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

Top10 Green Cars for 2009 by KBB

The current sales slump is unfortunate for many reasons, one of which is that 2009 is shaping up to be a banner year for fuel efficiency. The year's arrivals include an all-new Toyota Prius that's even more fuel-efficient than its world-beating predecessor, a new Prius alternative in the Honda Insight and a range of new 50-state clean-diesel cars, among others.

In addition to these newcomers, this year's list highlights some familiar faces, and it was again compiled to include a variety of vehicle shapes and sizes because not everyone who wants to get greener can go smaller. Just as buyers would, KBB considered characteristics like comfort, performance, utility and technology - not just fuel economy and price - in picking the winners.

Here, presented in order of combined EPA-estimated fuel economy, are Kelley Blue Book's Top 10 Green Cars for 2009:

1. 2010 Toyota Prius | 50 mpg (51 city, 48 highway)
2. 2010 Honda Insight | 41 mpg (40 city, 43 highway)
3. 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid | 39 mpg (41 city, 36 highway)
4. 2009 VW Jetta SportWagen TDI | 34 mpg (30 city, 41 hwy)
5. 2009 MINI Cooper | 32 mpg (28 city, 37 highway)
6. 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid | 32 mpg (34 city, 31 highway)
7. 2009 Honda Fit | 31 mpg (28 city, 34 highway)
8. 2009 BMW 335d | 27 mpg (23 city/36 highway)
9. 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid | 26 mpg (27 city, 25 highway)
10. 2009 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid | 21 mpg (21 city, 22 hwy)

Source: KBB Green

Electric vehicles call for redefinition of automobiles

Metal-air battery drawing attention

Q: I'd like to ask about the batteries first.

Hirota: Fuel cell vehicles feature longer driving distances and were expected to be commercialized at an early date. However, the introduction of FC vehicles into the market has been substantially delayed due to some unsolved issues including their high costs.

Hybrid vehicles with nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries have already been commercialized, and electric vehicles incorporating lithium ion (Li-ion) secondary batteries are expected to debut within 2009. Driving distances of electric vehicles are short, though, because the energy density of the batteries is still low.

Li-ion secondary batteries with a higher energy density are being developed so as to improve driving distances of electric vehicles. At the same time, fuel cells and air batteries including metal-air batteries are under development.

NiMH batteries and Li-ion batteries, commonly-used high-performance batteries, use oxidizers for their cathodes and are similar to rocket engines. The batteries have a high instantaneous force (power density) while they are heavy because of the oxidizers and low in energy density. Though some improvements have been made, we are beginning to see technological limits.

On the other hand, metal-air batteries, which use zinc, magnesium, lithium, etc, as fuel, as well as hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells, which oxidize hydrogen and metals by using oxygen in the air, are similar to jet engines. These batteries do not need an oxidizer, one of the materials necessary for redox reaction in batteries, resulting in possible weight reduction.

Airplanes that fly in the atmosphere carry jet engines, not rocket engines. I think automotive engineers have big expectations for metal-air batteries similar to jet engines in this respect.

Based on these perspectives, electric vehicles with zinc-air batteries, etc, are being actively developed in the US, Europe and China.

For commercialization of metal-air batteries, we should utilize technologies for Li-ion batteries and zinc-air batteries as well as air electrode technologies advanced through the development of fuel cells. Japan will continue to lead the world in the development of batteries if we take advantage of our advanced atomic level observation technologies and elementary reaction analysis technologies and if the industry, government and academia join forces on projects, such as the one being promoted by NEDO.

Electronics/Electrochemistry Fusion Expected

Q: Is the development of automotive batteries progressing smoothly?

Hirota: A variety of research institutes and corporations in Japan have been developing batteries. However, to develop batteries appropriate for automotive use, it is necessary to enhance collaboration of battery developers and automobile developers who specialize in machines and electricity.

Though mechatronics, a synergetic combination of mechanical engineering and electronic engineering, has a history of more than 30 years, there were disputes arising from differences in thinking patterns and cultures between machine-oriented engineers and electronics-oriented engineers in development sites at an early stage of its history. Fortunately, as time went by, the two parties came to cooperate with each other.

Batteries are developed by "electrochemistry engineers." The key to open the electric vehicle era lies in "chemtronics," the fusion of electronics and electrochemistry, as well as mechatronics, but we have to wait some time for this fusion to occur.

