Green Car Advisor
China
November 16, 2009
Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp. has unveiled its first self-developed electric vehicle, joining domestic rivals to tap potential demand for clean-energy cars.
The zero-emissions model, known as the BE701, is capable of going 120 miles between charges and has a top speed of 100 miles an hour, BAIC said in a statement over the weekend.
The company did not provide a timetable for mass production of the plug-in BE701.
BAIC reps disclosed details of a new clean-energy-vehicle development and manufacturing facility it had just set up, involving total investment of $334 million. The funding would come from the government and other sources, the statement said without elaborating.
The facility, just outside Beijing, will be able to make 50,000 electric vehicles and 100,000 hybrid models, it said but did not specify the timetable.
BAIC, a partner of Daimler AG, meanwhile, has set up a company focused on clean-energy vehicles only. It has said it expects to make 20,000-40,000 vehicles a year starting in 2011.
Other domestic automakers, such as Chery Automobile and BYD Co., are also investing in "green" cars.
Chery unveiled in February its self-made electric car, the S19, which it said was capable of going 75 miles between charges and has a top speed of 75 mph.
BYD Auto, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-listed rechargeable battery maker, launched its plug-in hybrid car, the F3DM, in China late last year.
Additionally, BYD has announced plans to ship the e6, an all-electric crossover, to the United States next year. That vehicle go reportedly go 250 miles per charge.
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- Scott Doggett November 16, 2009, 1:37 PM
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- BAIC, BYD, Batteries, Chery, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy
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- BAIC BE701
, BYD, Chery, China, Electric Car, Electric Vehicle, EV
September 25, 2009
In an obvious move to shore up its access to state-of-the-art advanced batteries for electric vehicles, Volkswagen is setting up a joint venture with Varta Microbattery to develop EV power packs, Europe's biggest carmaker said today.
Volkswagen already collaborates with Japan's Toshiba and Sanyo as well as with China's BYD on battery technology.
The announcement comes less than a month after VW presented a prototype of the e-Up! plug-in electric vehicle at the Frankfurt Motor Show with the intention of launching the vehicle in Europe in 2013.
Only days later, VW said it was also planning on introducing a slightly larger electric vehicle in the U.S. The company, which was slow to jump on the EV bandwagon, was quickly forming pacts with battery-makers and announcing bold plans for EV production.
In a statement issued today, VW said the project with Varta aims to undertake research and development of highly advanced and yet cost competitive lithium-ion batteries.
The four-year project still requires approval from German authorities.
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- Scott Doggett September 25, 2009, 12:56 PM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, Batteries, China, Emissions, Plug-ins and Electric, Volkswagen
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- Frankfurt Motor Show
, Lithium-ion, Plug-in EV, Sanyo Electric, Toshiba, Varta, Volkswagen E-Up!
September 24, 2009
General Motors announced today that it will create a laboratory in Shanghai to contribute to technological innovation in a number of automotive-related fields for GM both domestically and on a worldwide basis.
The announcement came less than a month after GM disclosed that its sales in China in the first eight months of this year increased 49.6 percent on an annual basis to 1,111,401 vehicles.
The China Science Lab (pictured) will be the first major laboratory established by a global automaker in China. In a statement, GM said the lab's initial focus will be on research related to advanced propulsion technology and joining technology.
But the lab will also focus on battery cells, megacity safety research, advanced vehicle development, and light materials. It will engage in additional activities in accordance with market conditions and its own research capability as it ramps up.
The lab will also carry out collaborative work with universities and government-run scientific institutions across China. It is expected to employ up to 100 staff during its early stage of operation. No specifics were provided regarding the lab's scheduled construction and opening dates or its cost.
Kevin Wale, president and managing director of the GM China Group, said that through the lab, "we will leverage the country's outstanding research talent together with GM's extensive resources to come up with new innovations for the benefit of vehicle users around the globe."
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- Scott Doggett September 24, 2009, 12:56 PM
- Categories:
- Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, China, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Opel, Plug-ins and Electric, Saab
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- Buick
, Cadillac, Chevrolet, China, Electric Vehicle, EV, General Motors, GM, Hybrid, Jiefang, Opel, Saab, Wuling
September 10, 2009
If it already seems to you that China is positioning itself to exercise substantial control over the green-car market through its natural resources -- and you don't like it -- you're not likely going to like this story one bit.
That's because Bloomberg news service is reporting, and we are relaying, that Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. producer of aluminum, is speaking with unidentified automakers to develop and supply metal for lightweight, energy-efficient vehicles in China as passenger-car sales in that country surge.
"The automobile sector is a strong consumer of aluminum and I believe it will become more so if you combine lightweight and energy efficiency" needs in the future, Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld said today. "There are some companies we're talking to, and that's an area we're seeking to build activities," he said, without giving details.
Passenger-car sales in China soared a record 90 percent last month as tax cuts and subsidies spurred demand, bringing the nation closer to overtaking the U.S. as the world's largest automobile market. Rising vehicle sales in China, as well as building demand, will drive aluminum consumption, Kleinfeld said.
"China is ahead of the curve, and I'm positive of things that are going on," Kleinfeld said while attending the World Economic Forum in Dalian, China.
The Asian nation consumes about seven kilograms of aluminum per capita, compared with 35 kilograms in the U.S., he said, according to Bloomberg. Kleinfeld on Sept. 3 raised Alcoa's forecast for global aluminum consumption because of demand from China.
China's demand will rise 4 percent this year, compared with a previous prediction of no growth, Kleinfeld had said. That changes the company's outlook for global demand to a decline of 5.5 percent from a previous forecast of minus 7 percent.
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- Scott Doggett September 10, 2009, 3:21 PM
- Categories:
- BMW, Batteries, China, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Plug-ins and Electric, Volkswagen
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- BMW
, China, Electric Cars, Electric Vehicles, General Motors, Plug In EV, Volkswagen
August 26, 2009
Beijing is drawing up plans to prohibit or restrict exports of rare earth metals that are produced only in China and play a vital role in cutting edge technology, from hybrid cars and catalytic converters, to superconductors, and precision-guided weapons, according to a reputable British newspaper.
A draft report by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has called for a total ban on foreign shipments of terbium, dysprosium, yttrium, thulium, and lutetium. Other metals such as neodymium, europium, cerium and lanthanum will be restricted to a combined export quota of 35,000 tons a year, far below global needs, The Telegraph reported.
China mines over 95 percent of the world's rare earth minerals, mostly in Inner Mongolia. The move to hoard reserves is the clearest sign to date that the global struggle for diminishing resources is shifting into a new phase. Countries may find it hard to obtain key materials at any price.
Alistair Stephens, from Australia's rare metals group Arafura, told The Telegraph his contacts in China had been shown a copy of the draft -- "Rare Earths Industry Devlopment Plan 2009-2015." Any decision will be made by China's State Council.
"This isn't about the China holding the world to ransom. They are saying we need these resources to develop our own economy and achieve energy efficiency, so go find your own supplies," he said.
Stephens said China had put global competitors out of business in the early 1990s by flooding the market, leading to the closure of the biggest U.S. rare earth mine at Mountain Pass in California -- now being revived by Molycorp Minerals.
New technologies have since increased the value and strategic importance of these metals, but it will take years for fresh supply to come on stream from deposits in Australia, North America, and South Africa. The rare earth family are hard to find, and harder to extract.
Stephens told The Telegraph that Arafura's project in Western Australia produces terbium, which sells for $800,000 a ton. It is a key ingredient in low-energy lightbulbs. China needs all the terbium it produces as the country switches wholesale from tungsten bulbs to the latest low-wattage bulbs that cut power costs by 40 percent.
No replacement has been found for neodymium that enhances the power of magnets at high heat and is crucial for hard-disk drives, wind turbines, and the electric motors of hybrid cars. Each Toyota Prius uses 25 pounds of rare earth elements. Cerium and lanthanum are used in catalytic converters for diesel engines. Europium is used in lasers.
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- Scott Doggett August 26, 2009, 10:09 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, China, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
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- Arafura
, Batteries, China, Electric Vehicle, Hybrid, Lithium Ion, Lithium-ion, Lynas Corp, Mountain Pass
August 24, 2009
China's BYD Auto is finalizing plans for all-electric plug-in vehicle - the e6, pictured - that would be sold in the U.S. next year, roughly a full year ahead of schedule, The Wall Street Journal reported today (subscription required), citing an interview with BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu.
In an interview at a BYD factory in Xian, China, Wang said the company aims to use money from a planned new-share sale in China to help pay for the U.S. push, as well as for a second production line for automotive lithium-ion batteries near BYD's Shenzhen headquarters.
The Journal described the e6 as a five-seat passenger car that can be fully charged in seven to nine hours when plugged into a standard (presumably 110-volt) home outlet.
