Toyota said to consider οffering version of Prius hybrid to GM

Toyota Motor Corp. may offer to supply a version of its Prius hybrid car to General Motors Corp. during a meeting between the companies’ chief executives, two people familiar with the plan said.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda and GM’s Fritz Henderson will meet in Michigan in August said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plan isn’t public. A GM-badged car based on the Prius is among the options for new products at a jointly owned factory in California after GM said it would end assembly of the Pontiac Vibe at the plant earlier than planned.

A version of the world’s top-selling hybrid car may help bankrupt GM win U.S. customers and would give it an incentive to keep open the joint-venture factory. Toyota is also considering the plant as a Prius production site after shelving plans to make the gasoline-electric car in Mississippi, two people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg earlier this month.

“Having a stronger line-up is an urgent matter for GM,” said Yoshihiro Okumura, who helps oversee the equivalent of $365 million at Tokyo-based Chiba-gin Asset Management Co. “Demand will continue to shift to small cars.”

GM currently has eight hybrid models, two of which are Saturns, a brand that GM is selling to Penske Automotive Group Inc. Of GM’s remaining six hybrids, only one, the Chevy Malibu, is a car, according to its web site.

Pat Morrissey, a spokesman for GM, declined to comment on any technology-sharing relationship with Toyota.

GM will launch the plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt next year and plans to have 14 hybrid models in 2012, the automaker said June 1 as part of its bankruptcy filing.

Nummi’s Fate

GM said earlier this month it will stop building Vibes in August at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., the only large auto-assembly plant on the U.S. west coast, ahead of the Detroit-based company’s initial plan to cut the hatchback in 2010. Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, and GM, the second largest, have shared the factory, known as Nummi, since 1984.

“We have been in discussions with Toyota about potential future products. We have not figured out a product that meets the needs of Toyota or ourselves,” Troy Clarke, president of GM North America, said during a June 26 conference call. “That dialogue continues.”

Clarke told reporters on June 19 that GM is not in current talks to license Toyota’s hybrid system.

“Nothing has been decided other than halting the production of the Vibe at Nummi,” said Hideaki Homma, a Tokyo- based spokesman for the company. “A meeting of the executives is also not under consideration.”

Ford Arrangement

Ford Motor Co. licenses Toyota patents as part of its hybrid program, while GM has turned down those opportunities in the past, said Jim Hall, principal of 2953 Analytics auto- consulting firm in Birmingham, Michigan. It might make sense if GM also shares component development for its sedans with Toyota, he said.

“Toyota is not normally in the practice of giving away the crown jewels,” Hall said.

It probably doesn’t make sense to put a hybrid vehicle in Nummi, Hall said. For GM, it would make more sense to share mid- sized pickups such as the Chevrolet Colorado with the Toyota Tacoma, which is built in Nummi now, he said.

Toyota and GM have shared the Fremont, California, plant since 1984. While GM owns half of the plant, Toyota models accounted for 76 percent of output through June 27, according to trade publication Automotive News.

The factory has capacity to make 420,000 cars and trucks a year and employs about 5,400 people, according to the plant’s Web site. In addition to Vibe, which is a version of Toyota’s Matrix hatchback, Nummi builds Corolla small cars and Tacoma pickups.

Toyota on Dec. 15 said it would halt work on the $1.3 billion Blue Springs, Mississippi, factory after plunging U.S. sales created excess capacity at its North American plants. The company early this year said it would pay the interest on bonds issued by Mississippi for plant-related infrastructure.

Source: Bloomberg

Toyota iQ to be donor for Aston Martin's £20k Cygnet city car (革新的なコミューターコンセプトカー アストンマーティンが放つ「Cygnet」)

This isn’t a joke, but a concept for Aston Martin’s new £20k city car. Called the Cygnet, it’s a tiny Toyota iQ-based commuter car redesigned inside and out, and will be sold to existing and future Aston owners from the end of 2010.

The Cygnet concept does actually look like an Aston Martin

Well, an Aston city car. The Cygnet is much more than a badge and stickers special edition – the concept features a redesigned front end with the trademark Aston grille, a vented bonnet, plus air intakes around the iQ’s lights, all of which help to differentiate the concept from its donor car. There are also new door skins and Aston’s famous pop-out door handles, plus revisions to the rear.

Aston won’t be drawn into revealing details of the Cygnet’s interior, but promises the changes inside will be even more extreme that the tweaks outside.

And when can I have one?

Not until the back end of 2010, when Aston reckons it’ll have the project ready. In the meantime it still needs to finalise the styling, especially inside, and figure out exactly how it’s going to make the car. At the moment the company is planning to buy iQs from Toyota, then change them at its Gaydon HQ, but it still needs to decide the details, including what engine/gearbox combination it’s going to sell.

Let’s get this straight – can I buy an Aston Martin Cygnet instead of a Mini?

Not unless you already own a ‘proper’ Aston. Aston reckons around 50% of its customers also own a city car like a Smart for their day-to-day transportation needs, and wants to capitalise on that market.

Rather than have its customers pootle around in £10k city cars, Aston is designing a unique and exclusive city car, so the Cygnet will be offered to all existing Aston owners, and anyone in the future who orders a DB9, DBS, Vantage, Rapide, or even the One-77.

Where did the idea come from?

Aston CEO Dr Ulrich Bez, of course. ‘Now is the right time for Aston Martin to take this first bold step to embark on this special project,’ said Dr Bez. ‘This concept - akin to an exclusive tender to a luxury yacht - will allow us to apply Aston Martin design language, craftsmanship and brand values to a completely new segment of the market.’

