Japan Green Car Advisor Blog on Edmunds' Inside Line

November 3, 2009

Nissan Reported Ready To Pump $550 Million Into Lithium-Ion Battery Plants

Nissan is ready to pump $220 million into its existing Japanese battery joint venture and an additional $330 million into a new lithium-ion battery factory in France that it would own with partner Renault, the Nikkei news service in Japan is reporting.

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Renault Fluence ZE concept is stylized version of EV the French automaker plans to start selling in Israel in 2011.
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Renault-Nissan Alliance chief Carlos Ghosn said just last month that the two companies were considering France as the location for a new battery plant, so the news from the Nikkei seems reasonable.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell November 3, 2009, 11:41 AM
Categories:: Batteries, France, Japan, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Renault
Technorati Tags:: Electric Vehicle Batteries

October 29, 2009

Sanyo, Panasonic Shedding Some Battery Assets To Facilitate Takeover

Hoping to avoid running into anti-trust problems with their proposed merger, Japanese battery giants Panasonic and Sanyo are busily trying to shed a few resources.

News reports in Japan say that Panasonic is reducing its ownership stake in Panasonic EV Energy, the hybrid-car battery venture it shares with Toyota, while Sanyo Electronics is considering selling a piece of its rechargeable battery operation to a unit of Fujitsu Corp.

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Battery Monster: U.S. and China fear Panasonic takeover of Sanyo would give combined companies a near-monopoly on hybrid batteries.
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Panasonic has proposed a friendly $70 billion take-over of Sanyo and without unloading some of their assets the combined companies would control 80 percent of the world's nickel-metal hydride battery market.

NiMH batteries are used in all hybrids made today, and are likely to continue being the main type of battery used in conventional hybrids even after the industry starts using lighter lithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrids.

Both companies also have growing lithium-ion battery operations.

U.S. and Chinese regulators have been withholding their approval of the takeover, citing anti-trust concerns.

Monopolies and near-monopolies are rarely good news for consumers (and in this case the consumers are the automakers as well as the general public), but there's one positive note in all this: You know the future is looking bright for advanced batteries and the cars that will use them when two giants like Panasonic and Sanyo want to combine forces to take advantage of future growth.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 29, 2009, 11:01 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Japan
Technorati Tags:: EV Batteries

October 28, 2009

Toshiba Announces New Battery Plant to Boost Profits From EV, Hybrid Boom

Anticipating a boom in rechargable electric vehicles, Japanese electronics giant Toshiba Corp. said today that it will build a second lithium-ion battery factory in Japan, with capacity for as manty as 6 million hybrid and EV battery cells a year. A single vehicle can use hundreds of cells.

Toshiba's rapid-charging SCiB batteries use a lithium-titanium oxide chemistry that, the company says, makes them more stable and less prone to overheating than other types of lithium batteries.

The company said it will invest up to 215 billion yen ($274 million) in the new factory, which is scheduled to be built next year with battery manufacturing to begin in the spring of 2011.

When both Toshiba battery plants are in operation, the company said, it expects annual sales of the battery cells to top 200 billion yen ($250 million).

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 28, 2009, 12:20 PM
Categories:: Batteries, Japan
Technorati Tags:: EVs

October 26, 2009

Toyota's Corporate 'Green' Effort Flowering at Prius Plant in Toyota City

We know that Toyota Motor Co., interested in all things renewable and sustainable, has an agricultural operation in Japan where it grows plants for use in the manufacture of bioplastics.

Now comes word that the giant automaker also has developed two new flowering species for the purpose of absorbing nitrogen oxides (NOx) from the atmosphere and lowering the temperature of the grounds surrounding its Prius factory, reducing the energy used to cool the building.

The "Toyota flowers" are derivatives of two existing plans - the cherry sage (left) and the gardenia.

Richard Blackburn, who tells the tale in Drive.com Australia, says the Toyota sage has leaves that absorb harmful gases such as NOx, while the Toyota gardenia has leaves that produce water vapor, which helps lower the ambient temperature.

When planted in large beds surrounding the Prius factory in Toyota City, the gardenias can make enough of a difference that the company can use less energy to run air conditioning to cool the factory.

Of course, Toyota already uses solar power for a lot of the plant's energy and has painted the exterior walls with a special paint that absorbs NOx and other gases.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 26, 2009, 8:38 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Prius

October 22, 2009

2009 Tokyo Auto Show: Subaru Has Hybrid Plans Beyond Tourer Concept

Subaru, which is displayed a concept hybrid touring car at the Tokyo Auto Show this week, plans to have several hybrids in the market in the next few years, Fuji Heavy industries President Ikuo Mori told reporters at the show.

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Hybrid Tourer concept is Subaru's interpretation of a gas-electric car. The grille, at least, is likely to see production - on other Subaru models if not on this gull-winged four-seater.
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Fuji is Subaru's parent company.

Mori declined to say whether the hybrid would be based on the "Subaru Hybrid Tourer" concept at the show and wouldn't say whether it would be a model developed with technology partner Toyota, or would use a design and a hybrid system of Fuji's own making.

The Tourer concept uses a Fuji-developed system that mates Subaru's 2.0-liter horizontally opposed "Boxer" engine with a pair of electric motors.

But Subaru is expected to launch a hybrid version of its redesigned Legacy in Japan in 2011, using technology licensed from Toyota - Fuji's largest shareholder.

A Legacy hybrid could easily make its way to the U.S.

Ignored in all the hybrid talk was the fact that Subaru also has recently unleashed a battery-electric version of its boxy Stella subcompact. Although mainly used for testing purposes, the Stella EV is likely to lead to a retail model and that could lead to an EV for at least limited sales over here in the states that have adopted California's zero emissions vehicle mandate.

The more, the merrier, we say.

How 'bout a hybrid WRX? Better yet, why not an all-electric WRX featuring independently driven electric wheel-motors in each hub?

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 22, 2009, 8:11 AM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Hybrid, Japan, Subaru, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Tokyo Auto Show

October 21, 2009

2009 Tokyo Auto Show: Honda CR-Z Hybrid Concept is Close to Reality

Honda Motor Co. offered a glimpse of the very near future in Tokyo late Tuesday as it unwrapped a sporty four-seat version of the CR-Z hybrid that will hit the market late next year as a 2-seat coupe.

Although they're calling it a concept, the "CR-Z Concept 2009" is pretty much what we'll see - sans the tiny rear jump seats - when the real thing hits U.S. showrooms in the second half of next year.

Actually, we'll see the real thing a little sooner, the production version of the CR-Z hybrid sport coupe will debut as a production car in January at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 21, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Honda, Hybrid, Japan
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Tokyo AutoShow

October 20, 2009

Toyota To Begin Selling New Sai Hybrid December 7 - in Japan Only

Toyota made it official today - the new Japan-only Sai hybrid goes on sale Dec. 7.

The gas-electric sedan, based on the Lexus HS 250h, will be priced at 3.38 million yen ($37,500), well above the Prius' starting price in Japan of just over 2 million yen ($22,000).

Toyota, which has benefited from Japanese government incentives aimed at increasing the number of fuel-efficient vehicles on the road, said it's goal is to sell 36,000 Sai sedans a year.

The new hybrid is rated at 54 miles per gallon in the Japanese combined city-highway test cycle, well below the new Prius' 90 mpg rating. (The U.S. rating for the near-identical Lexus HS 250h is 35 mpg while the 2010 Prius gets a 50 mpg EPA rating.)

The company hasn't said whether it intends to broaden Sai sales beyond Japan, but if there are U.S. plans it would have to come in at a much lower price as the Lexus version starts here at $35,075 and hasn't been a particularly hot seller.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 20, 2009, 11:47 AM
Categories:: Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Hybrids

October 8, 2009

2009 Tokyo Auto Show: A Closer Look at Honda's EV-N City Car Concept

We first showed you the Honda EV-N city car concept a few days ago, but now the company has released more photos of the electric city car concept.

Even though Honda insists this particular car - so lovingly evoking the original CV-CC - the photos are still worth looking at.

They likely give us a glimpse at what might be featured on an electric city car if Honda does decide to build one, and who knows - if enough people see the photos and kick up a fuss with Honda's dealers, the company just might come around on the EV-N.

In addition to the new Honda EV-N photos, the automaker also has supplied a bit more detail about the concept, which, it says, has user-changeable seat fabric, fold-flat rear seats, solar cells in the roof, and a wireless communication system built into the instrument panel to keep the car in touch with traffic info, navigation signals from EV charging stations, other Hondas, and who knows what else.

There's also one of those neat Honda U3-X (experimental) self-balancing electric unicycles stored in the door, for when the crowded city streets degenerate into crowded alleyways (they do that in Tokyo) and you just don't feel like walking the rest of the way.

(Photos after the jump)

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 8, 2009, 6:45 PM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Honda, Japan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Tokyo Auto show

2009 Tokyo Auto Show: Nissan Land Glider is Kicky Electric City Car, With a Slant

If Nissan's battery-electric 2011 Leaf is too much car for you, perhaps we can interest you in the LandGlider.

The tiny (122 inches long) two seat EV city car concept can't be too much for anyone, save perhaps areally small elf. It will share the Nissan stand at the upcoming 2009 Tokyo Auto Show with the Leaf and several non-electric Nissan intros including the new Fuga performance sedan.

Envisioned at a sort of oversize, 4-wheel, covered, electrically driven motorcycle, the Land glider offers tandem seating, an airplane-style steering yoke and a flexible motorcycle-like suspension that leans into corners.

The trick is an array of sensors that monitor vehicle speed, the steering angle and the yaw (or leaning) rate, instantly calculating the degree of lean needed to let the car scoot around curves.