According to BYD's Website, the e6: can receive a quick charge (presumably from a 220/240-volt outlet) to 50 percent capacity in just 10 minutes; is capable of accelerating from zero to 60 miles an hour in 8 seconds; has a top speed of 100 mph; and can travel 249 miles on a single charge.
The Website also says that four power offerings are planned for the e6: 75 kilowatts (101 horsepower), 75+40 kilowatts (101+54 horsepower), 160 kilowatts (215 horsepower) and 160+40 kilowatts (215+54 horsepower). The "+" signs indicate the presence of two electric motors.
Wang said BYD wants to build up its brand name in the U.S. by offering one of its most advanced cars, the five-seat e6 pictured here, before eventually expanding its offerings.
He said the company plans to pick a specific region within the U.S. and initially market "a few hundred" e6s, priced at slightly more than $40,000, through a small number of dealers.
"In the beginning, our target customers are going to be government agencies, utilities and maybe some celebrities," Wang said, according to the Journal. He added that BYD hopes to enter Europe with a similar strategy in 2011 or later.
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- Scott Doggett August 24, 2009, 1:01 AM
- Categories:
- BYD, Batteries, China, Emissions, Plug-ins and Electric
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- BYD
, BYD Auto, David Sokol, F3DM, Hybrid, Lithium-ion Battery, MidAmerican, Plug-in Electric Vehicle, Wall Street Journal, Warren Buffet, Zero Emission
August 20, 2009
The Washington Post published an interesting electric-vehicle story on August 8 that nearly escaped our radar detection. Nearly but not quite. Here's how it starts:
Coda Automotive employs 41 people. It has a headquarters in Santa Monica, California, but it doesn't have its own factory. It doesn't have its own dealer network. It doesn't have a coterie of designers. Its chief executive, Kevin Czinger, a one-time college football star and former assistant U.S. attorney, has spent most of his career working in finance.
Yet Coda claims it will beat General Motors and other companies to market with an affordable, all-electric automobile built for the average American. This may not be a completely wild-eyed idea. Czinger was recently driving one of the prototypes - a plain-looking but smooth-running sedan [pictured] - around the streets of Washington.
Inspired by the prospect of a new market for electric cars, Coda and other small entrepreneurial companies are tapping into the expertise of others in bids to launch new vehicle brands featuring technology they say will leapfrog the major manufacturers.
The end-around premise of the story isn't something all of us haven't thought of on our own. But if that lead doesn't inspire you to click on the link above, we encourage you to check your pulse, place a 911 call if necessary, and then click on the link to read the rest of the story.
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- Scott Doggett August 20, 2009, 1:19 AM
- Categories:
- China, Coda, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
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- China. Electric Vehicle
, Coda Automotive, Electric Car, General Motors, Hybrid, Washington Post
July 31, 2009
Berkshire Hathaway, a conglomerate holding company chaired by Midwestern moneyman Warren Buffett, has earned $1 billion in paper profits on $230 million the company agreed to invest in Chinese electric-vehicle maker BYD only 10 months ago.
On Thursday, the China Securities Regulatory Commission granted approval for the transaction, which gave Berkshire a 9.89 percent stake in BYD. The company's shares closed today at HK$42.90, valuing Berkshire's stake at HK$9.65 billion, or about $1.25 billion.
As we reported last September, Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway, paid $230 million for a 10 percent interest in BYD (Build Your Dreams), reportedly to help push the Chinese company's environmentally friendly automotive technologies.
Since then, shares in the Chinese car and battery maker quintupled.
Berkshire agreed to the stake in BYD three days after deciding to buy $5 billion of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. preferred shares, despite the then-pervasive market turmoil after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s bankruptcy.
Warrants attached to the Goldman investment have since generated a $2 billion paper profit for Berkshire.
Buffett is the world's second-richest person, after Microsoft Corp. co-founder and Berkshire director Bill Gates, according to Forbes magazine.
Founded in Shenzhen in 1995 as a maker of rechargeable batteries, BYD expanded into mobile phones and electric and hybrid automobiles such as the one pictured above.
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- Scott Doggett July 31, 2009, 11:14 AM
- Categories:
- BYD, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Plug-ins and Electric
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- Berkshire Hathaway
, BYD, China, Electric Car, Electric Vehicle, Warren Buffett
July 2, 2009
Hundreds of solar panels contribute up to 40 kilowatts directly into the Auriga Leader's electrical system
.
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
The Auriga Leader, the first pure car carrier partly powered by solar energy, called on the Port of Long Beach Wednesday to unload a cargo consisting chiefly of Toyota Priuses (pictured right).
Rising more than seven stories out of blue-green water, the ship sported 328 solar panels affixed to the top deck to offset diesel fuel consumption and reduce air pollution.
The 656-foot, 60,000-ton vessel can carry more than 6,200 cars at a time and regularly does so, transporting Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles from Toyota Motor Co. factories in Japan to this port 24 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, under a clear blue Southern California sky, Captain Eugen State (pictured
) told Green Car Advisor
that on this trip some 60 percent of the vehicles aboard his ship were third-generation Priuses - a fact he said with pride.
While Toyota on Wednesday reported a 32 percent plunge in June-over-May sales overall, demand for the spunky hybrid actually rose 10 percent for the same period and its second-quarter sales outperformed first-quarter figures by more than 51,000 vehicles.
But enough about the car. On this day the news at Toyota's 144-acre spread at the Port of Long Beach was the seaworthy car-mover, not the cargo. Pure car carriers are notorious for fouling air while docked, and the world's biggest automaker was doing something about it.
In the seven months since the Auriga Leader was fitted with solar panels, the first vessel in its class to utilize solar technology to add electricity to its grid - as opposed meeting a particular need, such as powering a ship's low-watt lighting - curbed its thirst for diesel by an estimated six tons, State told us.
State emphasized that the panels constituted an experiment to see if such a system would work effectively aboard a car carrier. So far, so good, State said, adding that not a single problem had arisen since the panels were installed last December.
"She may be the first of her kind," he said, "for sure, she will not be the last."
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- Scott Doggett July 2, 2009, 1:16 AM
- Categories:
- China, Courts, Diesel, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Solar, Tesla
- Technorati Tags:
- Air Pollution
, Auriga Leader, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Solar Energy, Solar Power, Toyota Motor Co., Toyota Prius
June 25, 2009
UPDATE: GM denies this report.
General Motors will build the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car in China beginning in 2011 as part of the automaker's plan to roll out its revolutionary technology in a wide variety of vehicles around the world, AutoBeat Asia (subscription required) reports today.
All Volts built in China are to be sold there, according to the newsletter.
But the Volt's chief spokesperson, Rob Peterson, in an email sent to Green Car Advisor minutes ago, wrote:
"The Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera will be produced at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant. There are currently no plans to build the Chevrolet Volt outside of the United States at this time. (Note: Volt launches late 2010 in U.S., Ampera launches in caledar year 2011, Volts produced in D-Hamtramck are exported to China in calendar year 2011.)"
Outside the U.S., the Volt will be marketed as the Holden Volt, the Opel Ampera and the Vauxhall Ampera.
As we've previously reported, the Chinese government is aggressively promoting electric and hybrid vehicles as a way to reduce oil consumption and improve air quality in the country's polluted cities. So AutoBeat Asia's report wasn't far-fetched, even if it proved to be wrong.
China wants to have 60,000 alternative-fuel vehicles on the road by 2012, up from virtually none today. Most of the vehicles will be hybrids, but the government is eager to promote pure electric vehicles.
Earlier this year, China's BYD Auto brought its Volt-like plug-in hybrid electric vehicle to the Detroit Auto Show, beating the local automakers to market by a year or more.
Fortunately for the Detroit 3, BYD's market right now is limited to China, and after the company unveiled its F3DM PHEV to North America. BYD has since announced that it doesn't intend to export the vehicle to America until 2011.
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- Scott Doggett June 25, 2009, 11:14 AM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, BYD, Chevrolet, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- BYD
, Chevrolet Volt, China, Detroit, General Motors, Hybrid
June 8, 2009
Connecticut-based Yardney Technical Products Inc. and California-based Coda Automotive announced today that they have entered into a joint venture, Coda Battery Systems LLC, to design, make and sell automotive grade lithium-ion battery power systems in the U.S.
Coda Battery Systems has submitted a proposal under the Recovery Act stimulus grant program to the Department of Energy for funding to build a manufacturing facility in Enfield, Connecticut, that would employ about 600 people.
Oddly, not a one of the four people authorized to discuss the announcement was available to answer some key questions, such as "how much money is the joint venture seeking?" and "what will become of the JV if it doesn't receive a grant?"
According to a statement issued by the JV, the 600-person workforce would develop a battery that could be used in the four-door, all-electric Coda Automotive sedan (pictured) that the company says is scheduled for delivery to the California market in the fall of next year.
