Green Car Advisor
Batteries
September 4, 2008
In early June we reported that General Motors won't sell as many hybrid cars as it had hoped this year due to 9,000 defective batteries supplied by Cobasys.
Now the Michigan-based battery maker is being blamed for holding up the release of electric Smart ForTwos fitted with advanced lithium-ion battery packs.
Smart had hoped to bring to market ForTwos packing lithium-ion batteries by the end of 2009.
But Klaus Badenhausen, the automaker's chief engineer, told Edmunds.com's Inside Line today that problems it is having with Cobasys have stymied Smart's lithium-ion battery plans.
As we've reported, Cobasys' parent companies are in a dispute over who should assume costs incurred by their troublesome child.
Indeed, GM wasn't the only automaker to be burned by Cobasys. Early last month, Mercedes-Benz sued Cobasys and its parent companies, claiming the battery maker wasn't delivering the battery packs it agreed to build for Mercedes' ML450 Hybrid.
As a result the German automaker might have to delay the launch of its planned hybrid SUV.
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- Scott Doggett September 4, 2008, 4:39 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Daimler, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Plug-ins and Electric, Smart, Tesla
September 3, 2008
A top executive at Nissan Motor Co. says the automaker is developing a plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle, according to a Website that covers Japanese corporate news.
The report, posted by JCNnetwork Tuesday, quotes Nissan Vice President Mitsuhiko Yamashita. No further details were provided.
Yamashita effectively reiterated the ambitious electric-vehicle plans of Japan's No. 3 automaker. Green Car Advisor reported on those plans in detail less than a month ago.
Yamashita's remarks underscore how suddenly the automaker has embraced electric vehicles. Only three years ago, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn called battery-powered vehicles "niche products."
Today, Nissan, Toyota and other automakers are in a race to be first to bring affordable electric cars to U.S. showrooms.
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- Scott Doggett September 3, 2008, 2:07 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- EV
, Hybrid, Nissan Electric Vehicles
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
and John O'Dell, Senior Editor
General Motors has reaped a ton of publicity from its Chevrolet Volt, a car with a grid-charged battery pack that will power an electric motor and an on-board gasoline engine that will generate electricity to keep the electric motor running and recharge the batteries when the initial plug-in charge is depleted.
Often missed in all the high-voltage buzz is that Ford Motor Co. showed a concept car with essentially the same system during the same January 2007 Detroit Auto Show at which the Volt took its bows.
Now comes word that Ford's Japanese subsidiary, Mazda, is putting its zoom into development of a Volt competitor of its own.
The British blog autocar says it has "learned that Mazda engineers are hard at work trying to develop a rival to the Chevrolet Volt -- a car which uses a petrol engine to charge a battery pack which powers the wheels via an electric motor."
High-ranking sources at Mazda, autocar reports, "say that trials are currently underway in Japan, with a prototype that uses a rotary engine to charge the battery pack. The tests are sufficiently advanced that Mazda has a working prototype in a Mazda 5 MPV bodyshell. Company bosses are said to be keen to put this system into production but no firm decisions will be made until the cost of batteries is reduced.
"In the meantime the company will concentrate on simpler green technologies. The first stop-start Mazda will go on sale in Japan next year and the system is expected to be rolled out globally on a variety of models."
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- Scott Doggett September 3, 2008, 3:01 AM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, Batteries, Chevrolet, Diesel, Flex-Fuel, Ford, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Mazda, Plug-ins and Electric, Volvo
- Technorati Tags:
- Chevrolet Volt
, Chevy Volt, E-Flex, Electric Vehicle, Ford, Fuel Cell, General Motors, GM, Hydrogen, HySeries Drive, Mazda, PHEV, Plug-In
September 2, 2008
Daimler Group hasn't yet announced whether it will offer electric Smart ForTwos in the U.S., but that doesn't stop the German automaker from shoveling photos of the cute little plug-ins into the email boxes of autowriters across America.
Here are three that arrived today. We post them because we're certain some of our readers are already yearning for their own Smart ED -- for electric drive, as they are called in Europe -- even one in neon green.
Daimler currently has a first-generation fleet of 100 all-electric Smart cars being tested in England, and this little bugger is likely part of the herd. Also under study are public chargers, including the one pictured here.