‘Much work is still required, but I am confident that this project could become reality in the not too distant future. The offering of a Cygnet with a DBS, DB9 or Vantage is a unique combination of opposites and a novel transport solution allowing intelligent and sensitive mobility on an exclusive and innovative level.’

The tie-up with Toyota came after a chance meeting at a Nurburgring 24hr race. Akio Toyoda, recently announced as Toyota’s new boss, was racing at the ‘Ring and his team was sharing a garage with the Aston works team. Bez and Toyoda became friends, and the pair have helped form the project.

Source: Car magazine

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Text in Japanese

ゲイドン、2009 年 6 月29 日、月曜 アストンマーティンは新しいラグジュアリーコミューターコンセプトを開発しました。「Cygnet (シグネット)」と呼ばれるこのコンセプトカーは、流行と贅沢さが求められる都会での移動手段として開発された、個性ある知的でエクスクルーシブな車です。

このコンセプトカーはアストンマーティンのトレードマークに則ったデザインを持つ、非常に高い評価を得ているトヨタ iQ をベースとしたコミューターで、ユーロ NCAP の 5 つ星をクリアーする安全性も備えています。

「Cygnet」コンセプトは独創的で環境に優しい高い燃費効率を誇る、小さくても存在感のある車で、さらにラグジュアリーなアストンマーティン独自のプレステージ性も与えられています。

　

このコンセプトカーは、高級でニッチな技術力で世界をリードするアストンマーティンと、品質と信頼性において世界をリードするメーカーであるトヨタのコラボレーションモデルです。両社はメーカーとしての規模は全く違いますが、車に対する強い情熱によって支えられる卓越した技術力とイノベーションで構築されている信念を共有しています。

アストンマーティンのウルリッヒ・ベッツ最高経営責任者（CEO）は次のように話しています：「アストンマーティンにとって、今こそこの特別なプロジェクトへ向けて思い切った行動を取る時です。 このプロジェクトは成長を遂げた実力のあるトヨタの協力、そして iQ が持つ知的なデザインおよびシティーコミューターとして完璧なパッケージによって実現します。」

「まだ多くの仕事が残されていますが、私はこのプロジェクトが遠くない時期に実現するものと確信しております。このコンセプトは、豪華ヨットを作る時のようなエクスクルーシブな提案に近いと言えるでしょう。そしてこのコンセプトによってアストンマーティンのデザイン、クラフトマンシップ、ブランドバリューを全く新しいセグメントへ導入させることができるのです。」

.

「Cygnetと DBS、DB9 そしてVantageは対照的な独自のラインナップです。また『Cygnet』という新しい移動手段によって高級感があり革新的、かつ知的でセンシティブなモビリティーが誕生します。」

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Toyota Auris hybrid coming this autumn

Toyota will launch a hybrid version of its Auris hatchback this autumn, and the car will be built in the UK at the Burnaston factory in Derbyshire.

The Auris Hybrid Synergy Drive will share its petrol-electric drivetrain with the new Prius — so that means it has a 98bhp 1.8-litre Atkinson-cycle petrol engine and an 80bhp electric motor.

But it will cost less, partly because it is a smaller car and partly because it will be less well equipped. The Auris will give Toyota a more direct rival for the Honda Insight, although Toyota’s hybrid system is more sophisticated than its rival’s.

The lower weight and smaller size could make the Auris hybrid Toyota’s cleanest model when it is launched at this autumn’s Frankfurt show, undercutting the new Prius’s 87g/km of CO2.

The hybrid Auris launch will follow the arrival of the new Prius this month, and will in turn be followed by a hybrid RAV4.

The three models are all built on the same platform; they are part of a strategy aimed at boosting Toyota’s annual hybrid sales to a million units. The firm’s wider aim is to base its image on offering models with strong environmental credentials.

Source: Autocar

Toyota, Honda slash production as car demand falls

Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., Japan’s two largest carmakers, reduced production last month as rising unemployment in the U.S. has hammered car sales.

Toyota’s output dropped 39 percent to 442,621 vehicles in May from a year earlier, the company said in an e-mailed release today. The decline is the company’s 10th straight. Honda, the country’s second-biggest carmaker, cut global production by 38 percent to 195,085 units, it said. Nissan’s global output fell 27 percent.

Japanese automakers slashed production in North America last month to reduce inventories as overall sales in the U.S. plunged 34 percent. Sliding demand in the U.S. has led Nissan Motor Co. to cut 20,000 jobs this fiscal year and pushed General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC into bankruptcy.

“Recovery will come only after the U.S. returns to health because Japanese carmakers rely on that market,” said Masatoshi Nishimoto, an analyst at CSM Worldwide in Tokyo.

CSM predicts sales in the U.S. will fall to 9.7 million units this year from 13.2 million a year ago and then rise to 11 million in 2010. The jobless rate in the world’s largest economy jumped to 9.4 percent in May, the highest in more than 25 years.

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said June 18 that domestic sales are lagging behind its forecast for the fiscal year, already expected to be the worst in three decades. The group predicts Japan industrywide sales will drop 8.5 percent to 4.3 million in the year ending March.

Toyota’s production in Japan fell 42 percent to 192,637 in May and exports dropped 51 percent, the company said. That doesn’t include its Hino and Daihatsu units.

Honda built 52,663 vehicles domestically, down 43 percent, the company said. Its exports slumped by 65 percent to 18,156 vehicles. Total production at Nissan fell to 201,340 vehicles, while domestic output fell 36 percent and exports fell 56 percent, it said in a statement.

Honda rose 3.3 percent to 2,650 yen as of 1:45 p.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Toyota gained 2.5 percent to 3,710 yen. Nissan rose 3.5 percent to 590 yen.