If realized, the vehicle would be the product of a joint venture between Coda Automotive and China-based Tianjin Lishen Battery Co., one of largest suppliers of lithium-ion batteries in the world.
If Coda Battery Systems receives an Energy Department grant - and the department is expected to begin announcing recipients next months - the company will begin supplying the power battery system for the Coda sedan as soon as the new U.S. facility can be brought online.
"It is anticipated that Lishen, Coda's battery partner in China, will participate in the U.S. manufacturing joint venture," the statement said.
That China would benefit, albeit indirectly, for Energy Department money is OK under the Recovery Act. What's important for grant eligibility is that the jobs be located in the U.S.
Based in Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Yardney has been providing batteries for the U.S. military since 1944. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Coda Automotive is said to be safety and durability testing its all-electric, zero-emissions highway sedan.
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- Scott Doggett June 8, 2009, 4:50 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, China, Coda, Emissions
- Technorati Tags:
- Battery Manufacturing
, Coda Automotive, Department of Energy, Lithium Ion Batteries, Recovery Act, Yardney
June 3, 2009
Magna International Inc. is prevented by an agreement with General Motors Corp. from selling Opel cars in the United States and, for now, in China, according to the chairman of the Canadian auto parts company.
That's significant because Opel has a number of low-emissions, fuel-efficient vehicles in its lineup and more in the works, including the one pictured here.
"The agreement with General Motors does prevent us from selling Opel in the United States," Frank Stronach told reporters at a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday. A Magna-led consortium has agreed to buy European automaker Opel from GM.
Asked if the agreement applies to China too, he said, "Yes, for the moment, but keep in mind that General Motors - we've been working together for 50 years, we've been great partners, and they still own 35 percent (of Opel)."
He suggested the prohibition on Opel sales in China might be flexible. "If it makes economic sense you might persuade people to change something."
Stronach also said he expects Opel to break even in three years, and to turn a profit in four.
Magna's chairman was in the Canadian capital to seek government funding for a project to produce electrical systems for electric cars and, eventually, electric cars themselves.
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- Scott Doggett June 3, 2009, 12:21 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Opel, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Electric Car
, Electric Vehicle, Fuel Efficient, General Motors, Low Emissions, Magna, Opel
May 28, 2009
Most Americans likely expect the price of gasoline to one day reach the record highs we saw last summer. The question is not so much will the price soar again, but rather when will it.
According to the Energy Information Administration's 2009 outlook report released today, oil prices will return to $110 per barrel in 2015 and could go up to $200 per barrel in 2030, depending on supply
You'll recall that the nationwide price for a gallon of regular unleaded topped $4 when the barrel price of oil reached $147. But with taxes on gasoline expected to rise, the per-gallon price of gasoline will likely be significantly higher than $4 when the barrel price of oil revisits $147.
World energy consumption - the driving force behind higher gasoline prices - is forecast to increase by 44 percent from 2006 to 2030, the report says, with almost two-thirds of that coming from developing countries and fossil fuels that continue to dominate energy supply.
Developing countries are projected to increase demand by 73 percent by 2030 in the outlook's base reference case - EIA's analysis under current laws and policies - whereas developed countries will grow by 15 percent, the report says.
Liquids, including biofuels, will reportedly continue to be the primary energy source in the world's transportation sector unless there are "significant technological advances" and despite several policy changes.
Unconventional resources such as oil sands and biofuels will become increasingly competitive, accounting for about 13 percent of the world's liquid supply by 2030, according to the report.
The U.S. in particular will see an increase in biofuels, mostly in advanced cellulosic rather than corn-based ethanol, acting Administrator Howard Gruenspecht said at the report's release event in Washington.
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- Scott Doggett May 28, 2009, 9:21 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, China, Diesel, Energy Companies, Legislation, Natural Gas, Oil
- Technorati Tags:
- Biofuels
, Energy Information Administration, Gasoline Tax, Global Warming, Legislation, Oil Prices
April 23, 2009
AutomotiveWorld.com reports that General Motors Corp. and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group (SAIC) have extended their partnership to include the launch of SAIC's Shanghai Brand Fuel Cell Vehicle, which is powered by GM's latest fourth-generation fuel cell propulsion technology.
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SAIC will use the same fuel cell system that powers GM's fuel-cell electric Equinox.
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The report says that the SAIC vehicle will use the same GM-developed 700 bar (10,000 psi) high-pressure hydrogen fuel cell system used in the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell. The ten fuel cell vehicles to be built will be used by GM and SAIC to shuttle guests to and from the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.
AutomotiveWorld quotes GM Group Vice President and Asia Pacific President Nick Reilly as saying that the vehicles "will be featured in the most extensive fuel cell demonstration program ever conducted in China.This follows the government's call for the creation of a sustainable transportation system."
Reilly also is quoted as saying that the partnership is "in line with our overall strategy of in China, with China, for China."
Fuel-cell cars and SUVs convert hydrogen and oxygen to electricity through an onboard electro-chemical reaction. The electricity is then used to power the vehicles' drive motors.
Early in 2008, Chevrolet launched a test fleet of about 100 hydrogen-powered Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles that are on the road in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Southern California.The fleet is part of "Project Driveway," which GM bills as "the first large-scale market test of fuel cell vehicles with real drivers in the real world."
Greg Johnson, Contributor
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- Greg Johnson April 23, 2009, 2:45 AM
- Categories:
- China, China, Fuel Cell, General Motors, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Chevrolet Equinox
, Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle, General Motors Corp, Hydrogen Fuel Cell, Shanghai Automotive
April 22, 2009
The Imotor
website suggests that the Brilliance EV (right) "might just be the most interesting concept car" at the Shanghai Auto Show.
Paul Lienert, a correspondent for Edmunds' Inside Line described Shenyang-based Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd.'s EV as a welcome surprise - "a four-passenger, battery-powered people mover called the Brilliance EV."
Here's what Inside Line has to say about the concept vehicle:
"Based on the compact Junjie FRV platform and said to be under consideration for future production, the Brilliance EV is a plug-in electric with two motors, rated at 30 horsepower and 63 hp, respectively, with combined torque of 133 pound-feet. Brilliance says the van-like EV has a top speed of around 80 mph and a range of nearly 95 miles with its lithium-ion battery pack.
The EV can be quick-charged in 30 minutes, although a full charge from a standard 220-volt outlet takes up to eight hours.
Features include dual power sliding side doors and a GPS navigation system."
Greg Johnson, Contributor
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- Greg Johnson April 22, 2009, 12:04 PM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, China, China, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Brilliance Automotive
, Electric Car, Electric Car Batteries, Shanghai Auto Show
April 20, 2009
Porsche - true to its word
- has unveiled the production version of the Panamera, its fourth model and its first four-door car, at China's premier auto show in Shanghai.
We're telling you about them because there's a little bit of green tech on board each: The engines are direct-injected for more efficient use of fuel and are equipped with start/stop systems that will shut them down at full stop, when they otherwise would be idling and pumping out C02 and other greenhouse gases as well as a few smog-causing emissions.
In addition, all three models will come with a seven-speed Porsche double-clutch gearbox (in German that's a dopplekupplungsgetriebe) that adds a few more percent to engine fuel efficiency.
Reuters news service reports that the base model 2010 Porsche Panamera is expected to get combined city-highway fuel economy of 26 miles a gallon on the European test cycle. We figure that would equate to somewhere around 21 mpg in the U.S. rating system.
Porsche says a V6 version of the Panamerica will follow late next year, with a hybrid model sometime after that.
The automaker figures to sell the car everywhere but chose China for the unveiling because it sees that emerging economy as particularly fruitful, with China's new moneyed classes more likely than economically depressed North American and European buyers to flock to the big sports sedan (not that China isn't having its own run of economic downturn).
When the car goes on sales there in January 2010 (four months after its September launch in Europe and three after it a North American launch in October) it certainly will carry a premium price: triple the U.S. sticker according to Reuters news service.
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- John O'Dell April 20, 2009, 2:00 AM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, China, Porsche
- Technorati Tags:
- 2010 Porsche Panamera
, Shanghai Auto Show
April 9, 2009
Add Nissan to the list of automakers (including Chongqing Changan Auto, BYD, Brilliance, Chery, Dongfeng and SAIC) that are intent upon plugging into the rough-and-tumble Chinese market for hybrid-electric and battery-electric cars.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Nissan is negotiating with China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to create a pilot electric-vehicle program in Wuhan, a city in central China with nine million residents.
The deal is unusual, the Journal reports, because Beijing typically doesn't forge such partnerships with foreign companies. The newspaper reported that the deal, which calls for Nissan to contribute cars and help create a recharging network, could be completed as soon as Friday.
