2011 Infiniti M / Nissan Fuga?

This may be the new Infiniti M...

The new Infiniti M, which is sold in Japan as Nissan Fuga (Premium Factory), is due in 2010. The new Fuga (JDM) will be introduced in fall 2009 and a hybrid version will be launched in autumn 2010. The new Infiniti M (EUDM) will be launched at the 2010 Geneva motor show.

Source: Vince Burlapp Car Page

Honda Insight off to a flying start in UK

Honda's all-new Insight hybrid is off to good start in Britain, but the fact that the Insight is a newer model than the Prius has to be considered. The third-gen Prius will be arriving on British shores in July 2009.

"With only a few days remaining in its first month of sales, the Honda Insight is outselling its competitors in the hybrid market.

Since the affordable hybrid car went on sale on 4 April, 229 Insights have been sold in the UK, ahead of its nearest rival the Toyota Prius (198 units). Together with Civic Hybrid (79 units), Honda (UK) has sold 308 hybrid family cars this month, despite April being known as one of the quietest months in the sales calendar.

“The Insight is proving a hit with cost-savvy consumers looking for a cleaner car that’s more affordable,” said John Kingston, Honda (UK)’s Environment and Government Affairs Manager. “More and more people want a car that makes sound financial sense, especially in the current economic climate and the Insight offers numerous running cost savings such as reduced road tax of £15 per year and great fuel economy.”

Insight customers will also benefit from high residual values of 44 per cent and exemption from the London Congestion Charge. Company car drivers and businesses can take advantage of the same benefits plus low benefit-in-kind tax, reduced national insurance payments and increased write down allowance.

Honda expects to sell around 7,000 Insights in the UK this year. The annual global sales target is approximately 200,000 units. The Insight 1.3-litre IMA SE costs £15,490 on-the-road."

Source: Honda UK media website

Honda, Toyota earning profits on hybrids

The Nikkei reports that Toyota and Honda are both making estimated profits of about ¥300,000 (about US$3,100) each on every hybrid they sell, similar to what they make on small, gasoline-engined vehicles.

If Honda sells 200,000 Insight hybrids worldwide in the first year of its release, the company would generate sales of more than 350 billion yen [US$3.6 billion]. Since it estimates a gross profit margin of more than 15% on the car—priced at under 2 million yen&mash;its gross profit on Insight sales is projected to hit around 60 billion yen [US$622 million] in the first year, or around 300,000 yen per unit.

The gross profit earned on the Insight is still low when factoring in the large R&D costs involved in its development. However, the profit margin on its hybrid operations has risen to the level where Honda can count on it to generate the fourth-largest revenue stream behind its luxury, midsize and small car operations.

The Nikkei report said that Toyota appears to have earned gross profits of around ¥100 billion yen (US$1 billion) on its sales of second-generation Prius hybrids last year. Toyota’s gross profit margin on the sales of the next-generation 2010 Prius are projected to be in the single digits in the first year.

Source: Green Car Congress

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

ライン 三菱益子社長「EV事業は13年ごろに収益体質に」

三菱自動車工業の益子修社長は26日の決算発表の席上、今年7月に発売する電気自動車（EV）『i MiEV』の採算性について年産「3万台規模がめどになる」との見方を示した。

そのうえで「2013年くらいには3万台レベルにもっていきたい」と語った。i MiEVは7月から国内の法人向けを主体に発売、今年度末までに一部海外も含み1400台の販売を計画している。

今秋からは香港、英国にも投入、2010年度には左ハンドル車も設定して欧州などでの販売を強化したい考えだ。ただ、生産立ち上がりから1年間の生産は2000台にとどまる。11年度には1万5000台レベルに引き上げ、黒字転換へ着実な販売拡大を目指していく。

ソース: Response

Honda chair presents his view on Japan's economic policy

Satoshi Aoki, chairman of Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Inc (JAMA) and Honda Motor Co Ltd, made comments on the state of sales and production inside and outside Japan at a regular press conference April 24, 2009.

"I am expecting the subsidy system for purchasers of environmentally-friendly cars, which the Japanese government included in its additional economic policy, to make a great contribution to the realization of a low carbon society and the recovery of the sluggish automotive sales," he said.

Aoki considers that the subsidy system will lead to growth in orders because visitors have been increasing at car dealers after the government implemented reduction and exemption of automobile acquisition and weight taxes.

Asked whether he thinks the domestic automobile market had hit the bottom, Aoki said, "The domestic production continued to be seriously bleak in January to March. Though I think the production of cars for export is heading for recovery with inventory adjustments progressing, we have not yet determined that the market has hit bottom. We need to wait and see for a little longer."

JAMA estimates that the overall demand for four-wheel vehicles will be about 4.3 million units in fiscal 2009, factoring in the reduction and exemption of acquisition and weight taxes .