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Toyota Slashing Costs

The automaker is slashing costs by at least 800 billion yen this year as it expects global sales to plummet by 1.07 million vehicles to 6.5 million units this fiscal year.

Toyoda said today he hopes to cut beyond that target calling the goal “only a starting line.” He added that his salary will be reduced by 30 percent for one year and board members will also return part of their salaries.

Toyota is likely to begin cutting costs in Japan first, analysts said. Toyoda may slash the automaker’s domestic capacity and workforce by at least 10 percent, reducing its 20 platforms and 70 model types by 10 percent and consolidating its rural dealer network in Japan, according to Koji Endo, an analyst at Credit Suisse Securities (Japan) Ltd.

Prius

Toyota, which introduced a new version of its Prius hybrid on May 18, is reviewing its product line up to focus on regional offerings, Toyoda said.

Toyota will form a market research, planning and advertising unit that will report to Toyoda. The unit, which will merge existing departments, will be formed in January.

Toyota said it has now booked 200,000 domestic orders for the new Prius gasoline-electric hybrid.

The company had set a sales target of 10,000 units a month in Japan. The tally includes 80,000 orders placed before the car went on sale.

The third-generation Prius was Japan’s bestselling car last month, surpassing Honda Motor Co.’s Insight. Hybrid sales have surged on the introduction of new models and government incentives.

Source: Bloomberg

All-electric i-MiEV city car to play prominent role in government's £25 million 'Real World' trials

• Twenty-five of the first fifty all-electric Mitsubishi i MiEV city cars will go onto the Government’s trial in November 2009

The all-electric Mitsubishi i MiEV city car is set to play a prominent role in one of the Government’s recently announced Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator projects being run by the Technology Strategy Board. The Mitsubishi will take part in the West Midlands’ CABLED (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators) consortium, which includes industry, council, academic and power organisations, and is led by design and engineering consultant, Arup.(1)

The Secretary of State for Transport, Lord Adonis, and Lord Drayson, the Minister for Science and Innovation, launched the Technology Strategy Board project yesterday, in which eight winning consortia will receive a total of £25 million from the Government to help speed up the introduction of ultra low carbon vehicles. The project brings together manufacturers, power companies, Regional Development Agencies, councils and academic institutions in an attempt to accelerate the reality of a greener future of transport in the UK.

Mitsubishi will showcase its award-winning all-electric i MiEV city car, with 25 vehicles going on the road as part of the trial from November this year. A total of approximately three hundred and forty vehicles will begin trials on UK roads within the next six to eighteen months, which makes this the biggest project of its kind.(2)

The i MiEV’s vital statistics are sure to make it a prominent and successful player in the trials: with a top speed of 87mph, a range of well over 80 miles, and the ability to carry four adult passengers and luggage in comfort. It can also recharge from flat-to-full in 6 hours via a 240V UK supply, or fast-charge from flat to 80 percent in just 20-30 minutes – all features that will ensure the car shows off how practical it is for everyday use.

Mitsubishi’s Managing Director, Lance Bradley, said “It is excellent news that the i MiEV will play such a prominent role in this real-world trial. It is a great platform for us to show off our advanced electric vehicle technology, which itself is acting as a catalyst for the many other CO2 lowering environmental technologies we have in the near future.”

(1) The CABLED consortium includes five other motor manufacturers.

(2) This figure does not include any hybrid cars currently on the road.

Source: Newspress

Nissan's EV plans revealed

Nissan will give its new global electric car its first public airing when the company opens its new global headquarters in Yokohama on August 2.

Nissan's EV, billed as a medium five-door hatchback with dedicated body styling, will appear first as a prototype. The real car will make its debut at the Tokyo motor show in October.

Production will kick off at Nissan's Oppama plant in Japan in winter 2010, but Nissan says other production bases around the world could also get the new EV.

Nissan will start with a production rate of 50,000 units per year, ramping up the build rate as mass-marketing begins around 2012-13. The EV motor will be produced in Yokohama and the inverter will initially be made at Nissan's Zama plant.

Power will come from a lithium-ion battery, produced by Nissan's affiliate AESC in Zama. Nissan claims that compared to a conventional li-lo battery, its unit has higher reliability and performance, with twice the power and energy.

Nissan is also pushing ahead with the next Micra, coyly described as its 'global entry car'. This will launch in spring 2010. Nissan will produce this car both in India (for European markets) and Thailand (for Japan) but China and two other as-yet-unnamed nations will also make the car that's on line to sell one million units a year after manufacturing is fully ramped up.

"The key challenge lies in bringing a consistent, high level-quality standard while keeping the price of the car competitive and affordable," commented Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn.

"I recently enjoyed testing a prototype which offers the roominess, technology and comfort of a B-segment vehicle with the fuel efficiency and overall cost of ownership of a global entry-segment vehicle."

Europe is also line for the next Patrol; Nissan is redesigning its enduring mammoth off-roader primarily for Middle East duty, but Europe will also get the revised model for the first time in 2010.

Source: Autocar

Nissan hosts the launch of the UK hydrogen network (UK-HyNet) project

Nissan European R&D hosted a meeting at the Nissan Technical Center Europe (NTCE) in Bedfordshire (UK) to launch the UK Hydrogen Network (UK-HyNet) project. UK-HyNet is an initiative to creating a network of hydrogen infrastructure throughout the UK by 2015.

While the UK already has clusters of knowledge and technological innovation in hydrogen, fuel cells and low-carbon energy systems, efforts have until now remained localised—and thus dwarfed by national projects abroad. Under UK-HyNet, all these activities will become part of a coordinated national program.