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- Greg Johnson April 9, 2009, 11:49 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, BYD, Chery, China, China, Dongfeng, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Natural Gas, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Chinese Hybrids
, Electric Vehicles, Legislation, Nissan
April 8, 2009
It would take a heck of a lot of advanced-technology batteries for President Obama to fulfill his campaign promise to put a million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015.
Unfortunately, unless the competitive picture changes dramatically, most of those cars would be powered by batteries produced in Asian countries that now dominate the advanced battery manufacturing sector.
With that hard economic reality in mind, Argonne National Laboratory is teaming up with two Kentucky universities to establish a national research and development center that will be charged with transforming the U.S. into a viable contender when it comes to manufacturing tomorrow's high-tech batteries.
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Prius test vehicles at Argonne National Laboratory
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The center that will be located in central Kentucky will be supported by the University of Kentucky and Louisville University. Its not-so-modest goal, as summed up on Wednesday morning by Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear: ramp up domestic production capacity and turn the U.S. into "the hands-down global leader of these technologies."
The center is supposed to make it easier for federal laboratories, university researchers, manufacturers, suppliers and end-users to collaborate on technologies that can be commercialized.
Many experts believe that advanced battery design and manufacturing could become as strategically important to the global economy as oil is today. But the U.S. has reduced itself to a bit player when it comes to manufacturing increasingly high-tech batteries that will be needed to reduce global dependence on oil and cut tailpipe emissions.
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- Greg Johnson April 8, 2009, 12:22 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, China, China, Fuels & Technologies, Hybrid, Hybrid Technologies, Legislation, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
- Technorati Tags:
- Argonne National Laboratory
, China, Legislation, Lithium Ion Batteries, Louisville University, Plug In Electric Vehicles, University of Kentucky
February 23, 2009
Chery Automobile has unveiled its first self-developed plug-in electric vehicle, the S18, and the Chinese automaker has rival BYD squarely in its sights.
This news comes courtesy of our sister site, Edmunds.com's Inside Line. According to its report, the zero-emissions S18 is powered by a lithium-ion phosphate battery, can run up to 93 miles on one charge and has a maximum speed of 75 mph.
Chery said the battery can be fully charged in four to six hours using a standard household electrical outlet. Specially designed charging devices let owners get the car 80 percent charged in only 30 minutes.
A Chery official said the model will be on sale in the market within a year, priced at about $14,600. The first vehicles will be provided to government institutions for trial use.
Chery, which launched a prototype hybrid last month that could save up to 10 percent on fuel consumption, also plans to launch a midlevel hybrid this year.
Chinese carmakers are racing to launch new-energy vehicles in the wake of a central government decision to put 60,000 new-energy vehicles on the roads nationwide by 2012. To that end, the government is offering subsidies of up to $36,500 to consumers to encourage them to buy hybrid, electric and fuel-cell vehicles.
Besides Chery, nearly all of China's major automakers have invested heavily in new-energy vehicles. BYD launched the world's first mass-produced hybrid electric vehicle, the F3DM, in December.
Only time will tell which Chinese EV will make it to the U.S. first.
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- Scott Doggett February 23, 2009, 12:05 PM
- Categories:
- BYD, Batteries, Chery, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
- Technorati Tags:
- BYD
, Chery, China, Emissions, EV, Fuel Economy, Inside Line, Lithium-ion, Plug-in Electric Vehicle, S18
February 10, 2009
Marketing executives at Ford Motor Co. call her "Mei," and she is critical to the success of the U.S. auto maker's strategy in China, according to an article in today's Wall Street Journal (sub reqd).
To Ford, Mei, which means "beautiful" in Chinese, represents the twenty-something, college-educated single women who form the bull's eye in its target market in China for the Ford Fiesta (pictured). The compact hatchback is the first in a planned series of cars that the company has designed to sell, with minor variations, in markets around the world.
Connecting with Mei, who earns $880 to $1,500 a month and wants her first car, and persuading her to buy a Fiesta, are increasingly important missions for Ford, as the it tries to offset sagging sales in North America. By unit sales, China is the world's second-largest vehicle market after the U.S., and Ford has struggled here recently.
While overall passenger-vehicle sales in China rose nearly 7 percent last year, sales of Ford brand cars fell 10 percent, according to J.D. Power & Associates. A Ford spokeswoman says the company's sales decline wasn't as sharp as that, according to the Journal.
Ford says it plans to roll out an ad campaign for the Fiesta next month that will be aimed at Mei and her peers. It will largely bypass television and newspapers to catch them where they spend much of their time: online and reading lifestyle magazines.
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- Scott Doggett February 10, 2009, 2:01 AM
- Categories:
- China, Ford
- Technorati Tags:
- 2010 Ford Fiesta
, China
January 12, 2009
China's BYD Auto brought its Chevy Volt-like plug-in hybrid electric vehicle to the Detroit Auto Show, beating the local automakers to market by a year or more.
Fortunately for the Detroit 3, BYD's market right now is limited to China, and after the company unveiled its F3DM PHEV to North America today, it announced that it doesn't intend to export the vehicle to America until 2011.
Is that to give Detroit automakers a chance to catch up? Don't bet on it.
Other than announcing its targeted U.S. launch date, BYD did not divulge any information today that we didn't include in a report last month.
However, Reuters reported today that BYD's chairman said in an interview Sunday that BYD is open to licensing the low-cost ferrous-iron battery in the F3DM. Chairman Wang Chuan-Fu was quoted as saying that BYD has had interest in the battery from Japanese, European and U.S. carmakers.
BYD Auto was founded in 2003 by the BYD Group, which was founded in 1995 to produce batteries. Since then BYD Group has grown from a small factory of 20 employees to a leading global battery-maker employing 130,000 people.
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- Scott Doggett January 12, 2009, 3:33 PM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, BYD, Batteries, Chevrolet, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- BYD F3DM
, Detroit Auto Show, Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle
January 5, 2009
China's BYD Auto will showcase the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid electric vehicle at next week's Detroit auto show, according to a report in China Automotive Review
.
The five-year-old automaker began selling the dual-mode hybrid in China last month -- at least a full year before rivals General Motors and Toyota bring electric-powered vehicles to market. BYD Auto has said it plans to sell the F3DM PHEV in North America in two or three years.
The F3DM, which was unveiled to reporters at BYD's headquarters in Shenzhen last month, can travel 62 miles using only batteries, BYD Auto claims. After that, a 1.0-liter all-aluminum gasoline engine comes on to generate electricity for the vehicle's battery pack, which in turn powers the vehicle's 75-kilowatt electric motor.
The midsize sedan sells for about $21,700. BYD Auto attributes its ability to offer the F3DM at about half the estimated price of GM's comparable Chevrolet Volt PHEV, due out in 2010, to a breakthrough development in battery technology.
Parent company BYD, which is the No. 1 supplier of lithium-ion batteries for cell phones, is now able to produce a high-performance ferrous-based lithium-ion battery on an industrial scale, company Vice President Lian Yubo said.
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- Scott Doggett January 5, 2009, 8:19 AM
- Categories:
- Auto Shows, BYD, Batteries, China, China, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Battery
, BYD Auto, Chevy Volt, Detroit Auto Show, Fuel Efficient, PHEV, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle
December 19, 2008
Gold Peak Industries North America
, a subsidiary of GP Batteries International
, which claims to be the largest rechargeable battery maker outside of Japan, has acquired an equity stake in Plug In Conversions Corp
.
The transaction, announced today, positions the latter to sell its plug-in Toyota Prius conversion kits worldwide and produce kits for hybrids made by other manufacturers.
Under the new strategic partnership, PICC will first expand its U.S. network of certified installers -- the auto dealerships or mechanics using PICC's nickel metal hydride battery kits to convert Toyota Priuses into plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
San Diego-based PICC will then begin to sell the kits wherever GP Batteries sells its products.
"In collaboration with the battery conglomerate's engineers, PICC also plans to make conversion kits for other hybrids made by Toyota and those sold by Ford and GM," Gold Peak and PICC said in a joint statement. "These will also supply an international market."
It will be interesting to see if the partnership is able to carry out this ambitious plan or whether it proves to be so much pie in the sky.
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- Scott Doggett December 19, 2008, 2:36 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- A123 Systems
, Gold Peak Industries North America, GP Batteries International, Hybrid, Plug In Conversions Corp., Plug In Electric Vehicle, Toyota Prius
December 18, 2008
Fourteen U.S. technology companies are joining forces and seeking $1 billion in federal aid to build a plant to make advanced batteries for electric cars, in a bid to catch up to Asian rivals that are far ahead of the U.S., The Wall Street Journal reported today
(subscription required).
----------
GM engineers work on the lithium-ion battery pack for the Chevrolet Volt.