For example, battery characteristics are provided from manufacturers in the form of charts rather than mathematical models or equivalent circuit models, making it difficult to design charge/discharge systems.

The Japanese battery industry is ranked number one in the world in terms of batteries themselves. So, I believe we have the capability to be the number one in system technologies including the use of batteries. The competitiveness of Japanese automotive manufacturers may decline if they don't see a vehicle and batteries as an integrated system.

Q: What can be done to solve that issues?

Hirota: The ideal way would be that engineers for electronic circuits learn about electrochemistry and those for electrochemistry learn about electronic circuits. But they will have a hard time understanding unfamiliar fields especially when they are busy with their own jobs.

When we look at actual job sites from the perspective of understanding unfamiliar fields, circuit designers don't always understand the principles of semiconductor engineering. But they can fully utilize, for example, power devices.

Semiconductor manufacturers provide equivalent circuit models of power devices, so it is possible to know operating margin, calorific value and changes in characteristics due to temperature increase of power devices by using a circuit simulator. Mechanical engineers can also fully utilize semiconductor devices by using the circuit simulator.

I think equivalent circuit models for batteries should also be created as soon as possible so that electronics engineers and mechanical engineers can handle batteries. Such models are needed not only for batteries but also for various other fields, and I believe they are essential for electric vehicle system integration.

Source: Tech-On!

Toyota wants to build car from seaweed

Toyota is looking to a greener future — literally — with dreams of an ultralight, superefficient plug-in hybrid with a bioplastic body made of seaweed that could be in showrooms within 15 years.

The kelp car would build upon the already hypergreen 1/X plug-in hybrid concept, which weighs 926 pounds, by replacing its carbon-fiber body with plastic derived from seaweed. As wild as it might sound, bioplastics are becoming increasingly common and Toyota thinks it's only a matter of time before automakers use them to build cars.

"We used lightweight carbon-fiber reinforced plastic throughout the body and frame for its superior collision safety," project manager Tetsuya Kaida said of the 1/X, which is pronounced "one-xth." "But that material is made from oil. In the future, I'm sure we will have access to new and better materials, such as those made from plants, something natural, maybe something like paper. In fact, I want to create such a vehicle from seaweed because Japan is surrounded by the sea."

A kelp car is not as far-fetched as it might sound. Bioplastics are being used for everything from gift cards to cellphone cases. Demand for the stuff is expected to hit 50 billion pounds annually within five years, a figure that would account for 10 percent of the world market for plastic, according to USA Today. A company called NatureWorks claims the production of its bioplastic Inego produces 60 percent less carbon dioxide than petroleum-based plastic and requires 30 percent less energy. And Oakridge National Laboratory has explored the possibility of producing carbon fiber from wood pulp.

Toyota is laying out its green vision of the future ahead of the Melbourne Motor Show, where it will highlight three sweet hybrids — the next-gen Prius, a cool Camry concept designed in Australia and the 1/X, so named because its carbon footprint is a fraction of that of other cars.

"The 1/X concept is a vehicle that completely redefines what it means to be environmentally considerate," David Buttner, senior executive director of sales and marketing, said in a statement. "The name says it all: a car that weighs a fraction of the others in its class today and uses a fraction of the fuel."

The 1/X has been kicking around the show circuit for more than a year. It features a tiny 500cc engine and weighs about one-third as much as the Prius while offering about as much interior space. It's got a flex-fuel engine and electric motor powered by lithium-ion batteries.

But don't expect to drive a Toyota Sea-Class anytime soon.

"In reality, the seaweed car is another decade away," Buttner told the Sydney Herald-Sun. "However, it shows where we're going....

Source: Autopia

Toyota developing solar-powered green car

Toyota Motor Corp. is secretly developing a vehicle that will be powered solely by solar energy in an effort to turn around its struggling business with a futuristic ecological car, a top business daily reported today.

The Nikkei newspaper, however, said it will be years before the planned vehicle will be available on the market. Toyota’s offices were closed today and officials were not immediately available for comment.

According to the Nikkei, Toyota is working on an electric vehicle that will get some of its power from solar cells equipped on the vehicle, and that can be recharged with electricity generated from solar panels on the roofs of homes. The automaker later hopes to develop a model totally powered by solar cells on the vehicle, the newspaper said without citing sources.

The solar car is part of efforts by Japan’s top automaker to grow during hard times, the Nikkei said.