As we reported recently, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche has announced that Mercedes-Benz will begin selling an all-electric version of its Smart car in Europe in 2010.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
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- Scott Doggett September 2, 2008, 4:20 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Daimler, Fuel Economy, Mercedes-Benz, Plug-ins and Electric, Smart
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Chrysler co-president Jim Press, the carmaker's self-described "demand" man charged with developing a product line people actually want to buy, says that despite its image, the company isn't stuck in the performance-car track and is well on the way to launching a full slate of "green" vehicles.
In addition to gas-electric hybrid models of the Chrysler Aspen
(left) and Dodge Durango SUVs just hitting dealer showrooms and a hybrid Dodge Ram pickup due next year, Chrysler engineers are testing a trio of hybrid and all-electric models with componments that are "near" market-ready, Press said.
Speaking to a group of automotive journalists and industry insiders in Los Angeles today, Press -- former head of Toyota's ultra-successful U.S. sales and marketing operation -- said that while a slimmed-down Chrysler will not abandon the Hemi V8s, hulking trucks and off-road vehicles it is known for, it is also looking at ways to boost fuel economy and, eventually, offer plug-in hybrid and battery-electric versions of many of its models.
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- John O'Dell September 2, 2008, 2:35 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Chrysler, Daimler, Dodge, Fuel Cell, Fuels & Technologies, Hydrogen, Jeep, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Chrysler Green Vehicles
, Chrysler Plug-In Hybrids, Jim Press
August 29, 2008
Right, Toyota's E-Com electric vehicle.
Five years after putting the kabosh on its rechargeable RAV4 all-electric SUV, Toyota Motor Corp. announced today that it's back in the EV game, developing a plug-in electric-powered commuter car.
Japan's largest automaker also said that it intends to speed up testing of plug-in Prius hybrids, which will contain the latest advances in battery technology.
The all-electric car will be "mass-produced'' in the early 2010s, President Katsuaki Watanabe said today in Tokyo without elaborating. Tests of rechargeable Priuses, previously set for 2010, were moved up to late 2009. Currently available Priuses can operate on electricity and gasoline but cannot be plugged in.
The move to develop an electric vehicle now reflects rising demand for fuel-efficient cars amid high gas prices. It also means Toyota will bring its plug-in EV to market in late 2010, which is just about the time General Motors intends to begin shipping its plug-in Chevrolet Volt to dealers.
Plug-in hybrids can be recharged using a household outlet. Current hybrids capture power from braking when the vehicles are in motion and rely on an onboard gasoline engine to generate electricity for the battery pack and electric motor or to supply power directly to the wheels as needed, but their batteries cannot be recharged from an outlet.
Toyota's rechargeable Prius will use lithium-ion batteries, an advance over the nickel-metal hydride versions in existing hybrids.
Rechargeable Priuses with extra nickel-metal batteries are now being tested in California and Japan, with a range of about 7 miles on battery power alone. Toyota estimates the new plug-ins will be able to travel 10 miles on a charge.
"We'll be studying the range, but think we'll need more than that for a consumer version,'' Toyota spokesman John Hanson told Bloomberg news service today in an interview from Tokyo. "Non-consumer fleets'' such as utilities will use the vehicles, Hanson said.
GM wants the Volt to have at least 40 miles of all-electric range before relying on a gasoline engine to generate electricity for the Volt's electric motor.
Toyota is building on its own experiments with all-electric vehicles, including testing fleets of E-Com electric minicars in Japan. To meet California air-quality regulations, it leased electric versions of its RAV4 small SUV (above, left) about a year ending in early 2003. Many of the vehicles can still be seen on roads in the Golden State.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
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- Scott Doggett August 29, 2008, 4:35 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
The
Financial Times Germany reported today that Daimler has picked U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Motors to provide batteries for a 150-car test fleet of battery-powered Smart cars.
The Smart EVs, which will be made in England and sent to Berlin and other cities for testing, will contain lithium-ion batteries capable of propelling the cars 90 miles between charges.
The article also reports that Daimler has teamed with RWE, a major German utility, to install 500 charging stations throughout the German capital. Daimler will eventually expand the test fleet to 1,000 cars, the newspaper said.