----------
The effort, the latest pitch from corporate America to inject federal dollars into a project, is similar to an alliance that two decades ago helped the U.S. computer-chip industry restore its competitiveness. Participants include 3M Corp. and Johnson Controls Inc.
Many experts believe battery technology and manufacturing capacity could become as strategically important as oil is today. Automakers, including General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., say they plan to roll out plug-in electric cars by 2010.
But the United States has limited capacity to make the lithium-ion batteries those cars will need. Asian producers such as Panasonic Corp. dominate the car-battery field.
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- Scott Doggett December 18, 2008, 10:07 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Chevrolet, China, Energy Companies, Ford, General Motors, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- 3M
, 3M Corp., Argonne National Lab, Battery, China, Department of Energy, Electric Vehicle, Ford Motor Co., General Electric Co., General Motors Corp., Hybrid Vehicle, Johnson Controls Inc., National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Panasonic Corp., Toyota Motor Corp.
December 17, 2008
Ford mustbe delighted with this news: Sales of its 2009 Fiesta -- the first of a generation of new global fuel-efficient cars from the American automaker -- are off to a strong start and gaining market share in Europe.
As you'll no doubt recall, mass production of the Fiesta began at the company's Cologne, Germany, plant in mid-August. In its first two months on sale, Ford has sold more than 42,200 new Fiestas in Europe's main 19 markets despite soft overall industry sales.
Those sales made the new Fiesta the second-most popular vehicle in the Ford of Europe lineup behind the Focus compact. The new and outgoing Fiesta models were the best-selling car in the United Kingdom in November among all models from all automakers.
The strong early sales of the low-emissions Fiesta helped Ford's European operations increase market share in November. It bodes well for the troubled automaker as it prepares to launch the global small car in China in the first quarter of next year and in other key Asian markets and the United States in early 2010.
Overall, Ford sold 95,700 vehicles across its 19 European markets. This was down 21.4 percent versus November 2007, but the company outperformed the industry by increasing its market share to 8.8 percent, up 0.5 percentage points.
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- Scott Doggett December 17, 2008, 2:54 PM
- Categories:
- China, Emissions, Ford, Fuel Economy
- Technorati Tags:
- 2009 Ford Fiesta
, Fuel Efficient, Low Emissions
December 15, 2008
Chinese automaker BYD Co. today unveiled the world's first mass-produced plug-in gas-electric hybrid, with domestic sales to begin this month -- at least a full year before rivals such as Toyota and General Motors bring electric-powered vehicles to market.
The F3DM, which was unveiled to reporters at BYD's headquarters in Shenzhen, can travel 62 miles using only batteries, BYD said in a statement. Though essentially an electric car, the F3DM also has a small gasoline engine that is used to generate electricity if the battery runs dry.
The company, which is China's largest battery maker, said the car will be priced at less than 150,000 yuan, or about $22,000. That's toward the low end of the price range for a typical midsize sedan in China.
The F3DM's batteries can be fully recharged from a regular household outlet in as little as seven hours and 50 percent powered via a quick charge at a specialist station in 10 minutes, BYD said. The car also has a gasoline engine as a backup power source.
BYD began marketing the F3DM to cab operators and other potential fleet customers earlier this month and plans to have the car in showrooms by the end of the year. The company, which expects to sell as many as 10,000 F3DMs in China next year, plans to bring the F3DM to the U.S. market as early as the second half of 2010.
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- Scott Doggett December 15, 2008, 9:40 AM
- Categories:
- BYD, Batteries, Chevrolet, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- BYD F3DM
, Chevy Volt, China, General Motors, Warren Buffet
December 10, 2008
The Criminal Investigation Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched a Website
today to enlist the public's help in tracking down fugitives accused of violating federal environmental laws.
At least three of the fugitives being sought are wanted for offenses close to our heart.
The most heinous of the three is the father-son team of Alessandro and Carlos Giordano, the former owners of Autodelta USA, who were arrested in 2003.
The EPA claims the company illegally imported and sold Alfa Romeos in California that did not meet U.S. emission or safety standards. The two men are believed to be living in Italy.
Also wanted by the feds is Jun Wang, who allegedly discharged fuel from his tanker truck directly into Little Beaver Creek in Kettering, Ohio.
Neither the type of fuel nor information on possible victims were immediately available, but we suspect beavers and/or little beavers may have been involved.
Wang (left) is believed to be living in Shenyang, China.
Information about the EPA's captured fugitives can also be found on the site.
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- Scott Doggett December 10, 2008, 2:56 PM
- Categories:
- Alfa Romeo, China, Courts, Emissions, Fuels & Technologies
- Technorati Tags:
- Alfa Romeo
, China, Court, Emissions, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Fuel
December 9, 2008
Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski's recent sweep through China and Japan appears to have paid dividends for his bold bid to make his state America's primary launching pad for electric cars, according to an article published today by Climate Wire
(subscription required).
Kulongoski (pictured), a two-term Democrat, went to Asia last month with the express purpose of attracting Asian carmakers to Oregon. He returned with a deal in hand from Nissan Motor Co. to provide electric vehicles to the state fleet starting in 2010 and a tentative commitment from a fledgling Chinese company to start a pilot program in Oregon.
And while the deal with Nissan and related talks with Toyota Motor Co. may have won the governor the most press, the meetings with BYD Auto Co., a Chinese battery manufacturer turned electric-car outfit, may ultimately do more to position Oregon as a leader in the low-emission vehicle market.
"We want Oregon to be the launch site for electric cars," Jillian Schoene, a Kulongoski aide who traveled with the governor through Asia and took part in meetings with BYD, told Climate Wire. "These car companies knew that about us before we walked into their door."
BYD, which stands for "Build Your Dreams," is shopping for a U.S. pilot site to roll out its hybrid plug-in sedan, the F3DM, which goes on the market in China in less than two weeks. Oregon could emerge as the ideal test market, given Kulongoski's vision of charging stations every 60 miles on the highway, not to mention Pacific Power's direct connection to the Chinese battery maker.
The utility, based in Redmond, Oregon, is owned by a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, MidAmerican Energy Holdings, which bought a 10 percent stake in BYD this fall for $230 million. That relationship could propel the Portland area past Los Angeles, the other U.S. city in the running for the project.
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- Scott Doggett December 9, 2008, 6:37 PM
- Categories:
- BYD, Batteries, Chevrolet, China, Courts, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Legislation, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- BYD Auto
, Electric Vehicle, Hybrid, Low Emission, Nissan, Oregon, Plug In, Plug-In, Ted Kulongoski, Toyota, Warren Buffet
November 23, 2008
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
Volkswagen's first extreme-conditions test of a fuel-cell vehicle was held in the dead of winter on a high mountain pass in southern Switzerland famous for catastrophic auto accidents caused by brake failures and for small-plane crashes resulting from unscheduled contact with alps.
The chilling test was conducted seven short years ago.
Last weekend, the wagen volks of Wolfsburg allowed a gaggle of auto writers to put two fuel-cell electric vehicles through an extreme-conditions test at latitude 34(degrees)04N, longitude 118(degrees)25W. A place called Beverly. Hills, that is. Swimming pools, movie stars.
In perfect bikini weather, the writers test drove the FCHVs there during brunch--a four-hour span when moms and nannies in sport utility vehicles rule the roads. One of the vehicles was a Touran HyMotion minivan (above), the other a Passat Lingyu sedan (see jump).
A fuel cell SUV--the Tiguan HyMotion--was to undergo testing as well but was a no-show. At least for now it escaped close scrutiny while rolling on Sunset Boulevard, where fender-benders are as common as tummy tucks, but alas the Touran HyMotion and Passat Lingyu did not.
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- Scott Doggett November 23, 2008, 1:29 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, China, Emissions, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Plug-ins and Electric, Volkswagen
- Technorati Tags:
- Alternative Fuel
, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Passat Lingyu, Touran HyMotion, Volkswagen, VW, Zero Emissions
November 17, 2008
Chrysler's plan to bring small, fuel-efficient cars made by China's Chery Automobile Co. to North America may be dead, according to a report in today's Automotive News
(subscription required).
Last year, Tom LaSorda, Chrysler's CEO at the time, touted a deal in which Chery would supply small cars such as the one pictured here to Chrysler.
The two companies were scheduled to start bringing cars to Mexico this year. But now, neither company is talking about the deal. And a source says the program is on hold.
"I wouldn't place much hope on it," a former Chery executive familiar with the Chrysler deal told Automotive News. "Both companies have their own problems to deal with, and both have run out of money."
He said a major obstacle was the substandard quality of Chery's cars. "Chery knows there is no way for these cars to meet the safety and emission standards of the U.S. market in the near future," the former executive said.
Chrysler and Chery never offered a public timetable for the arrival of Chery-made cars in U.S. showrooms. In a May interview with Automotive News, LaSorda said plans for Chery's U.S. debut were having difficulties.