In parallel with UK-HyNet, a UK Hydrogen Roadmap is being developed which will set out a strategic plan for the emerging hydrogen industry. UK-HyNet puts in place a practical mechanism for the implementation of the strategy articulated in the UK Hydrogen Roadmap.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance will introduce zero-emission vehicles in the United States and Japan starting with electric vehicles from 2010. The Alliance aims to take the leadership of zero-emission mobility in the automotive industry and will start mass-marketing electric vehicles globally in 2012. To date the Alliance has signed two final agreements in Europe with Portugal and the Principality of Monaco. The two agreements formulate concrete proposals—ranging from incentives and infrastructures to education programs—creating conditions for wide availability and acceptance of electric vehicles.

Along with this near-term plan to introduce electric vehicles to the mass-market globally by 2012, the FCV work is a longer-range program designed to enhance practicality and reduce costs of the technology, and includes the plan to release newer generation, developmental FCVs in the 2010s. Nissan is now developing a third generation of its proprietary fuel cell stack, with increased longevity, greater power and further weight reductions.

Source: Green Car Congress

Nissan gets $1.6 billion to produce EVs and lithium-ion batteries in Smyrna

Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) said it has been conditionally approved by the U.S. Department of Energy for a $1.6 billion loan to modify its Smyrna, Tenn., manufacturing plant to produce zero-emissions vehicles and state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery packs to power them.

The loan, announced by the U.S. Department of Energy, is among the first three loans under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program (ATVMLP), a $25-billion program authorized by Congress under Section 136 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The loan will help Nissan produce electric vehicles, which emit no gases and are powered only by electricity.

“This loan is an investment in America. It will help us put high-quality, affordable zero-emissions vehicles on our roads,” said Dominique Thormann, senior vice president, Administration and Finance for NNA. “This project will expand our Smyrna plant and that’s great economic news.”

The ATVMLP is designed to accelerate the development of vehicles and technologies that increase U.S. energy independence, create cleaner means of transportation and stimulate the American economy. Companies receiving the loans go through a rigorous financial and technical qualification process and must put collateral in place before approval.

Construction at Smyrna is scheduled to begin by the end of this year, after an environmental assessment is completed. Production is planned to start in late 2012.

Nissan is committed to being a leader in zero-emissions mobility. It will offer electric vehicles in the United States and Japan beginning in 2010. The first vehicles for the U.S. market will be built in Japan before production is shifted to Smyrna.

“Nissan is confident that the Smyrna employees have the skill and dedication to take on this critical role in Nissan’s future by launching a new form of transportation in the United States,” said Susan Brennan, vice president, in charge of manufacturing at Smyrna. “This opens a new chapter in Nissan’s 26-year manufacturing history in America.”

The modifications of the Smyrna manufacturing plant include a new battery plant and changes in the existing structure for electric-vehicle assembly. When fully operational, the vehicle assembly plant will have the capacity to build 150,000 zero-emissions vehicles a year and the new plant will have an annual capacity of 200,000 batteries.

Nissan’s electric vehicle will comfortably seat five people, drive on any American road or highway and have an initial range of 100 miles before recharging.

To help ensure that infrastructure is in place to support zero-emissions vehicles, during the past year, Nissan has been involved in establishing partnerships with governments, municipalities, utility companies, and public and private organizations aimed at creating conditions that will support the market for zero-emissions vehicles.

In the United States, Nissan is working with the State of Tennessee, the State of Oregon, Sonoma County and San Diego in California, Phoenix, Tucson, Seattle, Raleigh, and Washington, D.C. Globally, Nissan, with its Alliance partner Renault has begun ZEV initiatives in Kanagawa Prefecture and Yokohama in Japan, as well as in Israel, Denmark, Portugal, Monaco, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Ireland, China and Hong Kong.

Source: egmCarTech

Toyota and EDF Energy awarded UK Government funding for innovative PHV road trial: 20 new PHVs on UK roads in 2010

Toyota and EDF Energy have been awarded UK government funding through the Technology Strategy Board’s Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator Competition to support a trial of up to 20 innovative Plug in Hybrid Vehicles (PHVs). Based on Toyota’s full hybrid technology, the PHV will come equipped with a powerful lithium-ion battery extending the vehicle’s range in electric vehicle mode allowing for zero-emissions driving. The trial will start in London in 2010 for a period up to 3 years with the intention to lease the vehicles to a mix of public bodies and private companies including the Greater London Authority group and the Government Car and Despatch Agency.

“Together with our partner EDF Energy we are delighted that our competitive tender for a PHV demonstration in the UK has secured Government endorsement and funding. We often say that the PHV reflects ‘the best of both worlds’: it enhances the benefits of Toyota’s full hybrid technology, while stepping over the constraints historically linked with electric vehicles. We’ve been testing a PHV in London since September 2008 and now we have the opportunity to demonstrate a fleet under demanding real-life conditions,” said Miguel Fonseca, Managing Director of Toyota (GB) PLC.

“Our new PHV complements the newly-launched third generation Prius as plug-in technology extends electric driving mode almost tenfold, offering an even lower carbon transport solution for those customers with that specific need,” he added.

Peter Hofman, Director of Company Shared Services & Integration at EDF Energy, said: “EDF Energy is at the heart of solutions to help combat climate change and has the expertise to help people use their energy more efficiently. That is why together with Toyota, we are delighted that our consortia has received funding and government backing for this trial. I am delighted that we will both be playing such a major role in continuing to develop this innovative technology as part of our ongoing work to make clean electric transport more accessible to everyone.”

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “I am absolutely thrilled that Toyota and EDF Energy have won funding to deliver innovative plug in electric hybrid vehicles onto the capital's streets. The Greater London Authority group will be trialling a number of these vehicles as part of our active participation in this winning bid. I want to make London the electric vehicle capital of Europe and these trials will provide us with valuable information on what is needed to ensure they can become an everyday choice.”