Nissan isn't likely to build a Glider for the masses but says that it points in the direction engineers and product planners are thinking as they ponder a future a small car for congested cities.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 8, 2009, 5:43 PM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Japan, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Tokyo Auto Show

October 6, 2009

2009 Tokyo Auto Show: Toyota Upgrades FT-EV City Car Concept

Judging from the amount of copy they fed us in advance, Toyota is a whole lot prouder of the rear-wheel drive "Toyobaru" sports coupe it is showing at this month's 2009 Tokyo Auto Show than of the FT-EV II electric city car concept (above) that also will be there.

But an electric city concept there will be - based off the hot-selling toyota iQ micro-mini and an "upgrade" of the FT-EV city car concept that debuted in January at the Detroit Auto Show.

Toyota's not let much out about the new city EV, but what we can tell you is that that it has a lithium-ion battery pack installed under the floor that can deliver about 56 miles on a single charge and a top speed of 62 miles an hour (that's a nice round 100 kilometers an hour in metrics.)

There are no brake, clutch or accelerator pedals - it's all operated by hand with the levers on a futuristic steering wheel, although "control apparatus" might be a better way of describing it.

The reason for the lack of foot controls? Toyota has envisioned a day when radio signals, perhaps from cables embedded in the road, will guide cars and this equips the concept with an "auto mode" for those city commutes when you'd rather spend the time reading the morning paper.

We can also say that it seats four people despite an overall length of just 107 inches long, and those people would climb in through a pair of sliding doors (one on each side).

And that's about it -except that Toyota hopes to have a real battery-electric city car in the market by 2012.

As for that 'Toyobaru" that's stealing the little EV concept's thunder - it's the FT-86 (left), fruit of a collaboration between Toyota and Subaru, in which Toyota now holds a stake. It is intended to replace the MR 2 as Toyota's fun car, will use Subaru's 2.0-liter horizontally opposed, flat-four engine, reportedly handles like a dream and is due to hit the streets in late 2011. You can read more about it on Inside Line.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 6, 2009, 10:31 AM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Japan, Plug-ins and Electric, Subaru, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Tokyo Auto Show

October 1, 2009

2009 Tokyo Auto Show: Suzuki To Unveil Swift Plug-In Hybrid Concept

Suzuki's swift little Swift, a fun-to-drive small hatchback that we, of course, don't get in the U.S., gets a plug for a new Swift extended-range PHEV concept to be shown at the Tokyo Auto Show later this month.

It also gets a battery - lithium-ion - and an electric motor - 74 horsepower - to go along with the plug and a 658 cc (.6 liter) gas engine.

The gas engine, as we understand things despite the dearth of official info from Suzuki, will serve as a generator - a la the Chevy Volt, Fisker Karma and a growing number of other ER-PHEVs - to keep juice flowing to the electric motor when the initial charge (from a commercial charger or or home outlet) is depleted.

No info yet on range, cost, battery size and output, charging times or whether we might actually see a few of these on our shores some day.

Thanks to our colleagues at Inside Line's Straightline blog for the tip and the pix that follow the jump.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell October 1, 2009, 10:59 AM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Japan, Plug-ins and Electric, Suzuki
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Tokyo Auto Show

September 30, 2009

2009 Tokyo Auto Show: Mitsubishi Extends MiEV Tech with Plug-in Hybrid Concept

Mitsubishi isn't resting on its laurels after the successful launch in Japan of its i-MiEV electric city car.

The company plans to show two new concept EVs at the upcoming 2009 Tokyo Auto Show - a mini-cargo van built off the i-MiEV minicar platform, and a four-seat plug-in hybrid crossover it is calling the Mitsubishi PX-MiEV (right).

The PX - Mitsubishi's nameplate shorthand for plug-in crossover - is the first big-vehicle use of the company's "Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle" technology, or MiEV.

Quiet Carrier

The i-MiEV Cargo concept is a pretty simple one: a slightly stretched i-MiEV with a cargo box behind the front seats.

Electric delivery vans make enormous sense in most cites, where short-haul delivery vehicles don't often travel far from home, spend a lot of time idling, and rarely are driven at high speeds.

Replace the gas or diesel engine and fuel tank with an elecric mtor and batteries and you've got a quiet, non-polluting cargo carrier that's a whole lot cheaper to operate than one with an internal combustion engine.

We hope this is one concept that Mitsubishi will put on the road, soon.

Plug Me In

The big news though, would be a decision to turn the PX-MiEV plug-in hybrid concept into the real thing.

As Mitsubishi describes it, the PX would use a 1.6-liter gas engine and a pair of electric motors, one front and one rear, and be able to travel in all-electric mode for about 30 miles.

The system would deliver fuel economy of around 120 miles per gallon under Japan's mixed-use test, which is the only number we have but isn't really applicable in the U.S, where highway speeds are higher and account for a larger portion of the drive cycle.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell September 30, 2009, 2:54 PM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Japan, Mitsubishi, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Tokyo Auto Show

September 29, 2009

2009 Tokyo Auto Show: Subaru 'Hybrid Tourer Concept' Keeps AWD, Boxer Engine

Subaru is set to unveil a new hybrid concept at the upcoming 2009 Tokyo Auto Show - a gull-wing touring car with technology features that presage the real thing the automaker is slated to put into production as early as 2011.

The Subaru Hybrid Tourer Concept - catchy name! - will combine Subaru's famed symmetrical all-wheel drive and horizontally opposed "boxer" engine with a next-generation automatic transmission and two-motor hybrid system.

The automaker, owned by Fuji Heavy industries with Toyota Motor Corp. as a sizable minority stakeholder, isn't offering much detail about its hybrid system this early in the game, but has said in the past that it intends to license technology from Toyota.

What info Fuji Heavy has provided includes the tidbit that the system will include a company-developed lithium-on battery derived from the li-ion pack used in the recently launched, Japanese-market Subaru Stella EV.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell September 29, 2009, 9:00 PM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Hybrid, Japan, Subaru
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Tokyo Auto Show

2009 Tokyo Auto Show: Mazda To Debut New Fuel-Efficient Engines, Transmission

The upcoming 209 Tokyo motor Show is going to be the slimmest in decades, with no US or major European automakers slated to attend - casualties of the recession.

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Mazda says its Kiyora city car concept will be updated with newest technologies for the Tokyo Show next month.
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That may, however, work to the advantage of hometown automakers such as Mazda.

The company said late Monday that it will use the show to spotlight the world premiers of two new fuel-efficient engines - a clean diesel and a direct-injected gasoline model, as well as a new high-efficiency automatic transmission,

Mazda also will stage the Japanese introduction of its Kiyora concept car that showcases the car makers' next-generation environmental and safety advances.

Originally unveiled at the 2008 Paris Auto Show, the Kiyora is a flame-shaped, glass-roofed. 4-seat city car concept that foreshadows the replacement for the Mazda 2 city car.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell September 29, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Auto Shows, Diesel, Fuel Economy, Japan, Mazda
Technorati Tags:: 2009 Tokyo Auto Show

September 21, 2009

Stabenow Urges Obama to Tackle Japanese, South Korean Auto Protectionism

It's not the first time a U.S. politician has criticized Japan and South Korea for unfairly blocking sales of U.S. cars, but this time the complaints is aimed at eco-protectionism.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat with strong ties to the U.S. auto industry, has asked President Obama to protest policies that effectively bar U.S. cars from being sold under those countries' cash for clunkers programs.

Volt-banned?.jpg In a letter sent Friday to the president, Stabenow complains that while the U.S. clunkers program was open to all car sold here, import regulations in Japan and tariffs in South Korea make it all but impossible for Japanese and Korean motorists to buy an American-made car under their countries' clunker programs.

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Sen. Debbie Stabenow worries that green cars like GM's Chevrolet Volt could be barred from Japanese and South Korean markets under protectionist policies.

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"We followed international law and made [the U.S. program] apply to all cars sold in the United States, not just American cars," Stabenow wrote. "That is why it is so outrageous that Japan and [South] Korea would have the audacity to implement similar programs that discriminate against American automakers."

You can read the entire letter here.

Stabenow is asking Obama to "remind" Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak "of their obligations under the WTO," or World Trade Organization charter, promoting fair and equal trade.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell September 21, 2009, 11:02 AM
Categories:: Green Vehicles, Japan, Opinion
Technorati Tags:: Debbie Stabenow

September 17, 2009

Toyota Tells Dealers It Will Use Prius Name on 'a Family of Models' to Drive Sales

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose."

Shakespeare wrote that for Juliet in his lyrical tale of star-crossed lovers, but Toyota dealers are -- in their own words -- saying the very same today.

That's because the Prius name possesses magical sales powers for the Japanese automaker. As a result, it has decided to sprinkle the name across more hybrid models in its U.S. lineup to boost their sales.

At a meeting in Las Vegas earlier this week of the 60 largest Toyota dealers in the U.S., Toyota executives announced the name Prius would be attached to "a family of models" using similar hybrid powertrains, veteran Toyota dealer Earl Stewart said.

"The Highlander hybrid and Camry hybrid do OK, but calling it 'Synergy Drive' never resonated with consumers," Stewart sad. "But they can make hay on the Prius name. It's a magic name. If somebody says 'I drive a Prius,' everybody knows what he means."

Romeo couldn't have said it better.

Toyota will have a range of Prius hybrid models "but Prius won't be a separate sub-brand like Scion," Stewart said.

A Thorny Issue

Separately, Toyota is launching a $1 billion fourth-quarter marketing campaign, its biggest ever for that period, to boost weak U.S. sales.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett September 17, 2009, 2:39 PM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Efficient Cars

August 26, 2009

Better Place to Run Test Project in Tokyo for Electric Taxis With Switchable Batteries

Better Place, the American-based electric-vehicle services provider, today announced that it has received an award from the Japanese government to conduct a pilot project in Tokyo for the world's first plug-in electric taxis with switchable batteries.