"We need small cars," said LaSorda, who now is Chrysler's co-president. "Chery's cars are still not ready for that exposure into these markets."
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- Scott Doggett November 17, 2008, 11:15 AM
- Categories:
- Chery, China, Chrysler, Emissions, Fuel Economy
- Technorati Tags:
- Automotive News
, Chery, Chrysler, Fuel Efficient
November 13, 2008
Here's some good news for clean diesel fans: China apparently won't be sucking it all up they way it had been consuming the global gasoline supply before everyone's economy collapsed.
----------
In China, diesel is for tractors.
----------
A day after a representative of China's National Development and Reform Commission said that plug-in hybrids and electric cars were key to the future success of the Chinese auto industry, a major trade journal is reporting that the Middle Kingdom's central government doesn't see much future in clean-diesel fueled vehicles.
That fuel "is almost out of the debate," the subscription-only Automotive News China quoted an unnamed member of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology as saying.
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- John O'Dell November 13, 2008, 3:21 PM
- Categories:
- China, Diesel
- Technorati Tags:
- China Clean Diesel
, China Cool to Clean Diesel
November 12, 2008
China's National Development and Reform Commission has urged the mainland's major carmakers to co-operate in making electric cars, while suggesting "incapable" carmakers leave the industry, the South China Morning Post
reported Tuesday (subscription required).
"Hybrid vehicles should be just the transition before local carmakers can manufacture their own electric cars or plug-in hybrids," said Chen Jianguo, a deputy head of the industrial co-ordination department of the NDRC, at a vehicle conference in Tianjin over the weekend.
The central government is considering ways to assist the industry, including subsidies to explore new technology and raising the consumption tax for large gas-engine vehicles, the Post reported.
Chen said it's "possible for the government to give a hand financially if carmakers can hand in good proposals with good quantitative analyses."
At the conference, Science and Technology Minister Wan Gang said the ministry would work with the NDRC and the Finance Ministry to promote hybrid vehicles starting next year. At first, the emphasis will be on the country's public transport, taxis and postal vehicles.
Chen suggested "incapable" carmakers, which are recording low sales or have high inventory and poor distribution networks, should sell off or shut down their business.
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- Scott Doggett November 12, 2008, 9:46 AM
- Categories:
- BYD, Buick, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Buick LaCrosse
, BYD, China, Dongfeng Motor, GM, Great Wall Motor, plug-in hybrid, Toyota Prius
October 31, 2008
China should push electric cars to curb its dependence on imported oil and foreign automobile technology, although they offer smaller cuts in carbon emissions than alternatives such as gas-electric hybrids, according to the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company
.
In two decades it could create a world-leading industry and a domestic market alone worth up to $219.4 billion, even if less than a third of drivers go electric, the company said Wednesday in a quarterly report (subscription required).
"China has a compelling case for embracing electric vehicles," said the report, which weighed up oil imports, the cost to consumers, the potential for innovation, as well as carbon emissions.
"While a handful of firms in Japan and North America are making strides in developing electric vehicles, no nation has yet emerged as the clear leader in this sector," it added.
The world's number two crude oil consumer already churns out millions of automobiles for a growing middle class hungry for a better lifestyle. It relies on imports for nearly half its oil.
If China continues current growth rates it will almost double oil imports by 2030, the report said, but greater use of electric cars would cut this growth by around a quarter.
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- Scott Doggett October 31, 2008, 7:50 AM
- Categories:
- Batteries, China, Coal, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- China
, Electric Cars, Electric Vehicles, EV, Hybrid
October 29, 2008
Chinese automaker BYD is planning to have plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles on sale in the United States by 2010, with similar ambitions for the European market, according to Motor Authority
.
The plan is backed by a $230 million investment from a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, an American insurance and investment company. It's chief executive, chairman and largest shareholder is Warren Buffett, one of the richest men on Earth.
The company is "talking to some third-party consulting and engineering companies to get a thorough understanding of the safety standards" in the U.S., which will be integral in the vehicle's success into breaking into that market, the publication reported, citing BYD's general manager for exports.
While its American ambitions may be bold, BYD is still in the early stages of development; the company does not currently sell a hybrid in its home market or anywhere else.
BYD has not yet confirmed which model or models will be getting the hybrid powertrain, but the F3 sedan (pictured) -- BYD's best-selling model -- is the most likely candidate.
As we reported earlier this month, BYD, a company best-known for making cellphone batteries, reportedly is on the verge of launching China's first mass-produced plug-in battery-electric car.
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- Scott Doggett October 29, 2008, 7:29 AM
- Categories:
- BYD, China, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- BYD
, Electric Cars, F3, Hybrid, plug-in electric vehicles, Warren Buffett
October 27, 2008
Just in time for a global financial meltdown and worldwide energy crunch, a Chinese-built solar-powered car (right)
arrives, with an asking price of only $5,500.
Built by China's 001 Group, a company based in the eastern province of Zhejiang, the electric car made its public debut earlier this month during the 29th Zhejiang International Bicycles and Electric-powered Cars Exhibition in Hangzhou.
For those poor saps who somehow missed the show - and you can count us at Green Car Advisor amongst them - this solar-powered economy-car was undoubtedly the star attraction.
Then again, our guess is that any other four-wheeled exotica might have been in somewhat short supply, limiting the competition for stardom at the show.
.
We thought this little car (which strangely lacks any catchy model name) worth mentioning, if only for what it represents: Green-thinking is finally making strides in China's formerly red-hot economy, which until now has valued non-stop growth above environmental concerns.
Like their counterparts in Japan, Europe and America, Chinese auto manufacturers are quickly adapting their cars to a world economy crippled by market crashes and rising fuel costs, not to mention growing consumer demand for more eco-friendly vehicles.
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- John O'Dell October 27, 2008, 10:14 PM
- Categories:
- China, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Chinese EV
, Chinese Solar Powered EV, Solar Power
October 22, 2008
If you missed the Frontline documentary "Heat"
on PBSlast night, you likely slept much better than those of us who caught it.
The basic theme of the two-hour special, which can be seen in its entirety at pbs.org, is that if humans don't curb carbon-dioxide emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050, the consequences to life on Earth will be catastrophic.
And by the time the credits role, you're certain a catastrophy of planetary proportions is in Earth's future.
The documentary's reporter, Martin Smith, conducted many interviews. One, with Beth Lowery, General Motors' vice president for environment, energy and safety policy, was particularly interesting.
Here are snippets of that interview:
Smith: Why did Toyota beat you to the Prius?
Lowery: Actually, Toyota and General Motors worked together on a number of technologies over time. Toyota looked at the hybrids and the Prius from an overall standpoint, knew there would be the loss of money for some time on the cost of that, but looked at it from an overall marketing and image standpoint, and General Motors really looked at it from a business [perspective]: Can this vehicle make money? Now certainly --
Smith: If General Motors looks at things from a business point of view, why did Toyota just report a record quarter and General Motors just report a record loss?
Lowery: I was referring to [the] decision made with respect to hybrids.
Smith: I know. But you're standing on the reputation of the company to look at these things from an economic point of view. You said, "Toyota looked at the Prius from a point of view of PR and image." But yet Toyota is eating your lunch.
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- Scott Doggett October 22, 2008, 8:41 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
- Technorati Tags:
- Beth Lowery
, CAFE, Carbon Dioxide, Emissions, Frontline, General Motors, GM, Hybrid, Martin Smith, Prius, Toyota
October 21, 2008
An unusual alliance of energy tycoons and environmentalists is trying, with limited success, to persuade skeptical Americans to start running their cars on compressed natural gas instead of gasoline.
But in many developing countries, the switch is already on, driven by the volatile price of gasoline, the accessibility of natural gas, hefty consumer subsidies and concern about the environment, The Wall Street Journal reported today (subscription required).
Besides the small tanks, drivers complain of poor acceleration in CNG vehicles. There still aren't enough fueling stations set up to sell natural gas, so many users wait in line for 45 minutes or more to fill their tank.
In Thailand, drivers have converted or purchased more than 40,000 natural-gas-burning cars and trucks in the past six months, the Journal reported. Local energy officials say they expect the number of natural-gas cars, which in many cases are able to run on gasoline as well as natural gas, to nearly triple by 2012 to 330,000.
Natural-gas-powered cars are among the hottest sellers in Bangkok, where long queues of drivers line up to buy the alternative fuel every day. Kanika Kamdee, a 50-year-old psychology professor, paid $1,795 last year to modify her Nissan sedan so that it could use relatively clean-burning natural gas.
The lower price for natural gas at the pump here has meant "big savings" in her monthly fuel bill, the Journal reported. She paid just $3.05 to fill her tank one recent afternoon -- enough fuel to travel 93 miles.
