Kosutasu Car News page launched!

Following the "日本緑車。Japanese Green Cars" and the "本田 自動車ニュースです。Honda Automotive News" blogs, I decided to create a new blog where I can express my personal thoughts, likes and dislikes about new cars. There are a lot of websites and blogs covering the automotive industry with a lot of information, but I wanted to create a blog where I can share my passion about cars that I find exciting and ground breaking.

I hope you will find my new blog interesting and I would really enjoy if you would share your thoughts with me!

Click HERE to visit Kosutasu Car News page

Renault-Nissan plans 4 lithium-ion battery plants in Europe

The Renault-Nissan alliance plans to build up to four factories in Europe over the coming years to produce lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.

"In Europe, we haven't made the final decisions, but we will soon," said Colin Dodge, Nissan's executive vice president for the Africa, Middle East, India and Europe region.

Localizing battery production will be a key element of Renault-Nissan's plans to launch electric vehicles across Europe starting in 2011, Dodge said during a zero-emission mobility workshop at Nissan's European headquarters here.

Last month, Nissan opened its first battery plant in Japan and announced it would start producing batteries in the U.S. state of Tennessee in 2010.

Nissan executives say CEO Carlos Ghosn will unveil the company's first purpose-built electric vehicle in early August in Tokyo.

Nissan will launch this new electric vehicle in 2011 in markets such as Portugal, Denmark, Israel, the United States and Japan. The car's global launch will follow in 2012, Dodge said.

Renault plans to begin selling electric vehicles in 2011, although its initial efforts will focus on zero-emission versions of a mid-sized sedan and light commercial vehicle originally designed for internal combustion engines.

Renault's first all-new electric vehicles are expected to go on the market in late-2011 and 2012.

Site selection

Dodge said that Nissan would prefer to produce its 250kg lithium-ion battery packs close to its vehicle assembly sites -- the carmaker has factories in the U.K. and Spain -- but insists that logistics costs linked to production at remote sites can be surmounted.

"The logistics cost of transport will actually be pretty low when compared with the long-term cost and depreciation of the battery," he said.

Renault has already indicated plans to build electric vehicles in France.

Portugal has made a very strong commitment toward the launch of zero-emission vehicles, including purchase-price subsidies for individual buyers and state funding for a planned charging network.

Nissan executives told Automotive News Europe that governments that offer generous funding and assistance with the electric car launch may benefit in the form of battery production sites.

Production target

Nissan and joint venture partner NEC have spent 80 million euros on their battery factory in Japan.

The Automotive Energy Supply Corp. plant is initially expected to produce 13,000 lithium-ion battery packs a year. The plant has the installed capacity to make 65,000 units annually.

Dodge sees the 65,000-unit capacity figure as a minimum target for all planned battery plants.

"It's not like a car plant, where you need 300,000 to 500,000 units annually," Dodge said. "Battery factories can be economically efficient in the 65,000 to 130,000 range,"

Source: Automotive News

Japan may add noise to quiet hybrid cars for safety

Japan's near-silent hybrid cars have been called dangerous by the vision-impaired and some users, prompting a government review on whether to add a noise-making device, according to an official.

The petrol-electric vehicles, which in recent months have become the country's top-selling autos, hum along almost soundlessly when they are switched from fuel to battery mode.

"We have received opinions from automobile users and vision-impaired people that they feel hybrid vehicles are dangerous," a transport ministry official said.

"Blind people depend on sounds when they walk, but there are no engine sounds from hybrid vehicles when running at low speed" and on the electric motor, he said.

The ministry has launched a panel of scholars, vision-impaired groups, consumers, police and the automobile industry to discuss the matter.

"They decided to consider introducing a sound-making function" in petrol-electric hybrids when the 13-member panel held its first meeting Thursday, the official said.

They have not decided on what kind of sound should be used, only that it should induce a response of caution, he said.

"On the other hand, we should pay attention to residents (along roads) as hybrids are excellent in reducing noise," the official added.

The panel is expected to draw up a report by the end of the year. Its proposal will be discussed at the ministry's committee on automobile safety before it could be drafted into legislation.

Toyota Motor launched the world's most popular hybrid, the Prius, in 1997.

A cheaper, revamped Prius, rolled out in Japan in late May, has been a huge hit, drawing orders for 200,000 units, according to Toyota. It recently became the best-selling car in Japan's domestic market.