The trial will assess the vehicle’s performance in urban driving conditions while also gathering information about the experience of drivers and passengers. This would include an understanding of their habits and preferences when recharging the vehicle – either at home, using a standard electrical point, or at charging points at vehicle fleet depots and elsewhere. Data collected by the trial will help inform future technology and policy developments and will be shared with Cenex – the UK Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon & Fuel Cell Technologies – and the Department for Transport, who are supporting this project through their contribution to the Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Competition.

Toyota’s PHV adds an extended electric driving mode to the proven benefits of Toyota’s full hybrid technology: low CO2, exceptional fuel efficiency, seamless acceleration and quiet driving. The PHV can be driven as an electric vehicle for shorter distances or city commutes, while for long-distance journeys it operates as a full hybrid with its petrol engine serving as both a power source and battery generator when required. The battery is charged during driving, deceleration or braking, or by connecting its plug to a standard electrical point at home or at work.

Toyota will deploy over 500 new PHVs globally in Europe, Japan and the US – by 2010.

Source: Toyota GB Media Site

Toyota making green cars may mean destroying Japan rice paddies

Toyota Motor Corp. is plotting its future amid 1,631 acres (660 hectares) of rice paddies that date to the 17th century and cedar forests. Here, in central Japan’s Shimoyama village, a 30-minute drive from its Toyota City headquarters, the world’s biggest automaker plans a research center with at least 10 kilometers of road courses to fine-tune its vehicles.

President Akio Toyoda, who completed a 24-hour endurance race in May, says he wants to test new models.

“I plan to drive our cars,” Toyoda said in January. “I’d like to be a president who’s as close to the action as possible.”

Toyota’s push to get more hybrids and fuel-efficient cars on the road can’t come soon enough. Honda Motor Co. introduced its new Insight gasoline-electric model in February; it will sell a hybrid version of its Fit compact in the fiscal year starting in April 2010, earlier than originally planned.

“The market keeps changing,” says Akihiko Otsuka, chief engineer of Toyota’s newest Prius, which costs 2.05 million yen ($21,412) in Japan and gets 50 miles to the gallon. “Shortening the development period for hybrids especially is something that we’ve been told to do -- and it’s not just limited to hybrids.”

Fuel Economy

Test tracks closer to Toyota’s technical center in Toyota City would speed that goal, especially with suppliers nearby, says Andrew Phillips, an auto analyst at KBC Securities Japan.

Otsuka says the most challenging part of the four-and-a- half years Toyota worked on the latest Prius was the time spent on improving its 46-mpg fuel economy. Engineers first devoted every Monday to testing gasoline consumption. In the final year, they tested every day.

Toyota may do similar trials at the new facility as well as analyze safety and performance, Phillips says. Toyota won’t discuss the project. Officials in Aichi Prefecture, where Shimoyama is based, say they may break ground in April.

Toyota is flush with money for research. It held 5 trillion yen in cash and near-term securities as of March 31, according to Moody’s Investors Service. It shelled out 1.3 trillion yen for capital expenditures in the same year, trailing only Volkswagen AG’s 12.2 billion euros ($17.8 billion) and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s 19.4 billion euros in the year ended in December.

‘The Long View’

Toyota has spent 32 billion yen to buy land out of the project’s estimated cost of at least 100 billion yen, says Takayuki Tsunoda, an associate director at Aichi Prefecture’s Public Enterprise Bureau, which is handling the land development.

Toyota will keep spending to stay ahead of now bankrupt General Motors Corp. and fend off Honda, Phillips says.

“Toyota is taking the long view,” he says. “They’re thinking, How can we strengthen the competitiveness of the company?”

Toyota’s center for environmentally friendly cars will inflict damage on the environment, local activists say. They say construction will destroy the habitat of the gray-faced buzzard and oriental honey buzzard, both endangered in Aichi Prefecture. Toyota declines to comment.

In September, it scaled down the project by 32 percent. Even so, 691 acres will be deforested, rice paddies will be filled in and mountains bulldozed, Tsunoda says.

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

For Akio Toyoda, Shimoyama may help broaden the appeal of Toyota’s brand as he navigates his challenges as president. “Over the next 100 years, I hope that cars will remain something that people will need,” Toyoda wrote in his racing blog. “We must make sure that that happens.”

Source: Bloomberg

Honda CR-ZX will be equipped with the strongest hybrid powertrain in Honda's history (ホンダハイブリッド史上最強のエンジン搭載のCR-ZX！)

Honda's new sports hybrid is expected to go on sale in March 2010 and Japanese Best Car magazine has published this rendering. The new CR-ZX will be based on the Insight, but it will be equipped with a 1.5L petrol engine and it is expected to achieve 27.5km/L in the Japanese 10.15 mode.

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Text in Japanese

　プリウス、インサイトの人気で俄然注目が集まっているハイブリッドカー。ホンダの新世代ハイブリッド戦略の第2弾として登場するのが、CR-ZXで、インサイトから派生するスポーツモデルだ。今年の東京モーターショーで市販型を公開し、来年1月にデビュー。注目はインサイトのエンジンが1.3Lなのに対しCR-ZXは1.5Lに排気量アップされている点で、BCのつかんでいる情報では、ホンダハイブリッド史上最強のパワーとなる。
　新世代ハイブリッドスポーツの10・15モード燃費は27.5km/L程度になると予想される。そして走りは、かつてのCR-XのSiR的なパフォーマンスとなるという情報も得ている。速いだけでも、燃費がいいだけでもないハイブリッドスポーツは大きな可能性を感じさせてくれる。

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Source: Best Car

2011 Hybrid Supra Successor!

For Toyota sports car enthusiasts around the world, things have been very dull and uninspiring for the past few years.