Better Place will partner with Tokyo's largest taxi operator, Nihon Kotsu. The project, which comes on the heels of the company's successful battery switch demonstration earlier this year in Yokohama, is slated to begin in January 2010.

Japanese taxis represent a mere 2 percent of all passenger vehicles on the road in Japan, yet they emit about 20 percent of all carbon dioxide from vehicles due to their average distance traveled in a given day.

In Tokyo alone, there are approximately 60,000 taxis, a far greater number than in New York, Paris and Hong Kong. Clearly, the outcome of the Tokyo pilot program for electric taxis could point to opportunities in other urban centers.

Additionally, success within the heavy-use taxi industry likely would help to ensure technology transfer to the mass market, where daily mileage is far less on average.

The electric-taxi pilot will showcase the everyday use applications of the Better Place model - switchable-battery stations, as opposed to battery-refueling stations - and will involve the construction of a Better Place battery switch site in central Tokyo.

Up to four newly modified and fully operational zero-emissions electric taxis will be operated from an existing taxi lane for environmentally-friendly vehicles near the switch site.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 26, 2009, 9:28 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Japan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Better Place

August 24, 2009

Toyota Says It Will Produce 216,000 4-Cylinder Engines Annually at Alabama Plant

In a positive development for American autoworkers, Toyota Motor Corp. has decided to shift more production of its fuel-efficient four-cylinder engines from Japan to Alabama.

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Right, the 4-cylinder engine that appears in the 2010 Camry. Below, an information box about that engine. Click on the box to enlarge it.
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The company announced that it will spend $147 million to add 216,000 four-bangers a year to engine production at Huntsville, where it already makes V-6 and V-8 light-truck engines. As part of the expansion, Toyota will hire 240 workers.

The four-cylinder engines will go into Toyota Camrys built in Princeton, Indiana, and RAV4s built in Woodstock, Ontario. The engines for those models have been coming from Japan.

The Huntsville plant was built to produce V-8 engines for full-sized Toyota Sequoia SUVs and Tundra pickups. The collapse of those segments prompted the company to merge two V-8 engine lines at Huntsville, leaving part of the plant unused.

Both Toyota and Nissan Motor Co. have struggled to free up North American capacity for smaller engines as consumers have shifted to more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Toyota recently boosted four-cylinder Camry engine production at Georgetown, Kentucky, by making layout changes to an existing assembly area.

The new investment at Huntsville also will require Toyota's Bodine Aluminum Inc. subsidiary to expand output of engine heads and blocks at Troy, Missouri.

Toyota said that Bodine will spend $25 million and hire about 60 employees as a result.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Scott Doggett August 24, 2009, 1:18 PM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 4 Cylinder

August 21, 2009

Mazda Says Fuel-Saving Rotary and 4-Cylinder Engines Will Arrive in 2011

Mazda will introduce a more fuel-efficient powertrain by 2011, kick-starting its pledge to increase fuel economy across its model line 30 percent by 2015, Automotive News (subscription required) reported today.

Mazda is developing a range of four-cylinder and rotary engines that are expected to result in higher fuel economy ratings.

For example, Seita Kanai, head of Mazda's R&D department, said a redesign of Mazda's best-selling 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine with a new six-speed automatic transmission will see city fuel economy increase to 32 miles per gallon from 22. Highway fuel economy would increase to 42 mpg from 32.

"We want to provide this technology to all owners, not just through a few eco-friendly vehicles," Kanai said in a media briefing in Monterey, California.

Mazda did not say which engine or vehicle would be the first to market with the increased efficiency. But Robert Davis, senior vice president of Mazda North American Operations R&D, said the new powertrains cannot be retrofitted to an existing product line.

Given Mazda's product cadence, the redesigned MX-5 convertible or Mazda5 small minivan likely would get the new engines first. The entire model lineup will be equipped with the new engines by 2015, Kanai said.

The 30 percent improvement in fleet fuel economy does not include improvements from idle-stop, regenerative braking or hybrid powertrain development, he said. And although hybrids are a part of Mazda's future, such technology is minor compared to the company's concentration on improving internal combustion engines.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (4); Scott Doggett August 21, 2009, 4:13 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Japan, Mazda
Technorati Tags:: Engine

August 20, 2009

Report: Toyota Breakthrough May Improve Li-ion Battery Storage Capacity Tenfold

Toyota Motor Corp. has developed a new technology that may dramatically boost the storage capacity of lithium-ion batteries and thus open the door to more practical electric vehicles, according to a Japanese press report.

The advance - the fabrication of single crystals of lithium cobalt oxide - grew out of joint research with Japan's Tohoku University, Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco said.

The new technology is a step toward creating a more powerful battery, but Nolasco declined to estimate the potential increase in a battery's storage capacity or an electric vehicle's range.

Japan's Nikkei business newspaper said the technique eventually would allow lithium-ion batteries to store 10 times the energy of current ones. The development would roughly translate into a tenfold increase in driving range, the newspaper said.

The greater storage capacity could also enable Toyota to reduce the size, weight and possibly the cost of the battery pack.

Lithium-ion batteries are seen as key to the mass marketing of electric vehicles because they are lighter and more powerful than the nickel-metal hydride batteries now used in hybrid cars.

Yet Toyota has largely steered clear of electric vehicles, arguing that the current generation of lithium-ion batteries is still too weak to provide a sufficient range for all-electric drivetrains.

The cathodes of Toyota's current lithium-ion batteries are typically made from a polycrystalline form of lithium cobalt oxide that connected with grains of graphite, the Nikkei said.

By using a single crystal form, however, Toyota can use less graphite and create more room for the storage of the lithium ions that create the electrical charge.

The newspaper said it will take another decade to develop a cathode that contains no graphite and that version should be able to store 10 times today's electrical charge.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 20, 2009, 2:36 PM
Categories:: Batteries, Japan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Electric Car

August 14, 2009

Toyota Plans 'Ultra Fuel Efficient' Hybrid Based on the Yaris, Newspaper Reports

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to launch a hybrid vehicle that is cheaper and more fuel efficient than the Toyota Prius as early as 2011, a Japanese newspaper reported today.

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Right, the 2010 Toyota Yaris.
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The car will share key parts with the Toyota's Yaris and will get double the fuel economy of the Yaris, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported. It will be sold in the United States, Japan and Europe.

The vehicle would be priced around 1.5 million yen ($15,650) and deliver 94 miles per gallon, the newspaper said, without revealing how it got the information.

"The 'ultra-fuel-efficient' car will surpass in terms of fuel efficiency the latest model of Toyota's top hybrid car, the Prius," the newspaper reported. "The envisaged model will be the world's most fuel-efficient mass-produced hybrid car, whose main power source is gasoline."

Toyota spokeswoman Yoshie Matsuura said she could not discuss future product plans. But Toyota is known to be planning a small, inexpensive Yaris-based hybrid to compete with Honda Motor Co.'s plans for a hybrid version of the Fit/Jazz

The current Prius gets about 89 miles per gallon under a Japanese mileage test that is not comparable to U.S. or European tests.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); Scott Doggett August 14, 2009, 10:12 AM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Emissions

August 13, 2009

Japanese Companies to Gather Data on EV Drivers' Use of Rapid Chargers

It seems Japan is really getting serious about this EV business.

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Mistubishi's i-MIEV electric car now comes with a rapid-charging port as Japan begins studying fast-charging systems to make EV driving more accessible.
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Both Mitsubishi and Subaru are marketing small electric city cars in the Tokyo-Yokohama area, Nissan is following with its full-service, five-seat Leaf next year and now a trio of companies including Nippon Oil are launching a national test of rapid charging systems for EVs.

The six-month test of EV chargers for Japan's Ministry of Economy,Trade and Industry will be conducted in five of Japan's largest prefectures (like counties in the U.S.) and participants will be given (yes, given) Mitsubishi i-MIEV electric cars to drive for the duration.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell August 13, 2009, 9:21 AM
Categories:: Energy Companies, Japan, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Subaru
Technorati Tags:: Electric Cars

August 4, 2009

Renault-Nissan Alliance Partners With Australian State for Zero-Emissions Mobility

The state government of Victoria in Australia has become the latest entity to form a partnership with the Renault-Nissan Alliance to explore the development of a zero-emissions vehicles program.

The state and the alliance announced today that they have signed a memorandum of understanding under which representatives from Victoria and Nissan will identify potential areas of co-operation in promoting the use of electric vehicles in the state.

Nissan is hoping to bring its new LEAF EV (pictured) to Australia by 2012.

The alliance has formed partnerships with about 30 governments, cities and other organizations in the U.S., Japan, Europe and Asia to advance the deployment of electric vehicles worldwide.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett August 4, 2009, 10:46 AM
Categories:: Australia, Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Japan, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Renault
Technorati Tags:: Australia

July 31, 2009

Nissan Prepares To Launch Its EV; Provides Test-Drives in "Mule" as Sample

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

YOKOHAMA, Japan -- It's a cliche, but that doesn't make it less true: Get into Nissan's latest electric vehicle test car, stomp on the "gas," and the quiet that accompanies the rather serious acceleration is nothing short of remarkable.

That can be said of almost any all-electric vehicle, lots of torque and lots of quiet are characteristics of their high-revving electric motors.

What makes Nissan's quiet torque worth writing about is that it is almost ready to hit the market.

On August 2 (August 1 in the U.S.), Nissan will unveil the preproduction "concept" of the five-seat hatchback electric vehicle it plans to begin offering for sale in select regions of the U.S. and Japan next year.

We'll have pictures as soon as Nissan takes the covers off the car, and we can tell you now that what you'll see is, essentially, the car the Nissan will place in dealerships.