Source: AFP via Google

Toyota to start commercial production of plug-in hybrids in 2012

The Nikkei reports that Toyota Motor Corp. plans to begin commercial production in 2012 of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Output for the first year is estimated at 20,000 to 30,000 units.

The plug-ins will use Li-ion batteries produced by Toyota’s joint venture with Panasonic Corp., Panasonic EV Energy Co. (PEVE). PEVE provides the NiMH packs for current Toyota hybrids. The report suggests that the 2012 plug-in hybrids will have an all-electric range of 20-30km (12-18 miles).

Through economies of scale, Toyota hopes to sell its new plug-in hybrids at a price comparable to Mitsubishi Motors Corp.’s i-MiEV electric car, which is slated to debut later this month with a price tag of 4.59 million yen [about US$47,700].

Toyota foresees demand for its plug-in hybrids from not only businesses, but also consumers. And it plans to sell them in overseas markets as well, such as the US, Europe and Asia.

In June, Toyota announced that it will begin leasing approximately 200 plug-in versions of its third-generation Prius equipped with lithium-ion battery packs in Japan starting at the end of this year (earlier post). This will be the first time a lithium-ion battery is to be employed in a Toyota vehicle for propulsion.

Source: Green Car Congress

Insight sales down 25% since 2010 Prius release

It looks like the new Honda Insight is in for some hard times, sales-wise. Honda sales figures for June show that Insight sales dropped 25% from 2,780 units in May to 2,079 units in June. Over the same period the Prius' sales have risen from 10,091 units to 12,998. It's hard not to point out that the Prius' increase from May to June was greater than the number of Insights sold in June.

At this rate, it's going to be tough for Honda to reach their 90,000 sales goal by the end of the first model year.

Launched in April with great initial reviews, the Insight has been a tough sell with dealerships already offering discounts to move them off the lot. Reviewers have also come out considerably negative against the Insight including benchmark Consumer Reports who found it "the most disappointing Honda Consumer Reports has tested in a long time."

Source: PriusChat

Recycling of new Toyota Prius (batteries included)

Long before the first new Prius reached the showroom, Toyota had plans in place to ensure that when the car reaches the end of its useful life it can be disposed of in an environmentally responsible fashion.

When its driving duties are done, more than 85 per cent of new Prius’s can be recycled and more than 95 per cent of its materials can be recovered in a process that only accounts for a tiny proportion (approximately two per cent) of its full lifecycle CO2 emissions.

Special attention has been paid to the efficient recycling of new Prius’s high voltage nickel-metalhydride battery with a new process that allows 95 per cent of the battery components to be recovered for re-use with near-zero emissions.

At the vehicle’s end-of-life, the battery is removed at an authorised Prius service centre. Toyota has appointed authorised waste management companies in each country where the car is sold, which are responsible for transporting the batteries to one of three European Final Treatment Companies (FTCs): SNAP, Accurec and Umicore.

The recovery process begins with the removal of the battery’s outer casing, which itself can be re-used in steel making processes. All the wires and electronic parts are sent to a specialist recovery company, while the power cells themselves are recycled using an induction-based vacuum thermal system.

This is an evolution of the traditional waste heat treatment process, but it consumes less energy, is almost emissions-free and is highly secure. The cells are put into a sealed container from which all air is removed, significantly reducing internal pressure. The container is then heated to 800°C. When the temperature reaches 400°C all organic materials break down into a mixture of oil and water, which is sent on to a licensed water treatment company for processing. The power cells are then exposed to hydrogen, which helps break the oxides down into metals.

What is left after the process is a highly concentrated nickel alloy which can be re-used as a raw material in the production of new batteries. All the other metallic elements recovered can be used in the manufacture of stainless or other specialist steels.

Source: Toyota GB Media Website

Official Honda newsletter: CR-Z to be available for sale end 2010

TOVA member WongKN provided the following information regarding the launch of Honda's sports hybrid CR-Z (CR-ZX according to Japanese Best Car magazine):

"The latest issue of Honda Malaysia's 'With Dreams' newsletter has a feature on the CR-Z. Inside, it quotes a speech by the Honda Motor Co. Ltd. CEO in December 2008 that says that the CR-Z will be 'available for purchase by the end of 2010'. This suggests that the original target of a JDM launch at this year's Tokyo Motor Show has been cancelled and postphoned."

Source: Vtec.net