The Japan Patent Office conducted a survey on trends in global patent applications related to electric vehicles (EVs) and other "electric propulsion vehicles" and announced that about 70 percent of the applications were filed by Japanese applicants.

Electric propulsion vehicles include EVs, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) by the definition of the office. They do not include railway electric cars, which do not have wheels.

According to the survey, 16,670 patents concerning electric propulsion vehicles were filed around the world in 2001 to 2006. The number nearly doubled from 9,034 in 1995 to 2000. Of these patent applications, Japanese applicants filed more applications than applicants in any other region, accounting for 6,869 (76 percent) in 1995 to 2000 and 11,553 (69 percent) in 2001 to 2006.

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