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Sales of assisted mobility vehicles were less than 9000 units in 1996 but
jumped in around 2000 due to the introduction of the nursing care insurance
system, dramatically increasing to 40000 units in 2003. Demand for assisted
mobility vehicles is likely to steadily increase in the future as Japan's
society ages further and as the physically impaired participate more in society.
The history of assisted mobility vehicles started in the late 1970s when
wheelchair transfer cars were sold to care facilities to transport the
physically impaired. In the early 1980s, smaller wheelchair transfer cars than
those for care facilities began to be sold to private users. From 1995, assisted
mobility vehicles included those with rotating or lifting seats to facilitate
easy entry and exit, and those with devices to assist physically impaired
drivers. Estimated sales of vehicles equipped with driving assisting devices are
about 5000 units per year as of 2003.
Wheelchair-bound users can enter the vehicle using a remote
controller. Care givers can smoothly fasten the seatbelts from
the outside in a comfortable position. Pillars are provided with
rail boards and assist grips to give secure support to those in
wheelchairs. The release function allows the stoppers for
preventing wheelchairs from rolling backward to be opened and
closed by a single button. Entry and exit from the car is made
easy by a thin platform.