In addition, Japan's ruling parties have submitted a bill to offer a subsidy of ¥250,000 (approx US$2,589) to purchasers of cars that fulfill a certain mileage criteria after scrapping their cars that have been used for more than 13 years. JAMA believes demand will strengthen if this bill is passed.

The amount of the subsidiary will theoretically increase the auto sales by 690,000 units. JAMA is planning to analyze the effect and reflect it in its demand estimate as soon as the supplementary budget bill is passed, it said.

Regarding the US market's recovery, Aoki said, "Based on DSR (daily sales record), sales grew at an annual pitch of 9.5 million units in March, faster than the pitch of 9.2 million units in January to February. We have also determined the US market is recovering as financial institutes started to ease funding for sales finances."

"However, at Honda (where Aoki is the chairman), we have yet to see strong sales," he continued. "So, I am hoping that the incentives being discussed by the government will be realized and support automotive sales."

Referring to the report that Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp will possibly file for protection under the bankruptcy law, Aoki said, "If that happens, the US economy as well as component manufacturers will be hit severely. But the companies won't collapse just because they file for Chapter 11. I only hope that the US market becomes healthy soon."

Source: Tech-On!

Honda still strong on hydrogen fuel cells, but eyeing plug-in hybrids as well

As the once-favored hydrogen highway becomes a mere side road on the route to oil independence with the Obama administration's push for rechargeable hybrid powertrains as the new favored alternative to the conventional gasoline engine, hydrogen pioneer Honda Motor Co. says it, too, will begin to pursue the way of the plug.

In an interview with Bloomberg news last week, Honda Motor Co. President Takeo Fukui said his company still sees hydrogen as the best long-term replacement for gasoline in the effort to slash automotive emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases tied to global arming.

Fukui, who is stepping down in June as part of Honda's regular executive shuffle, has in the past has been outspoken in his disdain for plug-in technology, calling it an unnecessary intermediate step form gasoline to pure electric power.

Honda has developed a hydrogen fuel-cell sedan, the FCX Clarity, that it leases to select customers in a Los Angeles-area test program, and isn't planning to abandon the effort.

But, Fukui said in a Bloomberg news wire article published this morning, the automaker also will accommodate the perceived preference of the U.S. government for plug-in hybrid-electric cars and trucks.

Unlike a conventional gas-electric hybrid that charges its batteries from on-board power sources such as regenerative braking, a plug-in hybrid gets its initial charge from the commercial grid, by "plugging in" to a wall socket or a special rapid-charging station

Plug-ins use larger battery pack than a conventional hybrids. They store enough power to permit the vehicle to be driven for an extended amount of time on all-electric drive before the grid charge is depleted and the gas engine kicks in.

Although others, including General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Volkswagen are developing fuel-cell vehicles, Honda has been the only major automaker championing hydrogen above other technologies and so far has stayed out of the rapidly developing race to bring plug-ins to market.

While federal support of hydrogen development has all-but evaporated in the U.S., the government is providing billions of dollars for battery development programs and for federal tax credits of up to $7,500 for purchasers of plug-ins.

Nissan Motor Co., General Motors Corp, Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co., Subaru and Mitsubishi Motors, as well as independents Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive, all are developing rechargeable cars - some using all-electric power, others using hybrid gas-electric drivetrains - for introduction in the U.S. and Japanese markets in the next few years.

Honda, which does build and sell conventional hybrids, hasn't made a formal commitment to produce a plug-in. But Fukui told Bloomberg, and said the same to other interviewers at the recent Society of Automotive Engineers conference in Detroit, that his company now is "thinking about plug-ins."

A recently announced joint venture of Honda and GS Yuasa Corp. in Japan to build lithium-ion battery packs for Honda's conventional hybrids could be extended to making batteries for plug-ins, Fukui said.

Meantime, Honda still sees fuel cell-electric vehicles, which produce electric power from an on-board thermo-chemical reaction combining hydrogen and oxygen in the presence of a catalyst, as becoming an economically feasible technology by 2020.

Major drawbacks are clean, energy-efficient production of hydrogen - most of which now is "reformed" from natural gas in a process that uses a considerable amount of electrical power - and development of a fueling infrastructure to serve hydrogen powered vehicle.

Although there's no new federal funding on tap to continue funding U.S. hydrogen programs that were initiated during the Bush administration, Fukui said Honda isn't giving up on the technology.

On the contrary, he said in the Bloomberg interview, the auto industry must plan for eventual reductions in oil supplies and for growing political and social pressure to reduce greenhouse gases for carbon-based fuels.

"Oil prices are going to go up. When that time comes, fuel cells, solar panels, hydrogen, those will be the key words," Fukui said in the interview. "We will have packages that will be very competitive at that time."

Source: Green Car Advisor