In December, Toyota stunned the nation by announcing it will slip into its first operating loss in 70 years, as it gets battered by a global slump, especially in the key U.S. market. The surging yen has also hurt the earnings of Japanese automakers.

Still, Toyota is a leader in green technology and executives have stressed they won’t cut back on environmental research despite its troubles.

Toyota, the manufacturer of the Lexus luxury car and Camry sedan, has already begun using solar panels at its Tsutsumi plant in central Japan to produce some of its own electricity.

The solar panels on the roofs add up in size to the equivalent of 60 tennis courts and produce enough electricity to power 500 homes, according to Toyota. That reduces 740 tons a year of carbon dioxide emissions and is equal to using 1,500 barrels of crude oil.

Toyota is also likely to indirectly gain expertise in solar energy when its partner in developing and producing hybrid batteries, Panasonic Corp., takes over Japanese rival Sanyo Electric Co., a leader in solar energy, early next year.

Source: Detroit Free Press

New Honda Insight to debut in Monaco

After ten years of marketing hybrid technology and as it prepares to launch its Insight sedan, Honda is strengthening its participation in the EVER Monaco trade show by becoming an official partner of the 2009 edition. EVER Monaco, the trade show dedicated to ecological vehicles and renewable energies, will be held from 26th to 29th March 2009 at Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum.

A new vehicle to Honda’s hybrid range, already represented by the Civic Hybrid, which was marketed in 2006, the Honda Insight will be the most affordable hybrid family sedan on the market. Indeed, Honda would like to slash the ecological impact of its products, and the car manufacturer is convinced that this commitment entails the wider distribution of its low CO2 emission products.

After participating for nearly two years in the EVER Monaco trade show with the Civic Hybrid, and true to its word concerning reductions in CO2 emissions, Honda wants to increase awareness of its hybrid vehicle range. The EVER Monaco trade show serves as a legitimate, appropriate opportunity for the presentation of its green automotive technologies. The event also gives members of the general public the chance to try out these technologies.

“The partnership established between EVER Monaco and Honda is the continuation of Honda’s multi-year participation in the trade show and demonstrates the company’s desire to be seen as the leader in the most affordable hybrid technologies,” stated Christophe Decultot, General Manager of the Automotive Division of Honda Motor Europe (South) S.A.S. "The Honda Insight will make its stunning debut on the French market in early 2009, and EVER Monaco will serve as one of the first opportunities for the general public to test drive it. With the Insight, we’ll prove that eco-friendliness, practical concerns, and driving pleasure are completely compatible with a limited budget when it comes to buying and using vehicles.”

Honda will occupy the central booth at the vehicles exhibition in the middle of the Espace Ravel inside the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco from 26th to 29th March 2009.

Visitors to the trade show will have the chance to test drive the Civic Hybrid and the Insight, both representing Honda’s hybrid vehicle range, near the Grimaldi Forum. A contest organized as part of the trade show will culminate in a lottery that will determine the winner of a Honda Insight.



Source: Honda France

2009 World Green Car of the Year candidates announced

The World Green Car of the Year is a sub-award of the annual World Car of the Year (WCOTY) handed out by a dedicated organization and chosen by a selection of journalist jurors from around the world. Inaugurated with the award of the Honda Civic Hybrid in 2006, the cars eligible for the 2009 Green WCOTY award have now been announced.

Just a month ago at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the Green Car Journal Green Car of the Year was chosen, with the Volkswagen Jetta TDI taking the honor - the first time a diesel has nabbed the title from a hybrid. The Green WCOTY award has already had two diesel winners, however, with the Mercedes-Benz E320 BlueTec and the BMW 118d with EfficientDynamics winning in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

This year a wide array of production and experimental vehicles are on the list, including everything from 'TetraFuel' cars to pure electrics. Because the rules state that production cars must be all-new and available for purchase between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2008, in order to be eligible, there are some odd omissions (the Toyota Prius and VW Jetta TDI, for example) while some other oddballs - like the Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon Hybrid - made the list. Of particular note is the number of Volvo cars on the list - five in all, more than double the count of any other brand.