It won't be as fancy as the concept, which is tricked out with all sorts of flash and high-end treatments to impress -- but Green Car Advisor has been assured by Nissan people who know that the concept is "99 percent there."

Affordable Price

Word also is that the retail price of the EV will put it in Altima territory. Looking at the high end of the Altima lineup and adding a bit for the electric drivetrain and batteries, that would be somewhere in the mid $30,000s.

The purchase price might even be less -- Nissan officials tell us they are still undecided on whether to sell the car and lease its lithium-manganese battery pack, or to sell both.

Leasing the battery could get the car down into the mid-to high $20,000s, with buyers on the hook for another $100 a month of so (we're guessing here) for the batteries.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell July 31, 2009, 4:32 PM
Categories:: Japan, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Nissan Electric Car

July 28, 2009

Report: Toyota Plans Yaris-Based Hybrid Subcompact for Japan, Europe in 2011

New Gas-Electric Car Could Be Intended To Battle Honda Fit, CR-Z Hybrids Due in 2010

2009.toyota.yaris.20244849-396x249.jpg Toyota Motor Co. plans to launch a new small hybrid, based on the Yaris platform (it's the Vitz in Japan and Europe) and priced at under $16,000, according to a report in the Asahi newspaper.

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Toyota's Yaris could be the basis for a new small hybrid.
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The car, to be launched in late 2011, will be a unique model - not a hybridized Yaris/Vitz, the report says, and will be built in Japan and, possibly, Europe.

Toyota upheld its policy of not commenting on unauthorized reports of future products.

The idea isn't far-fetched. Toyota as said for years now that it plans to be able to offer a hybrid version of every vehicle in its lineup if it senses market demand.

A new subcompact Toyota hybrid would be just the ticket to battle rival Honda Motor Co., which has already said it will launch a hybrid version of its subcompact Fit (the Jazz in Europe) and a new hybrid sport car, the CR-Z, in late 2010.

"It is no surprise that Toyota is also looking to add this technology to the smaller end of its model range," IHS Global Insight said in a European analysts' report.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell July 28, 2009, 10:43 AM
Categories:: Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Hybrids

EnerDel, Think Lithium-Ion Battery Systems Going Postal in Japan

U.S.-based lithium-battery maker EnerDel and former Ford electric drivetrain and electric city car unit Think Global are collaborating on an effort to convert about a quarter of Japan's 22,000 gasoline-fueled postal trucks to battery-electric power.

Japan's postal service is road-testing two electric vehicles in the Tokyo and Kanagawa areas, EnerDel and Think said in a joint statement. The service has stated its intention to convert its entire fleet to electric by 2016, according to Rachel Carroll, spokeswoman for EnerDel parent Ener1.

EnerDel and Think had previously worked together on developing a 26 kilowatt-hour battery system for the Think City vehicle starting in 2007. The same system is being used for the Japan Postal trucks, the companies said.

Now considered an off-the-shelf package by the companies, the electric drive system was delivered to Zero Sports, a Japanese automotive specialty company that is one of several under contract with Japan Postal to do convert its gass trucks to electric.

While Carroll declined to estimate the horsepower, top speed and range generated by the postal prototype's 26 kilowatt-hour battery, which weighs about 600 pounds, the much smaller Think City EV has a range of 100 miles with a top speed of about 65 miles per hour.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell July 28, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Japan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric cars

July 23, 2009

Mitsubishi Launches i-MIEV In Tokyo, Says Goal is Global EV Market Leadership

Subaru Also Introduces its Stella EV in Japan, But on Much Smaller Scale

By Terril Yue Jones, Contributor

TOKYO - Mitsubishi Motors Corp. launched the modern era's first mass-produced electric vehicle from a major automaker today with plans to sell more EVs than any company ever has and to establish itself as the leader in zero-emissions vehicles.

About 50 i-MiEV four-seaters running on newly developed lithium-ion batteries were delivered to government and utility offices and companies around Japan Thursday, the first of 1,400 EVs that Mitsubishi expects the sell through March, when it will ramp up for sales to the general public, first in Japan and then globally.

Mitsubishi's launch overshadowed a smaller effort by Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., which manufactures the Subaru brand.

It also launched an EV effort today, delivering five Stella EVs to Japanese government and utility customers. Unlike Mitsubishi, Subaru doesn't plan to produce and sell large numbers of its electric car.

Tokyo Launch

Tokyo Electric Power Co. received four i-MiEVs and two EV Stellas on Thursday.

The power company has been testing both models for about a year and plans to deploy 310 EVs this fiscal year, according to spokesman Daisuke Hirose. Tokyo Electric plans eventually to convert 35 percent of its fleet of 8,500 vehicles to EVs, reducing its CO2 emissions by 2,600 tons per year, Hirose says.

"This isn't an effort to save money, but to protect the environment," said Hirose, noting the higher cost of the EVs compared to conventionally powered cars and trucks.

Japan Post Group, the national mail carrier that was privatized in 2007, took on two i-MiEVs and one Stella Thursday, the first of 20 each it plans to acquire this fiscal year.

Japan Post has been testing the EVs in various geographies and weather conditions to determine appropriate usage. It will deploy almost all of the 40 EVs in Kanagawa Prefecture, the state bordering Tokyo to the south that includes the port city of Yokohama, according to spokeswoman Takumi Niwa.

Electric motors provide good torque, and during a brief test ride in an i-MiEV this week the car showed good responsiveness and impressive acceleration in weekday Tokyo traffic.

Driver Reaction

Keiichi Hayakawa was among those who signed up for a test-drive at a Mitsubishi-sponsored program in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell July 23, 2009, 11:06 AM
Categories:: Japan, Mitsubishi, Plug-ins and Electric, Subaru
Technorati Tags:: Electric Vehicles

July 13, 2009

Honda Announces CR-Z and Fit Hybrids to Go On Sale in Japan Next Year

UPDATE: But the automaker says it has no plans to bring Fit Hybrid to U.S.

Honda Motor Co. announced today that it plans to begin selling the sporty CR-Z hybrid (above ) in Japan this coming February and release a hybrid version of its popular Fit five-door subcompact (below ) domestically by the end of next year.

By "combining these two models with the currently available Insight and Civic Hybrid, Honda will further enhance its lineup of compact hybrid models, which leverage the unique characteristics of Honda's Integrated Motor Assist, including compact size, lightweight and high efficiency," the company said in a statement.

Honda spokesman Chris Martin told Green Car Advisor that the CR-Z "will come to the United States within the calendar year of 2010," but he would not be more specific. As for the Fit Hybrid, he said Honda currently does not have any plans to bring it to the U.S.

The CR-Z concept vehicle made its world debut at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show in 2007. The car, which takes its looks from the CRX-style three-door hatchback of the 1980s, will feature a hybrid system similar to the one found in the current range of Honda hybrids.

As for a hybrid version of the Fit, American Honda spokesman Sage Marie insisted last September that it was years away. We're delighted that Honda gave that timeframe more thought.

Prices for the CR-Z and Fit Hybrid have not been announced, but the CR-Z is likely to be priced around $20,000 to compete effectively against Toyota's hybrid lineup and the hybrid Fit will likely come in much lower.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett July 13, 2009, 12:52 PM
Categories:: Emissions, Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Economy

June 26, 2009

Despite Slow Start, Japan Wants to Promote Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

Effort Comes as U.S. Plans to Drop Federal Funding For Fuel Cell Car Research

toyota.fchv.430.jpg Japan's Internal Affairs Ministry, dismayed that its goal of having 50,000 hydrogen fuel cell cars on the roads by the spring of 2011 isn't going to be achieved, has called for new measures to promote use of the vehicles.

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A Toyota Highlander fuel-cell vehicle.
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The government, which set the present goal back in 2001, also is expected to release a new target, given that here were only 42 fuel-cell electric vehicles in operation in Japan at the end of the 2008 fiscal year last March.

Already in place, as of April, is an exemption for fuel cell vehicles and other "new-generation" cars and trucks, from Japan's expensive vehicle weight and new-vehicle purchase taxes.

The Japanese government has invested the equivalent of $205 million in fuel cell development in the past five years, and Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda are among the industry leaders in the technology.

Honda's FCX Clarity (left) is the world's only purpose-built hydrogen fuel cell car.

It is a terribly expensive vehicle now (estimates of Honda's investment to build 200 of the cars range from $500,000 to $2 million per vehicle) because its body panels are all unique, requiring costly new tooling, and its power system is pretty much hand-built.

But Honda insiders say the car could be made affordable if there were sufficient demand to foster growth of a supplier industry to make fuel cells, batteries and other specialized components in volume.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell June 26, 2009, 12:27 PM
Categories:: Fuel Cell, Honda, Hydrogen, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Fuel Cell Vehicles

June 22, 2009

Report: Toyota's Green Cars Clash With Corporate Growth Plans in Japan

Is Toyota's Green Sheen Being Tarnished By Development Activity At Home?

Do as I say...

Toyota, noted for its environmental awareness and efforts, in the U.S. at least, to operate clean, green and sustainable facilities, has run afoul of the environmental community in Japan over its expansion plans.

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Rice growing near forested mountains in Japan.

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A new research center with more than 6 miles of test track and road courses that the automaker is planning in the country near its Toyota City headquarters threatens nesting areas of two endangered species of buzzards and the existence of nearly 700 acres of forests and 17th century rice paddies.

That's got area environmentalists in an uproar, Bloomberg news service reports.

Toyota, which did not respond to Bloomberg's request for comment, had said previously that the R&D center would help speed development of its hybrid models as well as other fuel efficient vehicles.

But to build it on the selected site in Aichi Prefecture - already scaled back by a third to help appease critics - the automaker will be cutting down cedar forests, filling in 400-year-old rice paddies and apparently leveling a mountain top or two. The process will destroy habitat for a number of bird species, local activists told Bloomberg.