Daimler did not immediately return calls seeking confirmation. Tesla's Darryl Siry declined to comment on the story at this time, but Tesla is no stranger to electric Smart cars.
We
reported back in March that the company had a battery-powered Smart at its facility and speculated then that Tesla might have been angling for a conversion deal with the San Fransicsco-area Smart dealer.
Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsche told another German newspaper recently that Mercedes-Benz will release an all-electric version of its Smart car in 2010.
Zetsche declined to discuss vehicle price, in part because Daimler has not decided yet whether or not to manufacture the electric motors itself.
Daimler currently has a first-generation fleet of 100 all-electric Smart cars being tested in London.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
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- Scott Doggett August 29, 2008, 11:39 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Daimler, Energy Companies, Fuel Economy, Mercedes-Benz, Plug-ins and Electric, Tesla
- Technorati Tags:
- Daimler
, Smart, Tesla
August 28, 2008
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said Thursday that GM will have production versions of the Chevrolet Volt working in a large test fleet by late 2009.
Until now the General -- the automaker, not "Maximum Bob" -- has stated that the Volt would not enter production until 2010.
It's possible GM announced its accelerated Volt production schedule in response to Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe's statement earlier Thursday that Toyota will advance delivery of its plug-in hybrid to fourth quarter 2009 from 2010. The Volt is due in showrooms in late 2010.
But Lutz, speaking at an event in Illinois, told reporters he expects Toyota's plug-in will debut in controlled fleets only and in small numbers. He said GM will have production versions of the Volt working in a large test fleet before the end of next year.
Lutz said the Volt's lithium-ion batteries can take it 40 to 50 miles on a single charge. If a driver stays within that range, the car would never use gasoline. To go farther, the gas engine would come on to recharge the batteries.
Toyota has not released an electric-only range for its plug-in hybrid, which operates similar to its current Prius model by using both gasoline and electricity to propel the vehicle.
Lutz said such hybrids generally have a short electric-only range.
"After eight or 11 miles it reverts to being a completely normal gasoline-electric hybrid, which means you get about a 25-30 percent fuel savings, but the point is they do burn fuel," he said.
Lutz played down the fact that the Volt will also be dependent on gasoline once its batteries have been discharged. Although Chevy and Toyota's plug-ins have distinctly different architectures, it will be possible to compare the amount of gasoline displaced by electricity in each vehicle once Toyota provides mileage data for its plug-in.
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- Scott Doggett August 28, 2008, 6:07 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Chevrolet, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Bob Lutz
, Chevrolet Volt, General Motors, GM, Hybird, PHEV, Plug-In Hybrid Elevtric Vehicle, Toyota
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
A Northern California Toyota dealership has become the first business to accept deposits for factory-direct plug-in Priuses.
Magnussen's Toyota of Palo Alto started accepting $500 deposits for plug-in Priuses two weeks ago and as of this morning had accepted 25 of them, according to Eric Doebert, business development manager for the dealer.
That development has occurred despite the fact that the automaker has repeatedly told the press that it will limit production to 400 of the vehicles during or before 2010 and that those vehicles will be for fleet evaluation only.
In other words, while some government and commercial fleets may contain plug-in Priuses in 2010, retail sales -- plug-in Priuses for the general public -- won't begin until sometime after 2010.
That's what Toyota has been telling reporters, but it's possible the automaker has said something different to its dealers. Doebert says that's exactly what's happened.
"There is no official word that we have as a dealer regarding exactly what is going to happen," he told Green Car Advisor today. "We've heard different things. Nothing concrete. However, we are very confident that we'll have retail units in 2010.
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- Scott Doggett August 28, 2008, 12:16 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Electric Vehicle
, Magnussen's Toyota of Palo Alto, Plug-in Hybrid, Plug-in Prius
August 27, 2008
Flint, Michigan -- the city made famous by a Michael Moore documentary about the devastating financial and emotional hits the city suffered as General Motors laid off thousands of workers there while reaping record profits -- has agreed to give GM millions of dollars in tax incentives if the automaker builds an engine plant for the Chevrolet Volt in the poverty-sticken community.