Since production of the Supra ceased back in 2002, enthusiasts and tuners alike have been left with only the SC Soarer or the mid-ship MR-S to tinker with. However, with new rumors surfacing that the 086A is still in the works we’ve also caught news of a Supra successor to come along with it. Sounds like Toyota’s Akio Toyoda is answering every enthusiasts prayers recently!

Taking the base of the FT-HS Hybrid Sports car which debuted back in 2007, development of the Supra successor has continued its progress secretly, taking a back seat to the 086A. What we now know though is that most elements of the successor car have moved out of the design phase and into development with speak of a mule that is being anticipated for 2009 end. The engine will most probably be the Lexus 450H’s 3.5l V6 and we now know that it will be coupled with the current Toyota Crown hybrid system delivering a total of 400hp to the rear wheels.

Whilst this differs a lot from the previous generation Supra, one very interesting point we’re keeping a close eye on is that Toyota will be looking at targeting sports car enthusiasts with another ‘non green’ version of the car. Apparently, for drivers not content with the Eco package Toyota will be supplying a ‘Sports’ version sans hybrid parts. Details are still sketchy but pricing is being pinned at around the three to four million yen mark and should make a debut at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show. Release date will go unchanged and be should be expected late 2011.

Source: 7tune

Mitsubishi aims to cut price of electric car

Mitsubishi Motors Corp., the maker of the i MiEV electric car (earlier post), plans to cut the vehicle’s purchase price by more than half to less than 2 million yen ($21,000) as government incentives and tighter emission rules boost demand for fuel-efficient cars.

The company will cut the i MiEV’s price tag by the “mid- 2010s,” President Osamu Masuko said at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Tokyo. The price target includes tax breaks and subsidies from the government, he added. The carmaker will start selling the i MiEV in July for 4.6 million yen.

Mitsubishi Motors is unveiling its electric cars ahead of plans by larger rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. to introduce similar vehicles by 2012. Mitsubishi Motors aims to sell 1,400 i MiEVs domestically in the year ending March 31 and will start North American sales next year.

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi rose 1.1 percent to 180 yen as of 1:08 p.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Nissan, Japan’s third-largest automaker, has said it plans to introduce electric cars in Japan and the U.S. in 2010 and mass-produce them globally in 2012. Toyota, the world’s largest maker of gasoline-electric hybrid car, is also developing electric cars for sale in 2012.

Prime Minister Taro Aso is giving fuel-efficient car buyers subsidies and tax breaks for new vehicles to spur sales as part of a 15.4 trillion yen economic stimulus program. The government expects the incentives to add about 1 million vehicles to sales this fiscal year.

Mitsubishi Motors also plans to sell a plug-in hybrid version of the I MiEV in 2013, the company said today.

Source: Bloomberg

Toyota Prius (2009) hybrid CAR review

The Toyota Prius is arguably the most important car launch of the year. It was the Prius that introduced hybrid motoring to early adopters back in 1997, and now, with its third generation, Toyota is aiming to make it a more appealing mainstream proposition without diluting any of the stuff that made the car so special in the first place. So, it should be less of a compromise, while still offering the feelgood factor of cutting edge, planet-saving tech. That’s the idea, anyway.

How does the new Toyota Prius appeal to a more mainstream audience?

Toyota has tried to make the Prius more refined, more spacious, more dynamically engaging and, perhaps more importantly with all those Bluemotion and Efficient Dynamics cars snapping at its heels, more fuel efficient and less polluting too. So power and torque lifts from the second-gen’s 112bhp to 134bhp thanks to a new 1.8-litre engine (up from 1.5-litres), fuel economy increases to 72.4mpg (from 55.4mpg) and C02 falls from 120g/km to a get-into-London-for-free 89g/km compared with the model it replaces.

Dimensions remain similar, but there’s more rear legroom because of carefully sculpted seat backs, and a little more headroom because the highest point of that trademark sloping roof is now slightly further back. The boot is also a little larger thanks to a smaller, better-integrated battery under the boot floor.

First impressions?

The re-style is spot on – unmistakeably Prius to keep those loyal fans happy, but more visually exciting too with its creased shoulder line and rakish headlights. Thank Toyota’s European design studio for that.

Inside, it’s a nice place to be. The interior manages to balance the futuristic concept car feel you’d expect from a technologically advanced car with a large helping of real-world usability. The seats are comfy, the dash simple and easy to use, the colours light and airy, visibility excellent. It’s also incredibly spacious in here for both front and rear seat passengers, and a sense of relaxation pervades.

How does it feel on the road?

It’s good. With a full battery charge (if you’ve been on the open road and are just heading into town, for instance), you can press the EV button and the Prius will operate on its electric battery alone at speeds of up to 50kph (31mph) for as long as 2km. And that’s no marketing spin – we wafted silently around Stockholm and cruised through 50kph-limited built-up areas in the countryside on electric power alone.

That’s a key advantage the Prius (a series/parallel hybrid, meaning it can both combine its power sources and use them independently) holds over the less expensive Honda Insight – a parallel hybrid (i.e. battery and petrol power always operate in tandem) that can never run emissions-free unless it’s at a complete standstill.

Sure, if you spend a lot of time in town you’ll rarely have enough charge to run in EV mode alone, but we found the regular mode did a good job of shutting down the petrol engine at a standstill, under deceleration and at very low speeds.

How about out of town?

Clearly you’ll use petrol power a lot of the time, but at speeds of up to 70kph (44mph) it is possible to be regularly running on electric power. Think of a busy British A-road and it’s easy to see how often that could come into play. And when the power sources do switch, it’s actually quite hard to spot the difference between the engine turning on and off, just a very light kick from beneath you giving the game away.