"Most people think of Toyota as an environmentally friendly company," said Shigemi Oda, chairman of the Society to Consider the Large-Scale Development Project of the 21st Century. "Crushing mountains is environmentally destructive."

Toyota, according to Bloomberg, has spent more than 32 billion yen ($332 million) buying land for the $1.04 billion project.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell June 22, 2009, 11:00 AM
Categories:: Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Toyota Motor Corp.

June 12, 2009

Look Out, OPEC: Japan Beginning Work On 300-Mile Battery for Electric Cars

(Note: 4th paragraph typo re range goal corrected 6/15/09)

The Japanese government wants the nation's researchers to come up with a next-generation lithium-ion battery for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids that will deliver triple the power of the current crop of lithium-ion batteries, according to news reports from Japan.

To help move things along on the advanced battery front, the government's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization has called for a 22-member research consortium to be funded by about 21-billion yen ($215 million) in government grants over a seven-year period.

Major automakers, power companies and universities would be members of the research consortium.

The consortium's ultimate goal is a new type of battery, or an incredibly advanced li-ion chemistry, that would enable a conventional passenger car to travel more than ~~3000~~ 300 miles on a single charge.

The ability to build and sell large numbers of such batteries could help position Japan to become the Saudi Arabia of the advanced energy world as electric drive systems begin taking over from internal combustion engines in the future.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (10); John O'Dell June 12, 2009, 11:02 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Japan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Advanced Batteries; Lithium ion Batteries

June 4, 2009

Mitsubishi Reportedly Begins Production of I-MIEV Electric Car As July Lauch Date Nears

Mitsubishi has begun manufacturing the i-MIEV battery-electric city car it plan to begin leasing to fleet customers in Japan next month, according to a report in Japan's Kyodo News.

The automaker hasn't said anything officially, but the news report cites unidentified Mitsubishi executives as the source of its information.

The report also says that sales of the Mitsubishi EV to consumers in Japan will begin early next year and that the price of the small four-seat EV will be about 4 million yen, the equivalent today of $41,750, with Japanese government subsidies reducing it to about 3 million yen, or $31,300.

Mitsubishi reportedly will begin selling the i-MIEV in global markets in mid-2010.

There's been no official word on U.S. sales, but the company has been testing the car here and the market is too big to ignore.

With Nissan planning to launch an electric car of its own in the U.S. next year, Mitsubishi needs to get its foot in the door as early as possible.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell June 4, 2009, 11:39 AM
Categories:: Japan, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: EVs

May 29, 2009

Toyota Boosting Prius Production To Align Supply to Strong Demand

Toyota Motor Corp., taken aback by the volume of advance orders in Japan for the 2010 Prius, had been considering cutting down initial shipments to the U.S, where the redesigned hybrid is scheduled to go on sale within days.

That plan was jettisoned, though, and Toyota now is increasing production at its two Prius plants instead.

"We don't want the North American market to be hurt," said John Hanson, head of environmental communications for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. "We're upping production to protect allocations" for the U.S. and Europe while still satisfying home market demand.

Toyota, which launched the third-generation Prius in Japan earlier this month, had expected to sell 100,000 of the fuel-efficient hybrids there by December. Instead, its dealers took advance orders for 80,000 and have reportedly sold another 20,000 in the two weeks since the launch. That's 100,000 down with six months still to go.

The company is now pushing to increase annual Prius production to 500,000 cars -- up from 400,000 -- to keep adequate supplies flowing to all markets.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell May 29, 2009, 11:03 AM
Categories:: Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Prius

May 18, 2009

Toyota Rolls Out New, Less Pricey Prius in Japan and Claims 80,000 Preorders

Toyota rolled out the revamped Prius today, and the world's largest automaker said it already has 80,000 advance orders in Japan for the remodeled hybrid amid intensifying competition with Honda's rival offering, the Insight.

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Right, Toyota's Akio Toyoda speaks at the unveiling of the revamped Prius.
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That figure is remarkable, given that Toyota sold only 73,000 Priuses in Japan all last year.

The announcement came exactly one week after the Insight became the first hybrid ever to top that nation's monthly car sales list.

Toyota said it aims to sell up to 400,000 units globally a year of the new Prius.

"We are resting the future of cars in this model," said incoming president Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company's founder, who drove the new model onto a stage at a packed Tokyo showroom.

Both Toyoda's presence and the revamped Prius are symbolic of Toyota's pursuit of a turnaround from its worst annual loss since its 1937 founding.

The Prius, now in its third generation since its 1997 introduction, is the best-selling gas-electric hybrid in the world, racking up a cumulative 1.256 million units sold in more than 40 nations and regions.

But now Toyota faces a challenge from Honda, whose more cheaply priced Insight has sold briskly since it was introduced in Japan in February.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Scott Doggett May 18, 2009, 10:35 AM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Honda Insight

May 15, 2009

Sanyo Sees Hybrids Gaining Market Share, Steps Up Battery Production Plans

Japanese electronics giant Sanyo Electric Co. says it sees batteries -- for hybrids and possibly electric vehicles -- as a key to future profits and despite a $978.5 million loss for its just-completed 2008 fiscal year will be spending billions (of yen) on new battery plants and plant expansions this year and next.

In a conference with analysts this week, the company said that it has revised its long-term plan to include spending 30 billion yen ($314 million) by early 2012 to increase production of lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride batteries for hybrids.

Sanyo said it will open new lithium-ion battery factories this year and next at its complexes in Japan's Hyogo and Tokushima prefectures and is aiming at producing the advanced batteries for as many as 120,000 new vehicles a year.

Lithium-ion batteries, which are made with a number of different chemistries, are lighter and store more energy than the nickel-metal hydride batteries used in hybrids today. They are considered a must for next-generation plug-in hybrids and for all-electric EVs as they begin coming on line.

In addition to the lithium-ion battery factories, Sanyo said it also will invest in an expansion of its Sumoto nickel-metal hydride battery plant in Hyogo, to more that double annual production by the end of this year to 30 million battery cells -- enough for 150,000 conventional hybrids.

Sanyo supplies both Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. with nickel-metal hydride batteries for their present hybrid models and previously announced a joint venture with Volkswagen to produce advanced lithium-ion batteries for VW and Audi hybrids.

The electronics company said last year that it envisions a huge increase in hybrid production by 2015 -- including rechargeable, or plug-in, models -- and wants to capture a big chunk of the market for its batteries.

To that end, Sanyo has budgeted about 80 billion yen ($837 million at today's exchange rate) on hybrid battery production improvements through 2015.

Sanyo sees hybrid production increasing from around 600,000 last year to 4.5 million by 2015 and plans to be able to produce enough batteries to supply 40 percent of the market.

Meantime, the U.S. is just beginning to promote domestic battery manufacturing.

Without a concerted national battery development effort, and a federal energy policy that points the way, we can look for Japan, and China, to become the new Saudi Arabias as global oil production flattens and begins shrinking and electricity -- which needs batteries for storage -- becomes an increasingly important fuel for our personal vehicles.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell May 15, 2009, 10:59 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Hybrid, Japan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Hybrid Batteries

May 13, 2009

Better Place Battery Exchange Demo In Japan Goes Off Without A Hitch

Now the Silicon Valley Start-Up Has To Do It a Couple Hundred Thousand Times More

Model of Better Place battery exchange station shows cars on top level waiting for service while new battery (blue) is being installed in bottom car. Underground storage facility (center) is where charged batteries are kept and depleted batteries are recharged after being removed from cars.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

YOKOHAMA, Japan - Better Place strutted its stuff here Wednesday and it was a production well worth watching.

The would-be leader of the nascent electric-vehicle charging industry trotted out its battery switching technology at a demonstration project in downtown Yokohama and showed that, with a national network of battery exchange stations and vehicles designed to properly interface, EV ownership wouldn't have to be subjected to any significant limitations.

The battery exchange station - the first in the world to be shown to the public - ought to come with a knife and fork so those who've said that battery-electric vehicles' usefulness always will be constrained by lengthy recharging times can eat their words.

An End to Range Anxiety

In Better Place's better world, a depleted battery could be swapped for a freshly charged one in less time than it takes to pump 10 gallons of gasoline into the family sedan.

At the demonstration station, which will be open for the next six weeks in this bustling port city just south of Tokyo, a battery exchange was deliberately slowed down so those in the audience could follow it step-by-step. Even so, the exchange took just under 90 seconds.

If this kind of station were readily available, a cross-country trip in a battery-electric car wouldn't have to be interrupted every 200 miles or so to complete 4- to 6-hour battery charging sessions.

Better Place's founder and chief executive, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Shai Agassi, boasted that the engineering mule at the company's R&D center in Israel can do the job in as little as 40 seconds. That would get most of us into the station and back out with a fresh load of electrons in about a tenth of the time it takes to gas up a car with an internal combustion engine.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (2); John O'Dell May 13, 2009, 6:47 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Japan, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Renault
Technorati Tags:: Battery Exchange System

May 12, 2009

Nissan Says Tough Economy Won't Stall Plans for Electric Vehicles

There was a bit of green news along with the river of red ink that Nissan Motor Co. reported earlier today in Tokyo.

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The Denki Cube, a concept Nissan EV.
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Nissan reported a $2.85 billion net loss for its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31. The Japanese automobile company reported a full-year loss of $2.4 billion, down from a $4.9 billion profit for fiscal 2007.

Last week, Toyota Motor Co. reported a $4.5 billion loss, while Honda Motor Co. Ltd. posted a $1.4 billion profit.

"The global economic recession and financial crisis continue, but we are beginning to see some signs of improved access to credit, the impact of government stimulus packages and a gradual return in consumer confidence," Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn said in a statement. "We remain cautious about the economic environment and fully focused on our company's recovery efforts."

