the mainstay of the Japanese market."

Toyota's Commercial vehicle coalition said in July that it will be developing more small-sized commercial EVs with the help of Daihatsu and Suzuki.