Vehicles eligible for the 2009 Green World Car of the Year award:

Audi Q7 3.0 TDI
BMW 335d BluePerformance
Chevrolet Tahoe / GMC Yukon Hybrid
Citroën C1
Fiat Palio Weekend Electric
Fiat Siena Tetrafuel model
Honda FCX Clarity
Mazda Hydrogen Rotary RX8
Mercedes-Benz ML/R/GL 320 BlueTEC
MINI Cooper D
MINI E
Mitsubishi iMiEV
Nissan X-Trail 20 GT
Smart ed
Subaru Legacy/Outback PZEV
Tesla Electric Roadster
Toyota iQ
Volvo C30 1.6D DRIVe
Volvo S40 1.6D DRIVe
Volvo S80 2.5 FT (Flexifuel)
Volvo V50 1.6D DRIVe
Volvo V70 2.5 FT (Flexifuel)

Source: Motor Authority

Honda's Green Heritage

Honda's Green Heritage goes back in 1972 with the development of the CVCC engine. A new gallery has been added with all the significant milestones up to now.

Click here to visit the Honda's Green Heritage gallery (there is also a "Galleries" section on the sidebar.

Enjoy!

Source: Honda UK

European Parliament and Council reach agreement on automotive CO2 regulations

Following a series of meetings between Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and the French Presidency of the Council, the two sides have informally agreed upon the details of future targets on CO2 emissions from cars. The compromise identifies a longer-term reduction target; allows phased-in implementation of the shorter-term target; and reduces proposed penalties against carmakers that exceed the limits.

The informal compromise is based on the Commission’s proposed target of an average of 120g of CO2/km for new passenger cars (M1 category) by 2012, compared to the current levels of 160 g/km. A target of 130g/km is to be reached by improvements in vehicle motor technology; the subsequent 10g/km reduction is to come from other technological improvements and by an increased use of sustainable biofuels. Key elements of the compromise include:

• Long-term target: the compromise introduces a long-term target for 2020 for the new car fleet of average emissions of 95 g CO2/km;

• Phase-in: the compromise says that manufacturers will be given interim targets of ensuring that average CO2 emissions of 65% of their fleets in January 2012, 75% in January 2013, 80% in January 2014 and 100% from 2015, comply with the car manufacturer’s specific CO2 emissions target. The original proposal required 100% implementation in 2012.

• Excess emissions premiums: the compromise provides that manufacturers exceeding the carbon dioxide targets set by the regulation will have to pay the following fines (so called excess emissions premiums):

From 2012 until 2018:

o €5 Euro for the first gram of CO2
o €15 Euro for the second gram of CO2
o €25 Euro for the third gram of CO2
o €95 Euro from the fourth gram of CO2 onwards.

From 2019 manufacturers will have to pay €95 euro for each gram exceeding the target. The Commission had proposed starting fines at €20 per gram over the limit in 2012, rising to €35 in 2013, €60 in 2014 and €95 in 2015.

• Mass-based targets: the CO2 targets for passenger cars is to be defined as a function of the utility of the cars on a linear basis. Mass is the initial parameter selected. Data on alternative utility parameters such as footprint (track width times wheelbase) is to be collected in order to facilitate longer-term evaluations of the utility-based approach. The Commission should by 2014 review the availability of data and, if appropriate, submit a proposal on adapting the utility parameter.

The original proposal noted that in establishing targets, the projected evolution of new cars’ mass until 2012 should be taken into account, and potential incentives to increase vehicle mass just in order to benefit from a consequential increase of the CO2 reduction target should be avoided.

Emissions from passenger cars account for 12% of overall EU emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), according to European Commission’s figures. The new regulation is part of the EU’s effort to reduce CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020.

The compromise reached on Monday evening still needs to be endorsed by the full Council and put to a first reading vote at Parliament’s December plenary session in Strasbourg.

Source: Green Car Congress

None of the big carmakers will miss the 2009 Geneva Motor Show

The auto business will be completely represented at the next Geneva International Motor Show in spring 2009. The planners of the Show are elated that all of the key auto producers will be putting their vehicles on display despite the disturbing developments in the business in the past couple of weeks. Hall 3 was acquired through special arrangement to permit specialists to display their most current designs in the realm of electric and other alternative means of propulsion.

The 79th Geneva International Motor Show will run from March 5 – 15, 2009 at the GENEVA PALEXPO. Presently, all of the areas for booths have already been assigned and the seven exhibition halls are completely booked, and besides all these is a further 20 prospective exhibitors are to be found on the waiting roll. A “Green Pavilion” will be completely devoted to vehicles that run on electricity and other forms of alternative propulsion systems.

