According to a recent study by the Japan Patent Office, 76 percent of the 16,670 patents filed for electric propulsion vehicles (here defined as practically all pure electric vehicles, hybrids and fuel cell vehicles, except railroad vehicles) came from Japanese companies. As the list below shows, Toyota by far has the most patents applications, which is not too surprising given that it is leader in hybrid vehicles. The finding may suggest that the Japanese have a heads-up in the hybrid/electric vehicle race; however, it must be noted that the quantity of application doesn’t necessarily mean all of them are of good quality.

Source: Tech-On

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