On Wednesday, Japan’s Industry Ministry held the first meeting of a 15-member panel focused on encouraging a wider use of electric vehicles (EVs) and other next-generation vehicles.

The members of the panel include Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corp.; top executives from Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co., and Mazda Motor Corp.; as well as battery-technology experts.

Along with specifically discussing how EVs and other next-gen vehicles can be put to a wider use, the members of the panel will also talk about the overall measures which can enable Japan to compete fiercely with other countries in the automobile and electric vehicle segment. The suggestions put forth by the panel will be compiled by the members by summer this year, and will be duly considered by the Japanese government while framing related policies.

The timing of the auto-centric discussions by the panel coincides with the intensifying overseas competition for developing EVs, autonomous driving technologies and other crucial automobile technologies of the modern world.

With reference to the focus-areas on the agenda of the panel for discussions, Japan’s Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said at the commencement of the Wednesday meeting: “The auto industry is entering an era of a significant change that happens only once in 100 years.”