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- Scott Doggett October 21, 2008, 8:31 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, China, Emissions, Energy Companies, Fuel Economy, Natural Gas
- Technorati Tags:
- Alternative Fuel
, Clean Burning, CNG, Compressed Natural Gas, Savings, Thailand
October 20, 2008
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
General Motors today began sharing its ethanol research with China in the automaker's stated pursuit of an "energy strategy that addresses global energy and climate issues and helps reduce the automobile's reliance on petroleum."
In the first of a weeklong series of workshops, executives from GM's Global Energy Systems R&D department and Coskata Inc., an energy startup GM has invested heavily in, joined the Tsinghua University professor in charge of driving the prestigious university's biofuels research in giving an assessment of China's biofuels industry.
Given that China is nearly the size of the United States and that nearly 15 percent of its land is arable, the assessment was favorable. No surprise there. Indeed, China already is the world's third-largest ethanol producer (behind the U.S. and Brazil), with annual production of about 1 billion gallons.
That GM has been slow to shift from making gas-guzzlers to fuel-sippers is irrefutable, as is the automaker's history of putting nearly all of its "eggs" in the fuel-inefficient basket. It is downright depressing that not one of the top-10 vehicles by fuel efficiency in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2009 fuel-economy guide is a GM product.
But in China GM is doing something smart. When you consider that GM is committed to making cars and trucks that can run on combinations of ethanol and gasoline -- it's already produced more than 5 million such vehicles and plans to make half the vehicles it sells in the U.S. gas-ethanol flex-fuel by 2012 -- Detroit's biggest automaker is clearly thinking ahead.
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- Scott Doggett October 20, 2008, 2:53 PM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, China, Emissions, Energy Companies, Ethanol, Fuel Economy, General Motors
- Technorati Tags:
- Biofuel
, Cellulosic Ethanol, Coskata, Fuel Economy, Fuel Efficiency, GM, Mascoma
Even as oil hangs below $70 a barrel for the first time in 14 months, the search for its replacement continues.
General Motors Corp. is in Beijing this week to promote biofuels, its favored short-term alternative to oil, at a conference and in workshops for Chinese media, The Wall Street Journal reported today (subscription required).
GM will be traveling with Coskata Inc., a startup it invested in, that claims to have bred a microorganism capable of turning everything from used tires to straw into ethanol, which can be used as a substitute for or blended into gasoline, the Journal reported.
Ethanol's supporters say it can reduce dependency on Middle Eastern oil imports and burns cleaner than fossil fuel. Critics say the ethanol boom has driven up food prices by diverting corn for use in ethanol plants.
In China, food security is a much bigger concern than in the U.S. The impact of inflation on basic foods can have a devastating impact on the hundreds of millions who are still relatively poor.
China has mandated ethanol blending in 10 provinces, but food security concerns have kept the government from expanding its commitment, the Journal reported, despite concerns over China's growing dependence on imported oil.
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- Scott Doggett October 20, 2008, 1:09 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Biofuels, China, Ethanol, General Motors, Oil
- Technorati Tags:
- China
, Ethanol, General Motors, GM, Oil, Wall Street Journal
October 14, 2008
A Chinese company best-known for making cellphone batteries reportedly is on the verge of launching the country's first mass-produced electric car and may also have lined up its first large purchase order.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, BYD Co. Chairman Wang Chuanfu said the car, known as the F3DM (right), will be on sale in China by the end of November, pending government approval.
Wang declined to provide a sales target or price range for the new electric car but said in Beijing earlier this year that the vehicle could carry a price tag of about $22,000 and is capable of going as far as 68 miles on electricity when fully charged, the Journal reported.
Industry analysts say the new car -- a key reason why investor Warren Buffett recently decided to invest $230 million for a 10 percent stake in Wang's company -- is similar in design to General Motors' Chevy Volt but is due to hit the market two years earlier than either the Volt or Toyota's new breed of hybrid-electric car. Both GM and Toyota say they are taking more time to make sure lithium-ion batteries they are using for their electric cars are safe.
BYD uses iron-phosphate-based lithium-ion batteries, which it claims it has developed on its own, for the F3DM. Wang has said those batteries are "inherently safe" because they are more chemically stable, although they compromise to some extent on the ability to pack energy in each cell, compared with more conventional lithium-ion batteries.
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- Scott Doggett October 14, 2008, 4:49 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, China, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- BYD F3DM
, Chevrolet Volt, Electric Vehicles, EV
October 13, 2008
We finally tracked down AC Propulsion prexy Tom Gage to ask a few questions about his company's just-announced electric car development deal
with Taiwanese automotive-financial-construction conglomerate Yulon Group.
Unfortunately, the normally loquacious Gage had little to add to the bare-bones statement issued this morning.
Yulon is licensing AC Propulsion's electric powertrain technology for a new "homegrown" car, and also will contact with AC for development of the electric vehicle, Gage said.
The car will be a battery-electric version of a conventional gasoline-burning passenger car Yulon plans to introduce in the Taiwanese market early next year, he said, adding that there is no timetable yet (at least none he could publicly disclose) as to when the EV version of the car might appear.
Gage wouldn't disclose the value of the deal, saying that it is based partly on still-amorphous vehicle production numbers.
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- John O'Dell October 13, 2008, 2:50 PM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, China, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- AC Propulsion
, Yulon Group
October 1, 2008
The United States is positioned to become the single largest biodiesel market with 19 percent of consumption by 2012, according to a report released Tuesday.
Menlo Park, California-based SRI Consulting said the industry grew 50 percent from 2002-2007 -- the highest growth in the chemical industry -- and is poised to grow at 30 percent between 2007 and 2012.
It will be followed by Germany and France. New and large markets for biodiesel are expected to emerge in China and India, since the governments of both countries have announced major biodiesel initiatives.
SRI projects a slower pace of growth for the global biodiesel industry due to market uncertainties such as the ongoing fuels-versus-food debate, rising raw material costs, changing regulatory environment, a slowing global economy and the current financial crisis.
"An important development over the last several years has been the shift in global biodiesel patterns. Only five years ago Europe was a dominant player, with 83 percent of capacity. By 2007 the European share had declined to about 46 percent as North America and Asia grew to 23 percent and 19 percent respectively," SRI said.
SRI is a business research service for the global chemical industry.
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- Scott Doggett October 1, 2008, 7:57 AM
- Categories:
- Biofuels, China, Diesel, Energy Companies, India
September 29, 2008
Investor Warren Buffett's been wrong before, but it's a rare occurrence.
That's important to note as we watch the Midwestern moneyman with Midas' touch plunk down a few hundred million for a state in China's battery-maker turned car company BYD.
Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings says it will pay $230 million for a 10 percent interest in BYD (it stands for Build Your Dreams), reportedly to help push the Chinese company's environmentally friendly automotive technologies.
A lot of venture capital firms have jumped onto the green-tech bandwagon in recent years, but the entry of this unit of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway gives electric cars in general and BYD in particular a new cachet.
BYD is developing electric cars slated for sale in China (later this year), Europe and Israel (in 2010) and, ultimately, North America.
Buffett's bucks will help finance those dreams and, we hope, show the world that EVs are here to stay as an important part of the alternative transportation mix.
For an in-depth look at BYD, click here for today's piece by Edmunds Auto Observer's Michelle Krebs.
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- John O'Dell September 29, 2008, 2:55 PM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, China, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- Berkshire Hathaway
, Warren Buffett
September 19, 2008
China is looking to electric vehicles of various stripes to help it solve the very real air pollution problems that were so obvious in Beijing on the first days of the Olympic Games last month and, as a centrally planned (and controlled) nation, can actually do something to hasten their widespread adoption.
That something is to launch a national network of EV charging stations, on the theory that if the chargers exist, the vehicles won't be far behind.
That's opposite the U.S. theory that electric vehicles must be proven before anyone will commit to a national charging system, even though a national charging system will be needed to make the vehicles viable for most people. Oh well.
In any event, the State Grid Corporation of China - one of the largest electricity transmission and distribution companies on the globe - says it plans to establish that nationwide charging station system in its home country.
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- John O'Dell September 19, 2008, 5:30 AM
- Categories:
- China, Plug-ins and Electric
- Technorati Tags:
- China's EV Charging Stations
August 15, 2008
By
Bill Visnic, Senior Editor
TRAVERSE 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
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- Amory Lovins
, Traverse City
July 7, 2008
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
In an uncharacteristic display of German engineering, Daimler AG announced today that its Smart Fortwo fuel-efficient microcar celebrated its 10th birthday not today or even this week, but rather during the middle of last week.
We could understand it if the German automaker had announced it would be celebrating the diminutive two-seater's birthday a day or even a week early -- because the pint-size car that makes the Mini Cooper seem big has always been ahead of its time.