Now for the green.

Nissan said that the tough times in the automobile world won't slow its plan to start building electric vehicles at its Oppama plant outside of Tokyo in the fall of 2010. The plant's initial production capacity will be 50,000 units, but that volume will "continuously increase for the start of EV mass-marketing in 2012," according to Nissan.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson May 12, 2009, 8:06 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Honda, Japan, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Electric Car Batteries

ExxonMobil Claims Lithium-Ion Battery Advance on Safety, Durability Fronts

ExxonMobil Chemical is now manufacturing a commercial version of lithium-ion battery separator films that are designed to meet the safety, reliability and power performance requirements for use in hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in electric vehicles. The films were developed by ExxonMobil's Japanese-based Tonen Chemical Corp. affiliate.

The films are manufactured using a proprietary process that creates high heat resistant polymers that combine enhanced permeability, higher melt-down temperatures that, the company said, "ensure consistetent separator quality" for use in PHEV and hybrid vehicles.

"Separator quality and safety and supply reliability are critical considerations for battery and automotive manufacturers to support the rapidly developing HEV/EV market," said Jim Harris, senior vice president of ExxonMobil Chemical. "Producing these next-generation separators on our commercial lines positions us well to meet the growing market needs."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson May 12, 2009, 8:00 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Hybrid, Japan, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric Vehicle Batteries

Better Place Set To Unveil EV Battery Exchange Station in Japan

YOKOHAMA, Japan - We're in Japan for a few days this week to take a look at the city's electric vehicle test project, more specifically to witness the first demonstration of the battery exchange technology that Better Place founder Shai Agassi has been talking about for more than a year now.

Better Place, the Silicon Valley-based company that wants to lead the way into vehicle electrification by providing a global network of battery charging and exchange systems (working country by country, not all at once) is part of a consortium working with officials in Yokohama to establish a real-world center for assessing EV operation.

Mitsubishi Motors and Subaru are providing the cars, Tokyo Electric Power is supplying the juice, and Better Place is providing the means for getting it into the cars.

A temporary exhibit aimed at educating Japan's decision-makers, auto industry leaders and common citizens about electric cars, car charging and other issues is being inaugurated later today and a Better Place battery station will be part of it.

The company's buisness plan envisions some EV owners using on-street charging stations to "top up" the vehicles' batteries for a little extra range during the day when making short trips but exchanging entire depleted battery packs for fresh new ones in automated "battery swap" centers - think of them as full-service gas stations for EVs - when trips are longer and a single charged pack won't do.

Better Place intends to sell prepaid charging and battery swap plans, much the way cell phone companies sell minutes of air time in a variety of packages.

In addition to seeing how it works, we'll be asking Agassi how he plans to field the technology - which depends on a uniform battery mounting system - in markets like the U.S. where fiercdely competitive automakers rarely agree on anything,

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell May 12, 2009, 6:53 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Japan, Mitsubishi, Phoenix Motorcars, Plug-ins and Electric, Subaru, Yamaha
Technorati Tags:: Better Place

Honda Insight Becomes 1st Hybrid toTop Japanese Auto Sales Charts

A little bit of news from Japan: Honda's Insight has become the first hybrid ever to top that nation's monthly car sales list.

The Japan Auto Dealers Assn. reported Monday that Honda dealers sold 10,481 Insights in April, making it the best-selling passenger vehicle in the country.

Honda's Fit subcompact was second with 9,443 sales, followed by Toyota's Vitz subcompact (it's the Yaris in the U.S.) with 6,341 sales and the Toyota Corolla with 6,341 sales.

April was not only the first time a hybrid has been the country's top seller, it is the first time since its February introduction in Japan that Insight sales have topped the 10,000 mark.

AS is the case in the U.S., sales of Toyota's aging Prius are slipping - badly in Japan with a 64 percent decline from April of '08 - as consumers wait for the introduction at the end of this month of the redesiogned and reengineered 2010 Prius.

That's helped Honda's smaller Insight jump to the top of the heap, as has the Insight's price, which at just about $19,500 U.S. (1.89 million yen) is almost $4,500 cheaper than the present generation Prius (2.33 million yen). In the U.S, the Insight launced in late March with a $20,470 base price.

Thje big price differential has led Toyota to green-light a stripped down version of the Prius that will be priced to compete with the Insight, and there's speculation in Japan that pricing for the 2010 Prius with a full standard equipment package will be about $1,500 (280,000 yen) less than the comparably equipped '09 model.

Toyota alrerady has said that in the U.S. it will launch the Prius at $22,000 plus delivery (which varies by region and can add $300 to $600 to the price), with a stripped "basic" model to foillow in the Fall at $21,000 plus delivery.

Isn't competition wonderful!

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell May 12, 2009, 6:14 AM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Maserati, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid

April 28, 2009

Mitsubishi Reportedly Will Double i-MiEV Production Schedule by 2013

Here's a report that offers evidence that government-provided incentives can help to grow the market for cleaner, more-efficient vehicles.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. hopes to increase production of its i-MiEV to 30,000 vehicles annually during its 2012/2013 fiscal year, according to a report in the Kyodo News. The Japanese automaker previously said that it would produce 15,000 i-MiEV electric cars during its 2010/2011 fiscal year, according to the newspaper.

Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko told the newspaper that the anticipated production increase is being driven by consumer response to government-funded incentive programs around the world that encourage consumers to purchase low-emission, fuel-efficient vehicles.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 28, 2009, 3:56 PM
Categories:: Batteries, Emissions, Fuel Economy, Japan, Legislation, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Tax Incentives
Technorati Tags:: Electric Car

April 27, 2009

China's BYD Auto And Volkswagen Reportedly Have A Battery Deal In Place

China's BYD Auto and Volkswagen have confirmed that they will cooperate on the development of lithium iron phosphate batteries. That's according to Gasgoo.com, which based its account on a recent story in the Beijing News.

"BYD is willing to cooperate with foreign automakers on iron battery development," BYD sales manager Wang Jianjun reportedly told the newspaper, which added that BYD is "in talks with a number of foreign companies on supplying them with battery products."

Iron-phosphate is one of several battery technologies that the automobile industry is developing. The technology offers a relatively low-cost alternative to other types of lithium-ion batteries.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 27, 2009, 11:20 AM
Categories:: BYD, China, Hybrid, Japan, Plug-ins and Electric, Volkswagen
Technorati Tags:: BYD Auto

April 22, 2009

Oregon Governor Takes Mitsubish i-MiEV For Spin Around Portland

i-MiEV Oregon Oregonians got a sneak peek at the Mitsubishi i-MiEV earlier today as part of an Earth Day celebration in Portland.

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski took the four-passenger electric vehicle for a test drive on city streets.

Earlier this month Mitsubishi Motors North America, Oregon and Portland General Electric announced plans for the state to join in an i-MiEV testing program under way elsewhere in the U.S.

The state will get some i-MiEVs for its motor pool; in return, Mitsubish will receive data on how the small EVs do in a mountainous state with a wet climate along the Pacific Ocean. Mitsubishi Motors has similar agreements with Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric.

Mitsubishi Motors earlier this month confirmed that it will build and sell the battery-electric i-MiEV city car for the U.S.and other global markets. Mitsubishi earlier said that it would begin fleet sales of the tiny four-door in Japan this July, with retail sales expected to follow sometime in 2010.

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 22, 2009, 2:05 PM
Categories:: Japan, Mitsubishi, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Lithium Ion Batteries

April 15, 2009

Japanese Customers Reportedly Lining Up To Order Next-Generation Prius

Newspaper reports suggest that Toyota Motor Corp. could have about 40,000 pre-orders in hand come mid-May when its third-generation Toyota Prius hybrid goes on sale in Japan.

Reuters cites two newspaper stories as stating that Japanese dealers already have booked more than 20,000 pre-orders. One of the newspapers also quotes an unnamed Toyota official as predicting that pre-sale orders will reach 40,000.

Toyota officials in Japan declined to confirm the reports. In the U.S., a Toyota spokesman told Green Car Advisor that dealers take pre-orders, but that the automaker doesn't track that data.

Prius and Insight pre-orders, whether in Japan or the U.S. are taking on added significance given the head-on sales collision coming as Honda Motor Co. continues to roll out its new Insight hybrid and dealers ready showrooms for the third-generation Toyota Prius.

The Insight hybrid overtook Prius in Japanese domestic sales when it went on sale in February. The model drew 18,000 orders during the month to beat out Prius.

Global Insight, an economic forecasting company, believes that the first month of Prius sales will "easily surpass" the Honda Insight's initial monthly sales figure. Global Insight reports that Toyota "will undoubtedly be helped by its brand name and support for this type of powertrain from the Japanese government in the form of tax reductions."

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 15, 2009, 1:12 PM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Electric Car

Subaru Parent Fuji Heavy Industries Offers Details on Electric Stella Vehicle Sales

Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries has released a bit more information about the Electric Stella , which will enter the Japanese battery-electric vehicle market this summer.

According to Global Insight, an economics and business consulting and analysis firm, Kyodo News (subscription required) is reporting that Fuji will manufacture about 170 Electric Stella vehicles during its current fiscal year (which ends in 2010) and around 200 units during the following fiscal year. Kyodo reports that pricing is still up in the air, but that the cars initially will be marketed to corporate and government fleet buyers when sales begin in July.

The plug-in Electric Stella blends EV technology employed in the Subaru R1e electric vehicle with the conventionally powered Subaru Stella minicar that is sold in Japan. Fuji jointly developed the R1e with Tokyo Electric Power, a leading Japanese utility.