What about these dynamic improvements, then?

Don’t go getting too excited about that. The Prius is best described as fine rather than fun. It’s inoffensive to drive and doesn’t feel out of its depth beyond the city limits. The CVT transmission does make that trademark thrash when you demand extra mph on a motorway slip road, but it’s more subdued than it is in the Honda Insight because of improved noise insulation and because the engine’s more capable and thus needs working less hard than it does in the 1.3-litre Insight.

Verdict

While we need to spend longer with the Prius to see if it really does drink so little fuel, it does seem that Toyota has hit the nail on the head. The Prius isn’t a compromise suitable only for early adopters, and it doesn’t just make sense in town. It’s a good all-round car that just happens to be packed with cutting-edge tech.

Source: Car magazine

Toyota books 180,000 Prius orders 1 month after debut (３代目プリウス 受注状況について)

Toyota Motor Corp., Japan’s biggest automaker, said it booked 180,000 domestic orders for the new Prius gasoline-electric hybrid within a month of the car’s debut.

The company had set a sales target of 10,000 units a month in Japan, it said in a statement today. The tally includes 80,000 orders placed before the car went on sale on May 18.

The third-generation Prius was Japan’s bestselling car last month, surpassing Honda Motor Co.’s Insight, the first hybrid vehicle to top Japan’s monthly auto sales. Hybrid sales have surged on the introduction of new models and tax breaks.

Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota has transferred about 1,000 workers to its Tsutsumi factory in Aichi prefecture from other factories and implemented overtime shifts in April to meet demand for the Prius.

Source: Bloomberg

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Text in Japanese

　３代目プリウスの受注台数は、５月18日の発売から約１ヶ月にあたる６月17日時点で約180,000台と、大変好調な立ち上がりとなっている。

１．受注台数

受注台数(～６／17) 参考：月販目標台数 約180,000台 10,000台

２．主な好評点

	・	90％以上を新規開発したハイブリッドシステムのもたらす超低燃費とゆとりの走り
	・	205万円からの価格と、環境対応車普及促進税制による、約16～21万円の減税
	・	S-VSC、SRSサイド＆カーテンシールドエアバッグなど、充実した安全装備

ソース:トヨタ自動車
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Mazda's new aqua-tech paint system leads in reducing environmental impact (マツダ、世界で最も環境負荷の少ない新水性塗装技術「アクアテック塗装」の開発に成功)

Mazda Motor Corporation announced the successful launch of the newly developed Aqua-tech Paint System for vehicle body painting at its Ujina Plant No.1 in Japan. The innovative new technology achieves the world’s highest standards for limiting emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) contained in paint as well as carbon dioxide (CO2) gas generated from the energy consumed during the vehicle painting process.

The Aqua-tech Paint System maintains the same world-class low CO2 emissions volume as the Three Layer Wet Paint System — Mazda’s paint system currently installed at all of its production facilities in Japan — and reduces VOC emissions by a further 57 percent. At only 15 grams per square meter of vehicle body surface, the extremely low VOC emissions volume makes Aqua-tech the least polluting water-based paint system in the world. The new system also delivers improved paint quality.

Water-based paints tend to produce far lower VOC emissions than solvent-based paints due to their low VOC content. However, drying water-based paint consumes much more energy because the water must be evaporated through a drying process. The large amounts of carbon dioxide produced during this process have long been an issue associated with water-based paint systems. Mazda has solved this problem with the introduction of this new, innovative coating technology.

The Aqua-tech technology includes the introduction of an improved paint shop air conditioning system and a new, highly efficient evaporation system that removes the water contained in the paint. In addition, Mazda has managed to consolidate the coating processes by developing highly functional top coat paints that exhibit additional properties usually provided by the primer paint. These include brightness, durability and resistance to chipping and light damage. As a result of these technical breakthroughs, Mazda’s Aqua-tech achieves extremely low VOC emissions without increasing CO2 volume.

Going forward, Mazda will continue to advance new technologies based on its long-term vision for technology development, Sustainable Zoom-Zoom. With cutting-edge production facilities that include the paint shop with the smallest environmental impact in the world, Mazda is committed to producing vehicles that offer driving pleasure in harmony with environmental and safety features.

The Ujina Plant No.1, one of Mazda’s main vehicle manufacturing facilities, is located near Mazda’s headquarters in Hiroshima.

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Text in Japanese

　マツダ株式会社（以下、マツダ）は、塗料に含まれる揮発性有機化合物（以下、VOC：Volatile Organic Compounds）と塗装工程で消費されるエネルギーによるCO2の排出量を世界最高水準にまで抑制する、革新的な水性塗装技術「アクアテック塗装」の開発に成功し、宇品第1工場への導入を開始しました。

　「アクアテック塗装」は、既にマツダが全工場に導入済みの「スリー・ウェット・オン塗装」で実現している世界最高水準の低いCO2排出量を維持したまま、VOCの排出量をさらに57%削減、ボディ面積あたりのVOC排出量をわずか15g／m2に抑制する世界で最も環境負荷の少ない水性塗装技術です。また、品質面でも従来以上の性能を達成しています。

　一般的に、水性塗装は塗料に含まれるVOCが少ないため、VOC削減効果が大幅に見込める代わりに、希釈剤として使用されている水分を蒸発させる過程で多くのエネルギーを消費し、CO2の排出量が増えるという課題がありました。マツダは今回の新たな技術の導入により、この課題を解決しました。

　具体的には、塗装ブースの空調システムを改良し、塗料の水分を効率的に蒸発させるシステムを導入しました。さらに、これまで中塗り塗装が担っていた発色性や耐チッピング性などのさまざまな機能を、上塗り塗装に移管する高機能塗料の開発により工程を集約しました。これらにより、CO2の排出量を増加させずに大幅なVOC削減を実現した、新しい塗装技術を確立しました。

　マツダは、今後も技術開発の長期ビジョン「サステイナブル“Zoom-Zoom”宣言」に基づいて新しい技術を実用化し、世界で最も環境負荷の少ない塗装工場から、走る歓びと環境安全性能が調和した商品を提供しつづけていきます。
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Source: Mazda Global Web Site

Toyota introducing the new iQ3

Toyota’s iQ range is extended for the first time since launch with the introduction to the line-up of a 1.33-litre engine. The highly efficient lightweight unit, already successfully deployed in Auris, Yaris and Urban Cruiser is offered exclusively in the new iQ3 model.