Developed in the early 1990s at the Mercedes-Benz design studio in Irvine, California, the first Fortwos to roll off the assembly line in Hambach, France, on July 2, 1998, sported colorful body panels made of recycled plastic and a steel frame coated with a powder paint that was significantly less harmful on the environment than conventional painting processes.
Instead of engine placement in the front or rear, the Fortwo carries its engine directly beneath its passengers, preserving storage space while also giving additional height to the seats.
Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche put it nicely today when, in the official celebratory statement, he said that the Smart Fortwo "is a clever solution and fun to drive. Had we not invented it 10 years ago, we would have to do so now."
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- Scott Doggett July 7, 2008, 7:03 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, China, Daimler, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Mercedes-Benz, Plug-ins and Electric
June 11, 2008
An Escape plug-in ethanol-electric hybrid that Ford is currently road testing.
Ford Motor Co.'s top executive for North America said today that the federal government must make plug-in hybrid vehicles "a national priority" and substantially invest in them, or risk swapping one foreign energy dependency for another.
"For those looking to plug-ins to answer our energy security concerns, we must ensure a domestic battery supply," Mark Fields told a conference on plug-in hybrids in Washington. "Moving from imported oil to imported batteries clearly would not address this growing concern."
Fields said that based on the necessary research and development costs, manufacturing and production investments, the lack of a national refueling infrastructure, and the lack of domestic battery manufacturing, "it seems clear that a business case will not evolve, in the near term, without support from Washington."
Detroit automakers have long complained that foreign nations spend far more on research into advanced batteries for hybrids...
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- Scott Doggett June 11, 2008, 6:55 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, China, Ethanol, Ford, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, India, Plug-ins and Electric
June 6, 2008
Mary Ann Wright with pet, family, engineers and their children in an autumn 2007 promotional photo for Johnson Controls-Saft.
By
Dale Buss, Contributor
The Chevrolet Volt is attracting all the hype in the auto industry’s sprint toward the imminent era of plug-in hybrids. But Mary Ann Wright has a car in this race, too – the Saturn Vue plug-in – and she’s not about to concede first place.
“I can understand why Volt gets lots of press,” says Wright, chief executive officer of the Johnson Controls-Saft hybrid-technology venture, which is supplying lithium-ion battery systems to General Motors for the new Vue. “But I wouldn’t interpret that as saying who’s ahead or who’s behind.”
Wright doesn’t throw down this gauntlet lightly or without some authority. She has built a team of hybrid pioneers largely by poaching them from the Escape Hybrid team she headed at Ford until she left the company in 2005.
Glendale, Wis.-based Johnson Controls is one of the auto industry’s most successful and aggressive suppliers worldwide. And its French partner, Saft, already makes lithium-ion batteries for a range of military and industrial uses.
In fact, Johnson Controls-Saft at this point may be in the best position globally of any developer of next-generation hybrids based on lithium-ion technology, which is rapidly displacing nickel-metal hydride systems.
The venture expects to be first to market anywhere with a lithium-ion battery for a hybrid when its system debuts in a new Mercedes-Benz hybrid S-class in 2009. The GM Volt and Toyota Prius competing lithium-ion models are slated for 2010.
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- John O'Dell June 6, 2008, 9:01 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Chevrolet, China, Ford, Hybrid, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota
May 30, 2008
Celebrity poses with man in tree costume at launch party for green TV network.
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
The launch party for Planet Green, a 24-hour eco-lifestyle cable TV network that will displace the Home channel starting June 4, was anything but green.
The celebrities who attended Wednesday night 's event at L.A.'s Greek Theater mostly arrived in stretch limousines and gas-snorting SUVs. At least two Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee and rapper Ludacris arrived in personal buses.
The tabloid darlings strolled a green plastic carpet to a man in a tree costume to pose for paparazzi, oblivious to the live majestic oaks mere steps away.
Minutes later the celebrities were treated to cocktails "made from organic vodka" served in plastic cups and hors d'oeuvres made from macaroni and cheese served on plastic plates.
Oddly, the greenest VIPs at the event that we're aware of seemed to be the two men from General Motors Corp., who brought with them a fuel-cell vehicle and some positive automotive news.
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- Scott Doggett May 30, 2008, 11:17 AM
- Categories:
- Chevrolet, China, Diesel, Dodge, Emissions, Flex-Fuel, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, General Motors, Honda, Hybrid, India, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
May 23, 2008
London's congestion zone also is seen as a partial solution to air quality woes.
By Scott Doggett, Contributor
Although liable for their own imbibing, motorists have rarely been held accountable for the drinking habits of their cars and trucks.
That's changing.
In recent years, policymakers the world over have taken steps to fight global warming by adopting "accountability" laws or regulations that reward motorists who drive fuel-efficient vehicles and punish motorists who don't. The rules not only address fuel-efficiency, they often are intended to help cities clean up air pollution.
In the United States the worlds largest petroleum consumer the picture is considerably different. Here, motorists can still cruise without penalty -- except perhaps scowls from a growing number of fellow commuters -- in hulking vehicles that gulp gasoline and fart rivers of smog.
It's true that some states can require owners of smoky jalopies to make an honest effort to clean them up, but none suspend driving privileges if the efforts are made and the machines still spew black smoke like a wicked witch's broomstick.
And, yes, the U.S. Congress did establish a gas-guzzler tax in 1978 to discourage the production and purchase of gas hogs. But the tax is limited to passenger cars: It does not apply to trucks, minivans and SUVs all heavy drinkers or to used vehicles of any size.
Not only that, but there are no laws in America restricting motorists' access to popular destinations such as city centers based on vehicles' mileage or emissions ratings. Although discussions have begun in a few places such as San Francisco, the only city to seriously consider such a measure -- New York -- killed the proposal because of public and business opposition.
Outside the U.S., though, it's a whole 'nother story.
Increasingly, authorities elsewhere are requiring motorists to pay either financially, through travel restrictions, or both for the vehicle choices they make. You can drive what you'd like, but be prepared to pay for poor fuel economy and for tailpipe emissions.
Here is a sampling of places where drivers are being held accountable or soon will be for the carbon footprints of their motor vehicles.
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- John O'Dell May 23, 2008, 12:15 PM
- Categories:
- China, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Legislation, Tax Incentives
April 21, 2008
We all know (or should) by now that China is the fastest growing economy, and energy user, on the planet and that it has tremendous air pollution problems.
So what better place is there, carmakers have been thinking, to push sales of fuel-saving, low emission hybrid cars and SUVs?
Turns out, though, that the Chinese aren't falling all over themselves to be first on the block wirth a new Prius or other hybrid.
The cars, thanks to import duties and lack of competition, cost too much to be very attractive to most Chinese.
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- John O'Dell April 21, 2008, 9:41 AM
- Categories:
- China, Hybrid
March 11, 2008
Rapid growth without corresponding concern for climate change means China's anticipated carbon dioxide emissions during the first decade of this century will likely be more than twice the amount previously anticipated and could eclipse global efforts to stabliize greenhouse gases, according to a new study.
Using data that enabled them to bore down to the provincial level for the first time, researchers from the University of California's Berkeley and San Diego campuses to bore down to the provincial level to peg carbon dioxide growth in China from 2004 through 2010 at 11 percent or more -- versus previous studies' estimates of a 2.5 to 5 percent growth rate.
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- John O'Dell March 11, 2008, 10:01 AM
- Categories:
- China, Emissions
February 12, 2008
Buster coupe is low-speed electric Smart look-alike imported from China.
Pssst. Waiting for those cars from China? Some of 'em are already here!
Revo Motor Co., an Austin, Texas, importer of neighborhood electric vehicles, says its been selling Chinese-made NEVs for about 30 months now and has more than 30 dealers scattered across 25 states.
Company spokesman Ben Jenkins said the cars are made exclusively for Revo and are sold only in the US, although a new model due in December, the company's first highway legal car, will be sold in China as well.
Revo sells three models, the 2-door "Buster" coupe and convertible – which would look remarkably like a Chinese designer's interpretation of a Smart Fortwo if we didn't know that the Chinese don't copy other companies' desgins -- and the four-door "Lynny" sedan (hey, we don't name 'em, we just write about 'em).
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- John O'Dell February 12, 2008, 11:00 AM
- Categories:
- Alternative Fuels, Batteries, China, Plug-ins and Electric, Transportation Alternatives
- Technorati Tags:
- Paris Auto Show
January 18, 2008
China's first proprietary hybrid car is likely to come from Guangzhou Automotive Industry Corp. as a project with joint venture partners Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., according to the South China Evening Post.
The Chinese company, which assembles cars such as the Honda Fit and Toyota Camry for the Chinese market, has budgeted almost $1 billion U.S...
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- John O'Dell January 18, 2008, 1:20 PM
- Categories:
- China, Hybrid, Toyota