Global Insight sees two immediate hurdles for the Electric Stella vehicle - the model's anticipated high initial cost and "strong competition" from Mitsubishi's iMiEV, which also is scheduled to go on sale in Japan this summer.

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 15, 2009, 11:12 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Hybrid, Japan, Plug-ins and Electric, Subaru
Technorati Tags:: Electric Car

April 9, 2009

Mitsubishi Motors Confirms It Will Market i-MiEV in U.S. and Around The World

Mitsubishi Motors said this morning that it, indeed, will build and sell the battery-electric i-MiEV city car for the U.S.and other global markets.

It's an announcement surprising only in its timing as most of the green car world has been waiting for months for the project to get the official green light. Mitsubishi already has said that it will begin fleet sales of the tiny four-door in Japan this July, with retail sales expected to follow sometime in 2010.

"Electric vehicles are one branch of the automotive landscape and we are dedicated to providing these technology-sourced solutions as an important path for the world's clean-air options," Mitsubishi Motors North America's Shinichi Kurihara said in announcing the global market plan at the New York International Auto Show earlier today.

"We believe the i-MiEV delivers on the promise of sustainability, suitable range, performance, and innovative packaging and styling," said Kurihara, president and chief executive of the Japanese automaker's North American operation.

Oregon On Board Already

Kurihara also announced that the State of Oregon and Portland General Electric will join Mitsubishi in the i-MiEV test program already underway in the U.S., helping the company gather data on real-world EV use.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson April 9, 2009, 10:03 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Hybrid, Japan, Mitsubishi, Plug-ins and Electric, Transportation Alternatives
Technorati Tags:: Batteries

March 26, 2009

It's Official: Toyota To Sell Second-Generation Prius Alongside New Model in Japan

Don't you just love competition?

Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday confirmed that the current Prius model will continue to be sold in Japan even after the new, 2010 Prius (left) goes on sale in May.

The marketing maneuver is designed to help blunt competition in Toyota's home market from Honda's new (and cheaper) Insight.

The Insight's sales price in Japan starts at 1.89 million yen ($19,000), while the third-generation Prius will start at 2.3 million yen ($22,000).

Japanese media accounts have Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe confirming that the older model, which is smaller and somewhat cheaper, will remain on the market in Japan.

Japanese media reports also suggest that Toyota is planning a Yaris-based hybrid that would serve as another lower-cost alternative to the Insight. The Nikkei newspaper on Wednesday quoted a Toyota engineer as saying "we are developing a low-priced hybrid like Honda's Insight."

Don't look for the second-generation Prius to remain on the market in the U.S. Toyota earlier said that motorists on this side of the Pacific Ocean will get the third-generation model.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); Greg Johnson March 26, 2009, 1:15 PM
Categories:: Green Vehicles, Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Honda Insight

March 25, 2009

Mazda Launches Japanese Lease Program for Hydrogen-Electric Hybrid

A year after road testing began, Mazda has launched commercial leasing in Japan of its hydrogen-electric Premacy hybrid delivery van.

The exteded-range system uses a hydrogen-fueled Mazda rotary engine to generate power for a 110 kilowatt electric drive motor. Electrical energy is stored in a lithium-ion battery pack while the hydrogen fuel for the internal combustion engine-generator is stored in a 5,000 psi high-pressure tank.

Mazda says the hydrogen-electric series hybrid system (similar to the gasoline-electric system used in the upcoming Chevrolet Volt) gives the 5-seat van a range of 125 miles on a tank of fuel.

The automaker has been developing hydrogen-burining rotary engine technology since 1991 and last year began testing hydrogen-rotary RX8 sports cars. The hydrogen-electric Premacy van, introduced at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, is the first to use engine in a series hybrid setup.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 25, 2009, 8:26 AM
Categories:: Hybrid, Hydrogen, Japan, Mazda, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Hydrogen Electric Hybrid

March 24, 2009

Honda, GS Yuasha Cement Lithium Battery Development Deal

Honda Motor Co. and Japanese battery-maker GS Yuasa Corp., have formalized a joint venture agreement to develop, build and market high-performance lithium-ion batteries for hybrid and all-electric vehicles.

The deal originally was announced in December.

The new company, to be called Blue Energy Co., is scheduled to begin operations in April.
Honda said that it will hold a 49 percent stake and that the company, initially funded with 3 billion yen ($31.1 million at today's exchange rate), will be headed by a GS Yuasa executive.

Honda, which just launched the Insight compact hybrid , also markets the Civic Hybrid and has several other hybrid vehicles in development.

GS Yuasa has a similar battery development joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors. That company is called Lithium Energy Japan.

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 this year; Toyota is teaming with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. on its own battery technology.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 24, 2009, 10:10 AM
Categories:: Batteries, Honda, Hybrid, Japan
Technorati Tags:: GS Yuasa

March 23, 2009

Nissan Readying a Rear-Wheel-Drive Infiniti M Sport Sedan Hybrid for 2010

Hybrid isn't a word that generally gets used in the same sentence as Nissan. The company has been slow to enter the gas-electric vehicle market -- though it is pushing hard on development of an all-electric car.

But Edmunds' Inside Line is reporting that Nissan hopes to make up for lost time with a rear-wheel drive hybrid version of the Infiniti M Sport Sedan (a standard version is pictured, left).

The new 2010 Infiniti M hybrid, which will reportedly will use the same chassis that underpins the next Japanese-market Fuga sedan, is expected to take aim at the Lexus GS 450h. Its Nissan-designed parallel hybrid system apparently will match a 3.5-liter gasoline V6 with an electric motor of undisclosed power. A high-efficiency lithium-ion battery pack is the reported choice for energy storage.

Nissan's hybrid system is best suited to a rear-wheel-drive application, according to the company. Nissan also believes that improving fuel economy for the larger cars will have a greater impact on efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and petroleum consumption.

The company hasn't said when the new model would reach the U.S. market. And a spokesman on Monday said that Nissan isn't commenting on possible pricing or anticipated fuel economy numbers.

Inside Line also reports that Nissan is believed to have plans to make hybrid versions of all Infiniti models within 10 years.

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); Greg Johnson March 23, 2009, 10:31 AM
Categories:: Hybrid, Japan, Nissan
Technorati Tags:: Hybrid

March 16, 2009

Mazda Develops Japan's First Clean Diesel Urea Treatment, for 2010 CX-7

Mazda says it has developed Japan's first urea treatment system for clean diesels, to be used in Japanese and European diesel models of the 2010 Mazda CX-7 crossover.

Spraying urea - a form of ammonia - into the exhaust stream sets off a reaction that neutralizes much of the smog-causing NOx, or nitrates of oxygen, in diesel exhaust, transforming it into nitrogen and water vapor.

The technology is called selective catalytic reduction, or SCR.

The urea treatment to knock down NOx in diesel exhaust was first developed in Europe and for a time it looked as though Japanese automakers would ignore it in favor of a system, developed by Honda Motor Co. that employs engine heat and catalysts to create ammonia from NOx and then uses it to neutralize the pollutant.

The Honda system is self-contained while the urea system favored in Europe, and now by Mazda, requires car owners to top up a special urea tank, generally with every oil change.

Mercedes-Benz and several other European automakers are using urea-treatment systems in diesels sold in the U.S., but Mazda hasn't said whether it plans to bring the 2.2-liter clean diesel 2010 CX-7 (below) or any other diesel model to this country.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell March 16, 2009, 11:49 AM
Categories:: Diesel, Emissions, Japan, Mazda
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Mazda CX 7

March 13, 2009

Toyota Reportedly Considering Lowering 2010 Prius Starting Price in Japan

Could Also Happen In U.S. to Compete with Lower-Priced 2010 Honda Insight

So much for Toyota's insistence that it doesn't see Honda's new 2010 Insight compact hybrid as competition for the larger and pricier mid-size Prius, which has long been the world's best-selling gas-electric car.

Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper is reporting that there's serious talk inside Toyota Motor Corp. of releasing a base model of the upcoming 2010 Prius that's 250,000 yen cheaper (about $2,575 at today's exchange rate) than the least expensive 2009 model Prius now sold in Japan.

U.S. Plans

The redesigned 2010 Prius is slated to go on sale in the U.S. in late May or early June and pricing hasn't been announced yet.

Toyota does plan, however, to hold up release of the base, or "standard" trim level of the new Prius for three to six months (marketing plans calls for the initial launch to include Level 2, 3, 4 and 5 models, but no Level 1) and a spokesman said this morning that it is likely to have less standard equipment than the other models and a price that is closer to the Insight's. Honda recently announced that 2010 Insight pricing in the U.S. would start at $20,470, including destination. The new hybrid goes on sale here March 24. The '09 Prius in the U.S. starts at $22,720 including the destination charge.

Hot Contest

The reason for the price-cut discssion in Japan is also to better compete with the Insight, which has taken Japan by storm in the month since it was released here, with Honda dealers booking a reported 18,000 orders.

While the bottom-of-the-line '09 Prius is now priced at 2.3 million yen, the base Insight went on sale Feb. 6 in Japan at 1.89 million yen, almost 18 percent less.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 13, 2009, 9:32 AM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Honda

March 10, 2009

Orders Stacking Up as Honda Insight Outsells Prius in First Month in Japan

Kyodo News International is reporting that Honda Motor Co. wrote about 18,000 orders in Japan for the 2010 Insight hybrid hatchback in the month following its February 6 debut.

The surge of Japanese Insight orders shows considerable interest in the compact hybrid in a country where, as in the U.S., the Toyota Prius has reigned supreme.

And despite the shortened February selling period, Japan's Honda dealers hit the company's monthly target of 5,000 sales, delivering 4,906 new Insights during the month to land the car at 10th overall on the Japanese Automobile Dealers Assn.'s monthly sales ranking.