GM asked for the tax breaks to help support its $359 million investment in a new plant where workers will build 1.4-liter turbo engines for the Volt plug-in hybrid, as well as GM's new compact car, the Chevy Cruze. The proposed 500,000-square-foot facility, which would be built near Flint Engine South and Flint Truck, would retain about 300 jobs.
The automaker plans to begin production of the Volt in late 2010.
GM's request for incentives, approved Monday by the Flint City Council, stirred unease among some residents in GM's birthplace, where thousands of jobs have been eliminated over the years.
"A lot of people still feel ... General Motors owes us more than just a couple hundred jobs," Councilman Jim Ananich said the other day, according to an article in The Detroit News. "But as competitive as the market is and the trouble General Motors is having, we have to help them with whatever we can do to keep them competitive."
The city extended an existing abatement of 100 percent of the personal property taxes until 2033 and granted GM a 50-percent, 15-year abatement of real property taxes.
The City Council also approved a GM redevelopment plan for the proposed engine plant that makes GM eligible for state tax credits. The automaker is further seeking billions of dollars in low-interest loans from Congress to develop fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Volt, and GM is lobbying Congress for a $7,000 federal tax rebate for Volt buyers.
The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that a whopping 35.5 percent of Flint residents live in poverty, with more than one in every three Flint residents out of work.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
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- Scott Doggett August 27, 2008, 6:30 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Chevrolet, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Chevrolet Volt
, Fuel Economy, General Motors, GM, PHEV, Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle
We came across a recently publiched spy photo that purports to show a slice of the driver's side of the 2010 Toyota Prius interior.
If that's what it really is, Toyota is definately ratcheting things up with its 4th generation hybrid, due to make its inaugural public in January at the Detroit Auto Show.
The photo of the new interior (above left), published on the World Car Fans site, shows a car with sportier bucket seats and steering wheel than the 2008 model (right).
The new model's dash is sleeker, with a one piece center stack and console and -- first for a Prius -- a console-mounted shift lever.
Based on other published reports, we can say with some degree of certainty that the new interior will fit into a car that looks a lot like the present Prius, although it likely will be a bit wider, a tad shorter and maybe just a teensy bit taller.
The 2010 model also is expected to boast a larger gas engine -- maybe 1.8 liters versus 1.5 liters now -- and a more powerful electric motor for quicker acceleration, better cruising speed and, with an improved nickle-metal hydride battery pack, slightly longer all-electric range at low speeds.
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- John O'Dell August 27, 2008, 2:55 AM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, Batteries, Fuels & Technologies, Hybrid, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- 2010 Toyota Prius
, Detroit Auto Show, Prius Interior
August 20, 2008
The race to develop advanced lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles took an expected turn today, with German parts supplier Bosch and Korean electronics giant Samsung announcing they have received all regulatory approvals to launch a joint venture to develop the batteries.
The joint venture will be headquartered in Korea and bear the name SB LiMotive Co. Bosch and Samsung each own 50 percent of the new company.
The company's objective, Bosch and Samsung said in a statement, is to "series-manufacture highly efficient lithium-ion batteries customized to automotive requirements and to market them worldwide from 2011."
Samsung has extensive experience developing lithium-ion batteries for a broad range of non-automotive applications, including notebook computers, power tools and mobile handsets.
Bosch will contribute the experience it has gained in recent few years with its "Project House Hybrid," which focused on power electronics, battery management, electrical engines and transmission systems.
The development of new, advanced lithium-ion batteries is widely regarded as the last big obstacle separating a world in which the vast majority of vehicles are gasoline powered and a world predominated by gas-electric hybrids and pure electric vehicles.
SB LiMotive enters an increasingly competitive market. Among the companies that are working on advanced lithium-ion batteries are Mitsubishi, Honda, Sanyo, LG Chem, Compact Power, A123 Systems, Continental, General Motors, and Johnson Controls-Saft.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
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- Scott Doggett August 20, 2008, 5:07 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
If you've been following the price rumors swirling around the Chevy Volt, you've heard guestimates ranging from $25,000 to $50,000.
This week, General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner told talk-show host Charlie Rose that the plug-in gas-electric hybrid will likely sell for about $35,000 to $39,000.