The organizing team leaders have designed a fresh display setup for Hall 3. It will be completely set aside for exhibitors presenting only electric and other alternatively propelled vehicles. Founded on the premise that these new technologies warrant a broader introduction, both beginning specialists and established companies in these areas will have an equal prospect to present the products of their research to the world.

Source: 4wheelsnews.com

Battery capacity reportedly the chief obstacle for Germany's electric car goal

Batteries with limited storage capacity are the main hurdle to Germany's goal of putting 5 million electric cars on its roads by 2030, the Bloomberg news service reported today, citing the country's transportation and environment ministers.

Europe's largest car market wants at least 1 million electric cars on the road by 2020 and 5 million a decade later, environment minister Sigmar Gabriel said today in Berlin. Germany currently has about 55 million cars operating nationwide.

Germany lost its leadership in battery technology half a century ago and "desperately" needs to regain that expertise for electric car demand to rise, said Gabriel, echoing comments by transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee.

Vehicles require a range of 124 to 180 miles without a recharge before technology can meet the demands of drivers, they said.

"The challenges are enormous," Tiefensee said. "But we need electric vehicles to reduce our dependence on oil."

Road transportation accounts for almost a fifth of global carbon-dioxide emissions, which are blamed for contributing to rising temperatures, and carmakers are looking for ways to make driving less harmful to the planet.

Emissions from Germany's transportation sector have risen more than 4 percent since 1990 while the country's overall CO2 output has declined.

Source: Green Car Advisor

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Related posts from Japanese Green Cars blog:

1. Japan's automakers are zooming ahead in the eco-car race to market.
   

Related posts from Honda Hybrid Cars blog:

1. U.S. Auto Makers Target Battery Gap With Japan
2. Honda not interested in plug-in hybrids for the near future
3. Lithium car batteries: Don't hold your breath
   
4. Continental starts series production of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles
   

European Commission proposes €5B green cars initiative

The European Commission presented a €200 billion (US$257 billion) Recovery Plan—equivalent to 1.5% of European GDP—to pull Europe’s economy out of its current crisis. One of the elements of the plan is a €5 billion (US$6.4 billion) “European green cars initiative”.

The plan will use a wide range of policies and instruments. The co-ordinated fiscal stimulus of around €200 billion comprises around €170 billion (1.2% of GDP) from Member States, and around €30 billion (0.3% of GDP) as EU level action within the EU budget and from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The stimulus will stay within the Stability and Growth Pact, while making use of the full flexibility offered by the Pact.

The Recovery Plan includes detailed proposals for partnerships between the public sector—using Community, EIB and national funding—and private sectors to boost clean technologies through support for innovation. In addition to the European green cars initiative, the Plan proposes a European energy-efficient buildings initiative worth €1 billion; and a factories of the future initiative estimated at €1.2 billion.

The European green cars initiative would involve research on a broad range of technologies and smart energy infrastructures essential to achieve a breakthrough in the use of renewable and non-polluting energy sources, safety and traffic fluidity.

The partnership would be funded by the Community, the EIB, industry and Member States’ contributions. In this context, the EIB would provide cost-based loans to car producers and suppliers to finance innovation, in particular in technologies improving the safety and the environmental performance of cars, e.g. electric vehicles.

Demand side measures such as a reduction by Member States of their registration and circulation taxes for lower emission cars, as well as efforts to scrap old cars, should be integrated into the initiative. In addition, the Commission will support the development of a procurement network of regional and local authorities to pool demand for clean buses and other vehicles and speed up the implementation of the CARS21 initiative.

Source: Green Car Congress

Japan's automakers are zooming ahead in the eco-car race to market.

In large part, Japan's lead in green-car technology is an outgrowth of its old austerity. Japan was obsessed with energy efficiency long before global warming made it a worldwide obsession. For decades Japanese companies have struggled to cope with their oil-poor country's sky-high energy costs by placing a premium on energy-saving technologies, and it has paid off. Even old Japanese industries are cutting-edge in cutting energy costs. Japan continued to make batteries long after U.S. rivals quit, and now makes the most efficient batteries in the world. Japanese steelmakers have ceded ground to cheaper emerging-market rivals but are still unsurpassed in the fine niche art of making superlight steel for car bodies. The hidden strength of Japanese smokestack industries helped create its green cars, and now the success of those cars is pushing more and more Japanese industries—electronic-motor and control-unit producers, all sorts of material companies—to innovate faster.

