<div class="htmlview paragraph">This is an assessment of electric propulsion and magnetic levitation of automotive size vehicles in Japan. It includes conventional battery electric vehicles with peak speeds up to 100 km/h in mixed traffic for urban and suburban applications and magnetic levitation guideway confined vehicles with peak speeds of 300 km/h for intercity trans-sportation. These electric vehicles have been under development since 1971 and some are considered ready for commercialization.</div>