Starting a little more than 32 minutes into the interview with Rose, Wagoner says:
"We initially hoped we could get it for a very, very good price, let's say below $30,000. It's going to be more expensive than that for the first couple of years. Haven't finalized it ... but it'll be in the mid- to high-thirties is my best guess."
Later on, Wagoner said that "for something like the Volt, we'd be looking for a significant subsidy" from the government on the demand side, meaning a tax credit for initial Volt buyers.
If by "significant" Wagoner is referring to the $7,000 tax credit GM has been lobbying Congress for, initial buyers who live in states without a sales tax might be able to get a Volt for less than $30,000.
But whether the base price for the Volt will fall in the mid- to high-thirties remains to be seen.
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- Scott Doggett August 20, 2008, 12:48 PM
- Categories:
- Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen
- Technorati Tags:
- Charlie Rose
, Chevrolet Volt, Chevy Volt, GM, PHEV, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle, Rick Wagoner
Hyundai Motor Co. has long talked about introducing a hybrid for the North American market, but until now has not offered any detail.
But in Michigan during a media event today, Hyundai Motor America product development chief John Krafcik pulled the wraps off the South Korean automakers U.S. hybrid plan.
The car, a lithium-ion battery-powered version of the sonata sedan, will hit the market here "as early as" 2010, Krafcik said.
A prototype model is expected to start testing late this year.
He said the Hyundai hybrid would use "cutting edge" lithium-ion batteries, but didn't provide details about chemistry, weight, power or energy capacity.
Krafcik did say, however, that the Sonata hybrid would not be a plug-in.
Hyundai previously said it will introduce a hybrid version of its compact Avante in the Korean and other asian and possibly European markets in 2009.
That car is expected to use liquefied petroleum gas rather than gasoline to fuel its internal combustion engine.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
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- John O'Dell August 20, 2008, 12:09 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Hybrid, Hyundai
- Technorati Tags:
- Avante
, Hybrid, Hyundai, Lithium Ion Battery, Sonata
August 19, 2008
You know the times they are a-changin' when a battery maker and a racecar manufacturer team up to market specialized lithium-ion batteries to power plug-in hybrid electric race cars.
And that is exactly what Lithium Technology Corp. of Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, and Hybrid Racing AG of Walchwil, Switzerland, have done.
They announced their decision yesterday after concluding "that there is an immediate need for LTC's unique and innovative products in the advanced motor sports world," the companies said in a joint statement.
The decision follows the companies' successful work on the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle shown above, which is powered by a 3.3-liter V8 bi-turbo gas engine and a 100-kilowatt electric motor hooked up to a 9-kilowatt battery pack made by LTC.
The battery pack is charged prior to races and recoups energy from braking. The electric range of the vehicle is about 31 miles, after which onboard gasoline fuels the V8. Click here to watch a video of the racecar in action.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
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- Scott Doggett August 19, 2008, 11:45 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Plug-ins and Electric
We hope GM doesn't release the Chevy Volt to dealers as slowly as it is dribbling out information about it.
The latest teaser, from GM battery guru Denise Gray, is that the lithium-ion battery pack for the extended range electric car (also called a plug-in hybrid, and both terms are correct) will weigh-in at about 400 pounds, have fewer than 300 cells and pack 16 kilowatt hours of energy.
Gray, director of hybrid energy systems for General Motors Corp., divulged the info during last weeks Management Briefing Seminars sessions in Traverse City, Mich.
She said the T-shaped pack will take six or seven hours to fully charge and is being designed so it can fit into a number of different compact models that GM offers worldwide.
In other Chevrolet Volt news, GM says that tweaks to the car's aerodynamics (it was a all angles and sharp edges in its concept phase, looking quick but delivering the aerodynamics of a refrigerator box) have added almost 7 miles to the distance it can travel on battery power alone.
The company has promised a car that can deliver 40 miles of all-electric driving before the on-board internal combustion generator kicks on.
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- John O'Dell August 19, 2008, 3:00 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Chevrolet, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Chevrolet Volt
, General Motors, GM, Hybrid, Lithium Ion Batteries
August 15, 2008
By Bill Visnic, Senior EditorTRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Despite being a conference that's always expounding some variation on the theme of how the notoriously hidebound auto industry must "change," the Center for Automotive Research's Management Briefing Seminar often is about everything but change.