The Prius fell from 5th to 12th place on February sales of 4,524 vehicles.

The auto dealers association linked the tumble to Japan's stalled economy and to consumer interest in the new hybrid on the block. Japanese consumers also are waiting for the spring launch of the new 2010 Prius.

Kyodo reports that the Insight, as expected, is clicking with young singles. But the report also notes that the compact hybrid hatchback is drawing "seniors who are seeking a family car, thanks to its high fuel economy" and relatively affordable price.

As we reported earlier today, the official U.S. starting price for the base LX model will be $19,800 when sales here begin on March 24. The real starting price, including the destination charge, is $20,470.

In Japan, the Insight went on sale last month priced at 1.89 million yen, or about $20,640 plus the Japanese version of a destination charge.

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (1); John O'Dell March 10, 2009, 2:10 PM
Categories:: Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Honda Insight

March 2, 2009

Mitsubishi Confirms EV-Sharing Deal; i-MiEV To Wear Peugeot Badge in Europe

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. today confirmed that it will provide electric car technology to French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen starting in late 2010 or early 2011. The two companies will produce a vehicle based upon Mitsubishi's iMiEV vehicle that will be marketed under the Peugeot brand .

Mitsubishi described its agreement with Peugeot as a memorandum of understanding that is "consistent with its worldwide electric vehicle strategy."

Mitsubishi's iMiEV technology currently is being tested in Japan -- where it is scheduled to debut this summer -- as well as in the U.S., Europe and New Zealand.

Today's announcement confirmed media reports about an electric car technology collaboration that surfaced last summer shortly after Mitsubishi became a minority partner in Peugeot's new $465 million plant in Russia.

Mitsubishi still plans to market its own line of electric vehicles in Europe. The Peugeot deal "would be mutually beneficial since the collaboration of MMC and PSA Peugeot Citroen will ease and accelerate the introduction of their electric vehicles in the European market," according to a statement on Mitsubishi's Web site.

Mitsubishi plans to introduce electric cars in Japan this summer. Closer to home, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric have been testing the zero-emissions four-passenger electric vehicle.

Greg Johnson, Contributor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell March 2, 2009, 10:13 AM
Categories:: France, Japan, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric Vehicles

February 11, 2009

Heavyweight Japanese Consortium To Tackle Cellulosic Ethanol Development

It's seemed for the longest time that if a clean, economical form of ethanol was ever going to be developed, the cost and effort would be left largely up to researchers in the U.S. and Europe.

But Reuters is reporting that Japan has now gotten into the act in a serious way, with a consortium of major companies including Toyota Motor Corp. and Nippon Oil Corp. agreeing to set up a national research effort.

The companies want to develop a low-cost method of producing cellulosic ethanol - the kind that comes from the cellulose in wood chips, prairie grasses and waste biomass instead of that in food crops such as corn and sugar cane.

The Japanese cellulosic ethanol research isn't aimed at a particularly quick fix, though.

Reuters says the group's goal is to be producing about 1.6 million barrels a year by early 2014 and to get the cost down to the equivalent of $70 a barrel by 2015.

Among the companies joining Nippon Oil and Toyota in the consortium are Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Sapporo engineering - a subsidiary of Sapporo Breweries, which churns out a lot of biomass waste from beer-making.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

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Graphic courtesy U.S. Department of Energy

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell February 11, 2009, 8:30 AM
Categories:: Biofuels, Ethanol, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Cellulosic Ethanol

February 5, 2009

2010 Honda Insight on Sale in Japan, Looking Good for Sub-$20K Price Tag in U.S.

U.S. On-Sale Date Is Late April, but First Cars Could Be Here by End of March

By John O'Dell, Senior Edito r

Honda Motor Co. hasn't set U.S. pricing yet for its new 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid (right), but by launching the car first in Japan -- it goes on sale there Friday -- the automaker provides a pretty good clue.

Japanese pricing for the five-seat, gas-electric compact starts at 1.89 million yen, the U.S. equivalent of $20,640 at today's exchange rate.

Honda has said that the Insight will be the least-expensive hybrid in the U.S., and most in the automotive media have taken that to mean that the price tag here will be under $20,000.

The Insight officially is scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. on April 22, but Honda insiders say the company will start shipping them to dealers as soon as the first boatload makes landfall and that some could be in showrooms as early as the end of March.

Honda and most other Japanese carmakers often price vehicles higher in the home market than the same models sell for in the U.S., so it would seem that guesstimates of a base Insight price here in the range of $18,995 to $19,995 would be on the money.

Toyota's Prius starts at $22,000 and the Honda Civic Hybrid at $23,550.

The 2010 Insight, introduced at the Detroit auto show last month, uses the name of Honda's first hybrid, but shares little else with the original two-seat Insight.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell February 5, 2009, 10:00 AM
Categories:: Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid

January 5, 2009

Major Japanese Retailer Says Mitsubishi's I-MiEV Battery-Electric Car Is Way To Go

Mitsubishi Motors has found a fan in Japan for its battery-electric i-MiEV city car .

The Lawson convenience store chain, which operates 8,000 locations in Japan and has a fleet of 1,500 company-owned vehicles, says it will start replacing them with EVs next year.

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Composite photo shows i-MiEV parked in front of one of Japan's Lawson stores.

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The Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbum reported last week that Lawson will acquire 150 Mitsubishi i-MiEVs when the automaker begins marketing them to the public -- in Japan only, we're sorry to say -- this summer.

Lawson also said that it is contemplating installing electric-car charging stations at some of its stores at the end of the year to see if that will help boost consumer interest in battery-electric vehicles.

The chain store operator told the newspaper that it hoped to improve its corporate image and cut its fuel bills by becoming an early adopter of EVs In its fleet. It said that if all goes well it would like to convert its entire fleet to electric-drive vehicles over time.

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell January 5, 2009, 11:28 AM
Categories:: Japan, Mitsubishi, Plug-ins and Electric
Technorati Tags:: Electric Car

January 2, 2009

Toyota Solar Car Report: There May be Smoke, But Apparently No Fire

Businesses in Japan have an even greater habit than businesses in the U.S. of using the media to float trial balloons, and this looks to be the first big one out of Tokyo for 2009.

The Associated Press says that the Nikkei business newspaper is reporting that Toyota - looking for some environmental bling to help bolster its suddenly money-losing business - is secretly developing a solar-powered electric car.

The AP report, published New Year's Day in the Detroit Free Press and a few hundred other news outlets, says it will be years before the vehicle would be available on the market.

No surprise there. Our understanding of solar energy conversion isn't great, but we suspect that it will require major improvements in solar cell technology to make them so powerful that a conventionally-sized car could carry enough of them to generate the juice that would be needed to make it go.

Fact or Fiction?

While the AP story got lots of traction, a blogger for The Truth About Cars has posted a piece debunking the whole thing, saying that a search of recent Nikkei articles didn't turn up anything that had Toyota and solar powering the same story.

The closest, according to the posting, was an article about solar-powered homes that could use electric cars as storage batteries (the cars would be able to pump juice back into the household system when the sun was down). The article, however, doesn't mention Toyota.

Our own search of the Nikkei index had the same result: we could find nothing about a Toyota solar car (and Toyota was closed for the holiday, so we couldn't get a comment there).

If, however, we're all missing something and the wire service writer got it right, we suggest that perhaps floating the idea of a solar Toyota now was seen as something that would brighten spirits among the automaker's investors in Japan - and elsewhere - who are looking at the company's first operational loss in 71 years with a pretty dismal 2009 expected to follow.

Solar Housing First

According to the Associated Press's report, Toyota supposedly is initially looking at a car that would get some of its electrical power from on-board solar cells but still would rely on rechargeable batteries for most of its juice. The wrinkle is that the power to recharge the batteries also would come from solar cells mounted on residential rooftops.

That plays into something we already know about Toyota: it is considering solar panels in the roof of the upcoming 2010 Prius to provide power for the air conditioner and perhaps a few other accessories, and it has a home-building business in Japan and is toying with the idea of solar power that would tie together a Toyota house and a Toyota electric car.

(Hmmm. That sounds a lot like the Jan.1 Nikkei story we did find, except we wrote about it way back in July.)

Toyota also uses solar power on several of its factories and warehouses, so is no stranger to the technology.

But a solar car?

We'd love to see it, and with Toyota one can never be sure.

But we're thinking this story might have been more appropriate on April 1 than on Jan. 1.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell January 2, 2009, 3:00 AM
Categories:: Japan, Plug-ins and Electric, Solar, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: Toyota Solar Car

December 29, 2008

Nissan, NEC to Put $1.1 Billion Into Battery Manufacturing Business

We're talking about EV battery manufacturing and development in the U.S., but they're doing it in Japan.

Nissan Motor and NEC Corp. reportedly have agreed to pump almost $1.1 billion, into Automotive Energy Supply Corp., their previously announced joint venture for manufacturing lithium-ion battery packs (right) for electric and hybrid cars.

If the Nikkei business daily report is accurate, this will be the fourth major battery venture in Japan: Toyota has teamed with Matsushita Electric, Honda with Sanyo and Mitsubishi with GS Yuasa.

Nissan has an agreement with its French partner, Renault, to begin producing electric vehicles by 2010, and needs an assured battery supplier. The Japanese model calls for important components for a Japanese-built vehicle to be developed and produced at home when possible.

The deal, according to the Nikkei report as reviewed by analysts at Global Insight, calls for the Nissan-NEC partnership to ultimately produce sufficient batteries to supply 200,000 hybrids and EVs a year, with initial production of 13,000 battery packs a year to begin in 2009.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Posted by: Permalink | Comments (0); John O'Dell December 29, 2008, 1:06 PM
Categories:: Batteries, Honda, Hybrid, Japan, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota
Technorati Tags:: EV Batteries