The focus on green cars reveals the kind of industrial vision that Japan is often criticized for having lost decades ago. Toyota launched the G21 Project, which ultimately produced the Prius, back in the 1990s, when oil prices were low and America's love of SUVs was still growing. The idea was to create a model car for the 21st century, and counter Toyota's reputation for "boring" vehicles. Toyota simply saw the long view before others, assuming that the petroleum-based economy was becoming unviable for a variety of environmental and economic reasons, according to Noriyuki Matsushima, analyst at Nikko Citigroup in Tokyo.

Honda's new FCX Clarity feels like a perfectly ordinary car—which may well be the most shocking thing about it. Slip behind the wheel and press the pedal, and the car accelerates with satisfying punch. But after a few minutes of cruising, you'll notice that something's missing. The only engine noise is a whir so faint that you can actually hear the tires swishing along the asphalt. That's because the Clarity is a hydrogen-fuel-cell car, one of the most advanced in the world. It's the first to be certified by the Environmental Protection Agency here in the United States, and the first to be delivered to retail customers (though on a leasing basis). As for CO2 emissions, the only exhaust is a trickle of water. And perhaps most important is what stands behind it: a factory that's ready to produce thousands of the vehicles once the market is ready. Most of Honda's competitors, by contrast, are still bringing concept cars to the auto shows.

The Clarity is just one of a number of next-generation green automobiles that are beginning to come off assembly lines in Japan. Such vehicles have been around for years, but almost always as one-off utopian designs or experimental models that were designed mainly to attract good press. Now Japanese automakers are entering the green-car mass market, in many cases years before their competitors. Nissan plans to introduce an electric vehicle to the United States and Japan by 2010. Toyota is road-testing a plug-in hybrid it plans to launch in 2009. (There's unconfirmed buzz that it may use solar power as well.) Mazda will offer the world's first hydrogen-gasoline hybrid in Japan by next March. All these companies are benefiting from close cooperation with electronics manufacturers, component makers and suppliers that are helping to push Japan to the forefront of green-car technologies. "Globally, Japanese companies are definitely at the top right now," says Mike Omotoso, an analyst for J.D. Power and Associates.

It's impossible to tally the direct economic effect of the green-car race, but it's huge and likely to grow. The Prius is already the world's most popular green car. By 2015, Goldman Sachs expects the hybrid-vehicle market (including plug-in hybrids) to grow to 2.5 million, up from 500,000 in 2007, with Toyota and Honda in the lead. Analysts say plug-in hybrids, which run on a battery alone for a short range, are the vehicles that will gradually ease drivers out of the gasoline age. Goldman analyst Kota Yuzawa says hybrids could account for 5 to 10 percent of operating profits for Honda and Toyota in 2010. Toyota is already seeing benefits as its costs of producing the Prius, now in its second decade, drop sharply.

Virtually every car company in the world is ramping up intriguing green-car projects. GM plans to debut the plug-in hybrid Volt in 2010, but it is coming up from behind against Japanese rivals that work in often-exclusive national supply networks, as they have for decades. Japanese carmakers aim to protect their edge by joining forces with makers of electronics and batteries. Toyota's joint venture with Panasonic (which is majority-owned by the car company) has already made it one of the world's leading battery companies. Similarly, Nissan recently increased its stake in its joint venture with the battery firm NEC. A.T. Kearney's Eiji Kawahara says that even if Japan does not come up with the next big breakthrough in battery design, the technology for putting it into mass production will likely be Japanese.

Mitsubishi's new electric car, the i MiEV, offers another illustration of why Japan leads. Until now, many electric vehicles have been limited by range, meager acceleration and long charging times. The four-door i MiEV boasts a range of 100 miles per each full charge (compared with 25 for a GM Volt), and, as a recent test-drive around Tokyo showed, its pickup in urban traffic rivaled a gas-powered car. Other new electric vehicles—like Tesla's much-hyped roadsters—may offer even better performance. But in stark contrast to Tesla—an innovative but tiny start-up—Mitsubishi is reaping the benefits of a tie-in with leading Japanese battery maker GS Yuasa that has the two companies preparing for mass production of state-of-the-art batteries by the end of 2009. Already the i MiEV's battery weighs in at a mere 450 pounds (compared with 1,000 pounds for Tesla's model), and the effect on cost is dramatic. Mitsubishi plans to start selling i MiEVs in Japan at the end of next year for a price of about $28,000 (after planned subsidies of about $10,000)—compared with a cool $100,000 for a Tesla. Mitsubishi also says it's close to perfecting "quick charge" devices that would bring the battery up to 80 percent of capacity in half an hour—letting drivers recharge their cars in the supermarket parking lot while shopping.