The annual confab is always held, with religious conviction, in this shamelessly old-school Michigan resort town. I think I stepped on one of Alfred Sloan's cigar butts the other morning on the way into the graying resort hotel that could feature in an episode of TV's '50s-oriented "Mad Men."
Despite the assertions of newfound hipness and corporate enlightenment, keep your head down, as I do, and you'll still gaze upon plenty of tasseled loafers and boat shoes. And that's from the radicals who show up at this supposedly casual gig sans necktie, at least.
But give 'em credit for inviting some environmentalists to the party - at least on Tuesday, the figurative wee hours of this week-long management backslapper before the CEOs dropped in. The result was some pretty good jousting and, in the course of it all, thought-provoking discourse.
Here's a selection favorite factoids, quotes and notes from Traverse City:
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- John O'Dell August 15, 2008, 3:01 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, China, General Motors, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Amory Lovins
, Traverse City
August 14, 2008
UPDATES WITH DESIGN CHANGES
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
In an apparent move designed to maintain public interest in the Chevrolet Volt, General Motors today released two -- and only two -- photos of the production-ready plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
Until now, the public has been seeing photos of the Volt concept that debuted at the Detroit auto show last year. But with the photos of the production-ready front corner (right) and rear, we're getting glimpses of the car as it will appear in dealers' showrooms.
The photos indicate that the General has been smoothing out the concept's angular exterior in an attempt to make the production vehicle more aerodynamical while simultaneously adhering to its original design.
We're pleased GM decided to keep headlights and fog lights that emit cool-blue light. The color bespeaks the electric heart of the Volt, a car GM says will be able to go the first 40 miles after a charge on battery power alone.
The next 400 miles before a recharge is needed require gasoline to power an onboard generator that supplies electricity to the Volt's electric motor.
The rear shot (left) gives us our first look at the Volt's production-ready badge. Below are photos of the concept's front corner and rear for comparison purposes.
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- Scott Doggett August 14, 2008, 10:03 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Chevrolet, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Plug-ins and Electric
August 13, 2008
The sky isn't falling - yet - but North America's battery development infrastructure is - falling behind those of Asia and Europe, that is, according to
Mary Ann Wright, chief executive of the Michigan-based Johnson Controls-Saft battery development venture.
Speaking Tuesday at the annual Management Briefing Seminars for auto industry types in Traverse City, Mich., the former Ford hybrid chief
(right) said North America's battery components supply base is weak and needs investment from government and private sources.
She said that more than 90 percent of the lithium needed for the lithium-ion batteries that will power the next generation of hybrids as well as batter-electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles of the future will come from South American and China because North American production wasn't profitable and has been shut down.
Wright also bemoaned a shortage of engineers in the U.S. capable of working on battery development.
On the bright(er) side, she announced that her company, a partnership of U.S.-based global auto industry supplier Johnson Controls and French battery maker Saft, has been awarded a contact from a consortium of automakers and battery manufacturers and developers to help develop a domestic supply infrastructure.
The U.S. Department of Energy is also involved, providing $8.2 million in funding for the two-year contract.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
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- John O'Dell August 13, 2008, 12:39 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Fuels & Technologies
- Technorati Tags:
- Johnson Controls
, Lithium Ion Batteries, Mary Ann Wright, Saft
Right, a spy shot of the coming hybrid.
A top Honda Motor Co. executive said today that the company's new gas-electric hybrid hatchback be available in April 2009.
The five-passenger hatchback will be priced below the Prius, its prime competitor, as well as the hybrid version of Honda's Civic, Richard Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., said today at the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Mich.
Colliver's comment regarding the vehicle's price confirms our earlier report that the vehicle will be available for less than $20,000. The Civic Hybrid starts at $22,600, while the Prius has a base price of $21,500.
Colliver said Honda wants to make the hybrid affordable to a new generation of buyers, but it is not specifically trying to match Prius sales. Toyota sold more than 181,000 Priuses last year, and so far this year it has sold more than 106,000.