Benefiting from Toyota Optimal Drive technology for a class-leading combination of power, fuel economy and low emissions, it uses Dual VVT-i control of both intake and exhaust valves to deliver strong torque at low to medium engine speeds and achieve maximum efficiency.

The headline figures broadcast the exceptional customer benefits in terms of running costs. With manual transmission, iQ3 returns an official 58.9mpg in combined cycle driving, and 113g/km of CO2 – Band B for road tax (£35 annual charge) – both of which are best-in-class figures. Equipped with Toyota’s new Multidrive CVT system, fuel economy is just as good, while emissions rise slightly to 120g/km, but remain within Band B.

This achievement is not at the expense of performance. The engine develops a maximum 98bhp at 6,000rpm and peak torque of 125Nm at 4,400rpm. Nought to 62mph can be achieved in 11.8 seconds (11.6 with Multidrive) and top speed is 106mph. This underlines the fact that iQ is more than just a city runabout, giving a strong, stable and enjoyable drive at motorway speeds.

Matched to a compact, lightweight six-speed manual gearbox, the engine features Toyota’s Stop & Start system. This automatically cuts the engine when the car comes to a stop and the gear shift is moved to neutral; when a gear is selected, the engine restarts quickly (in just 0.4 seconds) and seamlessly, thanks to the use of a permanently engaged gear mechanism. In urban driving – iQ’s natural environment – Stop & Start can yield fuel consumption savings of up to 15 per cent.

iQ3 is also available with Multidrive, Toyota’s new stepless CVT (continuously variable transmission).

One of the key elements of the 1.33-litre engine is its piston design. Smaller and lighter than on the previous 1.3 unit, they are designed with a smaller contact area and use carbon ceramide, an advanced material more commonly used in Formula One engineering, to reduce friction.

iQ3 carries forward the premium specification of iQ2 but with some additional, exclusive features: the door mirrors have chrome-finished housings and the car rides on larger, 16-inch dual five-spoke alloy wheels. The choice of six paint finishes includes Decuma Grey metallic, which is also exclusive to iQ3.

The standard equipment features include automatic headlights and wipers, climate control, electric folding and heated door mirrors, Smart Entry and Start, auto-dimming rear view mirror, six-speaker sound system, front fog lights and a leather trimmed steering wheel. Nine airbags are fitted, including the world’s first rear window airbag, and the active safety package includes Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) with Traction Control (TRC).

iQ3 is on sale now. On-the-road prices are £11,495 for the six-speed manual version and £12,495 with Multidrive.

iQ Accessory Packs and Options

Four themed accessory packs have been assembled for iQ, giving owners an easy way to give their car that something extra.

• iStyle (£295) adds chrome surrounds to the front fog lights, chrome side sills, a chrome strip on the tailgate and aluminium scuff plates.
• iUrban (£345) provides rear parking sensors, a reversible rubber/velour boot liner (for use when the rear seats are folded flat) and carpet mats.
• iSports (£495) focuses on style with a neat roof spoiler, deep rear skirt and inverted delta-shape chrome exhaust tailpipe finisher.
• iConnect (£375) keeps you in touch on the move with Bluetooth, plus the neat detachable Glovebag to store documents and small personal items.

With such a high standard specification on iQ3, there are just two extra-cost options: leather seat upholstery (£690) and a fully integrated satellite navigation system with Bluetooth and iPod integration (£930).

Source: Toyota GB Media Site

Honda Insight tops the charts in Europe

Honda has today announced that its new Insight hybrid vehicle has sold more than any other hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle in Europe*.

The figures obtained from Jato Dynamics show that in its first full month of sales the Insight proved to be the most popular petrol-electric hybrid vehicle on the market. This achievement follows on from the success of the Insight in Japan where in April it was the first hybrid ever to be the number one selling passenger car.

The hybrid sector and alternative fuels sector, which features any passenger car not powered by petrol or diesel is set to grow further in the near future. At the same time the market will begin to segment, dividing the sector into a multitude of different types of cars - just like the traditional car market. In the future Honda will produce a hybrid version of the Jazz and a production car based on the CR-Z Concept, giving the consumer a wider choice of Honda hybrid models.

Third place in the table went to Honda's Civic Hybrid, which like the Insight is also a fuel efficient, low emission, full-parallel hybrid. Both cars can run on the electric motor alone in some medium to high speed conditions, giving near silent running and fuel efficiency benefits.

The Insight is currently being introduced across Europe, joining the Civic Hybrid in Honda's petrol-electric range. Honda Motor Europe, Senior Vice President, Ken Keir is delighted that the Insight has been so well received, commenting: "We introduced Europe to hybrids almost 10 years ago when we put the original Insight on sale. The Insight was the first hybrid to be sold in Europe and this sector is set to continue to expand and diversify."


* Data covers EU27 (except Malta), EFTA, plus Turkey, Russia and Israel.

Source: Honda European Media newsroom