The secret to making better batteries lies less in incremental innovation—something the Japanese are traditionally good at. Japanese battery makers and automakers have been collaborating since the late 1990s. Both sides use the word suriawase, meaning "coordination and integration." Slowly but surely, these relationships are coming together to give Japan an edge. Though Ford and GM have been loudly touting hybrid vehicles of their own, those are estimated to be much more expensive, and U.S. manufacturers are already turning to the Japanese for batteries that offer the necessary staying power. Batteries are only one part of a green automotive-components industry, which also includes electric motors, inverters and the like, which Japan already dominates. Some analysts estimate the market for hybrid components alone could triple to $5 billion by 2012, and reach $9 billion by 2015. "Japan now has a huge potential to become a world supply center," says Yozo Hasegawa, author of "Clean Car Wars."

Source: Newsweek

Japan Car: Designs for the Crowded Globe

It worths taking a look at the website of the Japan Car Exhibition and if you live in Paris (November 1 - 9, 2008 ) or London (November 29, 2008 - April 19, 2009 ), it definitely worths visiting. I have extracted some interesting info and posted below:

"Although the history of cars in Japan began with an attempt to emulate the West's automotive technology and culture, the context of Japanese lifestyles and Japan's particular route to industrial development has given Japan's cars their own unique characteristics and individuality. This exhibition presents these characteristics, consolidating them into three specific perspectives.

The most straightforward way to reduce the impact of cars on the environment is to make smaller cars. Simplicity is the starting point for Japanese aesthetics, and Japan has a distinct category of mini-vehicles - also known as light cars, kei cars, or micro-cars. Mini-vehicles need to fit within a length restriction of 3.40 m, width of 1.48 m and height of 2.00 m, and have an engine no larger than 660 cc. These cars are very small, so instead of designs that convey status or aerodynamic shapes that give an impression of speed, compliance with these regulations has resulted in cars with clear design concepts based on efficiency as a means of transportation. Tiny cars can be found around the world, but those in Japan are distinctive for being tightly packed with sophistication and advanced performance. Even with cars that do not meet the mini-vehicle parameters, Japan has excelled in smallness, creating the four-seater premium car with one of the world's smallest turning circles, and the two-seater sports car with the world's largest production record. Japan has also produced agile 4x4 vehicles that use lightness and compactness instead of power to cope with off-road conditions. The exhibition demonstrates the wisdom behind this smallness that is taken to extremes in Japan cars.

A second characteristic of Japan cars is that they have led the world in producing mature technology for the shift to alternative energies. Three different approaches are presented here—electricity, hydrogen-powered fuel cell, and hybrid systems that use either gasoline or electricity according to requirements. These technologies have each been developed to the stage of practical application in Japan cars, and are already mass-prodeced. The exhibition presents a small electric car that can run for 160 km after charging overnight simply by plugging into a domestic power supply, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle that is now available on lease for use in combination with hydrogen refuelling stations that utilize solar energy. Hybrid cars are already in practical use worldwide. The successful achievement of these environmental technologies surely results from Japan's background, including the experience of horrific air and water pollution in the wake of rapid economic growth, and the country's lack of oil reserves, meaning that it suffers whenever oil prices are high."

Welcome Message

Welcome to Japanese "Green" Cars blog. Following the Honda Hybrid Cars blog which is up and running since September 2008, I thought that it would be a good idea to create a blog covering a wider range of "green" Japanese cars.

The question though is on what basis can a car be characterised as “green”? Two of them can been found below:

1. A characteristic of Japanese cars is that they have led the world in producing mature technology for the shift to alternative energies. The three different approaches are electricity, hydrogen-powered fuel cell, and hybrid systems that use either gasoline or electricity according to requirements.
2. The most straightforward way to reduce the impact of cars on the environment is to make smaller cars. Simplicity is the starting point for Japanese aesthetics, and Japan has a distinct category of mini-vehicles - also known as light cars, kei cars, or micro-cars. Tiny cars can be found around the world, but those in Japan are distinctive for being tightly packed with sophistication and advanced performance.
   

Some sneak previews of sports cars will also be available (...of Japanese origin of course), as a true car enthusiast can always keep dreaming!