Plug-in hybrids charge Hill
Bay Area group touts cars to House panel

Washington — Hydrogen-powered cars. Bio-diesel. Clean diesel. Vehicles propelled by ethanol, the corn-based fuel that’s the dream of Midwestern farmers. Electric-gas hybrids.

They’ve all been featured in mini-auto shows in recent weeks on Capitol Hill, where the spike in gas prices across the country has caught Congress’ attention. Members and their constituents are searching eagerly for alternatives, and the possible technologies of tomorrow have lined up for their moment in the spotlight.

Wednesday was the turn of Bay Area researchers, who brought their plug-in hybrid vehicle technology to show off for a House science subcommittee.

For the full article, click here.

Toyota’s North American chief sat down with Business Week for an interesting Q&A,

Toyota’s Jim Press Discusses the Future
Toyota North America’s new head on moving the company forward, his role, the competition and alternative fuel

MK: What’s your view on hybrid technology?

JP: We recognize more and more hybrid technology is going to be a key technology for the future success of this business. Hybrid is going to be hybrid diesel. Fuel cell cars are hybrids. The internal combustion engine cars we are selling today are hybrids. Flex fuel vehicles will be hybrids. Hybrid is the enabling technology that makes all of those more efficient. Diesel, gasoline, hydrogen and biodiesel are all fuels that feed through a common system, which is a hybrid. This is the thing we’re developing. Hybrid is the way you gain the synergy of combining stored energy that you store when you don’t need it and release when you do.

MK: You are chairman of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the industry’s top trade group, and you are the first international automotive executive to do so. How’s that going?

JP: It’s a time of turbulence and great interest in fuel. We’ve been dealing with a war of words over who is at fault with high gas prices. There are those who think the auto industry is at fault because their cars don’t get very good mileage. But the auto industry doesn’t bring the oil out of the ground and price it. OPEC does; oil companies do. The issue of gas prices is a consumer issue and becoming a political one. It’s really a great time to have all this stuff stirring around. Ten years ago, CAFE was an issue for us but the public wasn’t involved. Now they are engaged. So it is a great time for the industry to utilize its capability to educate through an ad campaign to consumers and thought leaders making decisions on future regulations. It’s a very stimulating opportunity

MK: Does Toyota have plans for ethanol vehicles?

JP: We have no flex fuel vehicles. We’re studying them.

MK: There’s suddenly great interest in it and in Brazil, which has 90 percent of its fleet using ethanol.

JP: As for Brazil, they use sugar to make ethanol. They have lots of it – too much. And sugar cane is more efficient than corn. Their total vehicle population is smaller and more concentrated. Also in Brazil, they have government policy that has driven them in that direction just Europe has one that has encouraged diesel. Here, we don’t have that. So it is really hard for the free market on its own to embrace a fuel that costs more to produce and is less efficient. It’s also a fuel that if we really did embrace it would require a tremendous amount of corn production. That would bring up other issues – land use issues, significant changes to our structure of tariffs on importation. Who is going to pay for ethanol gas stations? There are less than 600 in the country. There’s one in California, and it’s not open to the public. All those flex fuel vehicles sold in California provide a credit for CAFE but they are running on gasoline. We need to have more gas stations and more ethanol available. E10 we can run through regular gas station and today’s cars can use it. If we all went to E0 today, we’d get at least 10 percent more out of our gallon of gas, which may be a way to phase it. But now it doesn’t have the same CAFE credit. So there are obstacles. Ethanol definitely helps in the cause of dependence on foreign oil.

To read the full interview, click here.

Honda chairman’s mid-year speech outlines plans for R&D and global manufacturing expansion and first-ever OEM C02 reduction target

17th May 2006

Honda chairman’s mid-year speech outlines plans for R&D and global manufacturing expansion and first-ever OEM C02 reduction target

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has just announced specific plans in three areas to accelerate its efforts to achieve further growth:

1. Establishing advanced manufacturing systems and capabilities

2. Strengthening the foundation for overseas growth with new overseas plants

3. Strengthening the commitment to reduce Honda’s environmental footprint

We report the plans at some length as some of the most ambitious global expansion, technology investment and environmental management plans ever announced by a vehicle manufacturer.

To read more about Honda’s plans in the areas of product strategy, hybrid roadmap and manufacturing plans, click here.

Ford targets emerging markets, considers new hybrid

WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co.(F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive Bill Ford Jr. said on Thursday that the automaker is targeting fast-growing markets in Asia and Eastern Europe to boost global sales and profits.

He also said Ford was considering the launch of a plug-in hybrid vehicle for its future product line-up.

Ford’s operations in emerging markets such as Turkey, Russia, India and China are “a critical source of future growth and profits and we are pursuing them aggressively,” Bill Ford said at the company’s annual meeting.

The full article is here.

Harris Interactive Reports: Enhanced Fuel Economy Tops List of Automotive Technologies European Vehicle Owners Say They are Likely to Purchase for Their Next New Vehicle

New Harris Interactive AutoTECHCAST Europe study gauges consumer attitudes in the five largest European countries toward 61 advanced automotive technologies

Overall, the European market appears much less interested in hybrid technology versus what we see in the United States, especially when considering the cost that it adds to a vehicle,” says Bryan Krulikowski, Senior Director of Automotive and Transportation Research at Harris Interactive. “European consumers already enjoy access to fuel-efficient diesel-powered vehicles and are looking beyond hybrid technology.”

In fact, European respondents are significantly more likely to say they will purchase a fuel cell vehicle (28% say they are very/extremely likely) than a hybrid (20%). Italians show the greatest purchase consideration for this technology as almost half (48%) say they are very or extremely likely to next purchase a fuel cell vehicle.

The key factor, however, is affordability. While purchase consideration for fuel-efficient technologies is high among Europeans in the five major markets, the additional cost they place on a vehicle makes them less attractive. Purchase consideration for both enhanced fuel economy and fuel cell vehicles declines significantly once respondents are made aware of their estimated market prices, an additional euro 950 (650 pounds Sterling) and euro 5,800 (4,000 pounds), respectively.

“While consumers indicate they are not willing to pay for this technology at today’s estimated prices, their initial high level of interest suggests that these technologies will gain consideration as they become more affordable,” continues Krulikowski.

To read the full press release, click here.