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- Scott Doggett August 13, 2008, 10:17 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Accord
, Civic, Fuel Economy, Fuel Efficient, Honda, Hybrid, Prius, Toyota
Honda's Integrated Motor Assist mild hybrid system (right) would get a boost from new high-power lithium-ion batteries the company could start using for 2010 models.By Bill Visnic, Senior EditorTRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Honda Motor Co. is preparing for an all-new, advanced lithium-ion battery
that will allow its engineers to extend Honda's Integrated Motor Assist
hybrid-electric technology to larger vehicles, a senior company executive told Green Car Advisor during an annual auto-industry conference frequented by heavy-hitters from carmakers' management ranks.
Honda has in the past been non-committal about lithium-ion, but that posture apparently is changing. And Honda recently was linked in lithium-ion talk with Japanese electronics giant and battery developer Sanyo Electric Co.
John German, American Honda's manager of environmental and energy analysis, said the coming lithium-ion battery formula -- the developer of which he wouldn't name -- does not enjoy extra capacity compared with known lithium-ion characteristics. Instead, the new chemistry is targeted at allowing the batteries to charge much more quickly.
This, in turn, will allow for an increased amount of battery capacity that can be assigned to actually powering the motor. And more power means the IMA system can be employed for larger, heavier vehicles.
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- John O'Dell August 13, 2008, 2:47 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Fuels & Technologies, General Motors, Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Honda
, Hybrid, Lithium Ion, Sanyo Electric Co., Traverse City
August 11, 2008
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. announced Monday that it will build a factory to meet an expected fivefold increase in demand for lithium-ion batteries for use in electric vehicles.
The plant will open after April 2009 and have initial output of 200,000 battery cells per year -- enough for 2,000 cars.
Mitsubishi will ramp up capacity to equip 10,000 vehicles "shortly afterward," amid higher hopes for its i MiEV plug-in electric vehicle (below), the company said in a statement. The four-passenger i MiEV, which runs on LEV50 lithium-ion batteries (above right), goes on sale in Japan next summer.
Mitsubishi's new factory will be operated by Lithium Energy Japan, a joint venture with GS Yuasa Corp. and Mitsubishi Corp. It will be located in the western prefecture of Shiga.
Earlier plans had called for GS Yuasa to make the batteries at an existing plant in Kyoto, with annual output for 1,000 vehicles. But the partners decided that a bigger plant was needed to meet growing demand for fuel-efficient cars.
As Green Car Advisor reported last week, the all-electric, zero-emissions i MiEV will be tested in California this year to evaluate a U.S. launch.
The i MiEV is the centerpiece of Mitsubishi's effort to leapfrog Japanese rivals in the green-car race. Lithium-ion batteries are seen as critical to that effort because they are lighter and more powerful than the nickel-metal hydride batteries used in most hybrid and all-electric vehicles today.
Rivals such Nissan Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. also are developing lithium-ion batteries. Nissan has a joint venture with NEC Corp. and plans to start production next year. Toyota is teaming with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. on its own battery technology.
Scott Doggett, Contributor
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- Scott Doggett August 11, 2008, 4:15 PM
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In March we brought you news that Green Car Advisor had spied a pair of electric-powered Smart Fortwos in California and that Smart USA President David Schembri hoped to begin testing a small fleet of Smart EVs here in America sometime next year.
Today we can report that Daimler Group, which owns Smart, is aiming to produce 10,000 electric vehicles by 2012.
"By 2010 we will be very close to series production and aim to start with limited numbers in the hundreds," Thomas Weber, Daimler's director for research and development, said in Stuttgart Saturday. "Our aim is to cover costs by 2010. By 2012 we would be producing around 10,000 units."
Weber said "the next phase in electric car production is equipping the Smart microcars with lithium-ion batteries, with Smart two-seaters and the Mercedes A series coming onto the market the following year."
Daimler research shows that for most European customers 80 percent of their mobility requirement was under 31 miles a day. Weber said Smart electric cars can go 60 miles between charges.
The most promising market is seen as Europe, where environmental concerns are widespread. Weber said Daimler was planning further tests on top of those currently running since last year in London.
"Berlin is very interested, and Paris and Rome would also be possible," he said, but he
