Toyota Will Make Hybrids in Britain

Toyota Motor Corp. said it will produce hybrid vehicles in Europe for the first time next year, as it pushes ahead with its leading gas-sipping hybrid cars across the globe.

Toyota, the world's largest hybrid maker, aims to gather momentum by enticing cost-conscious customers with its hybrids in the region, where it is struggling with a relatively small 5% share of the overall market.

The world's biggest car maker by sales volume said it will manufacture a hybrid version of the Auris subcompact hatchback in the U.K. from the middle of 2010. It will spend three billion yen ($32 million) to prepare for production.

The U.K. will be the fifth country outside Japan where Toyota makes hybrid cars or plans to do so. The company already builds hybrids in China and the U.S. and will begin production in Thailand later this month and in Australia in early 2010.

The latest decision on U.K. production follows a strategy that the company's newly appointed president, Akio Toyoda, outlined late last month. He aims to promote hybrid car sales in Europe where customers looking for more fuel-economic vehicles tend to buy diesel-powered cars.

Toyota is betting on its leading technology combining combustion engines with electric motors to spur demand in Europe for low-emission cars that are cheaper to run.

The auto giant also aims to offer hybrid versions of all of its vehicles by 2020.

Core components of the system such as the batteries and the motors will be shipped from Japan, a Toyota spokesman said.

Nissan Motor Co. said it is considering expanding its limited offerings of hybrid vehicles by installing its own gasoline-electric system technology in more models to catch up with rivals such as Toyota.

The Japanese car maker, in which Renault SA holds a 44% stake, follows Honda Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. in seeking to beef up its hybrid lineup.

Honda said July 13 that it will launch two new gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles next year, while Mazda is in talks with Toyota over using components of Toyota's system for its hybrid vehicles.

Nissan has lagged behind major hybrid makers including Toyota, Honda and Ford Motor Co. as the company has focused more on developing electric cars. It plans to roll out electric vehicles next year in Japan and the U.S.

India June Car Sales Rise 7.8%

Car sales in India rose for the fifth straight month in June, driven primarily by lower lending rates and the introduction of new models from auto makers.

Sales climbed 7.8% in June to 107,531 cars from the 99,741 sold a year earlier, showed data issued Wednesday by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers industry group.

Higher borrowing costs and a slowing economy reduced demand for cars and two-wheelers in Asia's third-largest automobile market last year.

But sales began to recover earlier this year after a slew of stimulus packages, including tax cuts, from the federal government and a lowering of borrowing rates by financial institutions.

Compared to a year earlier, car sales grew 22% in February - the first monthly rise since last September - 1% in March, 4.2% in April and 2.5% in May.

"Overall, the auto industry has exhibited a positive trend in volume growth over the last four to five months," Vaishali Jajoo, an analyst at Mumbai-based Angel Broking, said in a recent report.

Ms. Jajoo, however, said the rising trend in vehicle sales will only be confirmed when auto makers report a gradual positive trend in volumes over the next couple of months.

Automakers in India have introduced several new small cars and sedans since January in an effort to lure more customers.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. began selling the Ritz, its seventh small car model, in May as it worked to maintain its leadership in the expanding market.

Sales at Maruti - a unit of Suzuki Motor Corp. - gained 12% to 54,693 cars as the market leader sold more A-Star, Ritz and Swift cars.

Fiat SpA introduced its Grande Punto hatchback last month, with the company lifting car sales to 2,464 units in June from 500 a year earlier.

Second-ranked carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. posted a 5.2% rise to 23,013 cars, while Tata Motors, the country's third-largest auto maker, rose 3.2% to 13,732 cars.

Sales at Honda Motor Co.'s local unit increased 13.5% to 5,039 cars in June, boosted by the introduction of the Jazz hatchback model.

"Our full-year outlook was based on stimulus packages," Dilip Chenoy, SIAM's director general told reporters, referring to the association's annual sales outlook announced in April. "Currently nothing has changed and it is too early to factor in the impact of the monsoon."

Normal monsoon rains are considered key to higher sales of cars, commercial vehicles and motorcycles in India's growing rural markets. About half of the country's agriculture depends on monsoons rains.

Monsoon rains are forecast to be below normal this year and auto makers have previously said they are studying for possible impact of this delay on their sales.

SIAM had forecast local car sales to grow 3%-5% in this fiscal year that began April 1. Truck and bus sales may grow 7%-10%, while that of motorcycles and scooters are projected to rise up to 5%.

Local sales of trucks and buses slid 12.5% to 36,193 vehicles in June because of a decline in sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles.

Sales in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle segment declined 31% to 15,659 vehicles as Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland - the top two manufacturers - posted lower sales in a slowing economy.

Light commercial vehicle sales, however, increased 10% to 20,534 units in June.

In the motorcycle segment, sales gained 16% in June to 550,833 units as Hero Honda Motors Ltd., Yamaha Motor Co. and Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Ltd. saw an increase in demand.

Motorcycle sales of second-ranked Bajaj Auto Ltd. and third-ranked TVS Motor Co., however, declined.

Scooter sales rose 25% to 111,980 units in June, with Hero Honda, Honda Motorcycle and TVS posting higher sales.

An Electric Car With Chinese Roots

Add one more to the growing list of small private electric-car companies: Coda Automotive, a new brand started by Miles EV, a company that’s been selling low-speed electric vehicles from China for about four years.

The Coda sedan was unveiled last week in Santa Monica, Calif. It is based on the Saibao, a gas-powered car built by the Hafei Automobile Group, a state-owned company in China. The chassis was originally developed by Mitsubishi (which licenses it to Hafei). According to Coda, Hafei sells 200,000 cars a year and has delivered more than a million units since it was established in 2006.

Coda addressed Chinese quality questions by giving the Saibao a big makeover. The electric version had a front and rear redesign by Porsche, a partner, as well as considerable re-engineering to accommodate the battery drive and meet United States safety standards. “We think we have the right combination of existing automotive know-how and a mass-manufacturing partner,” said Kevin Czinger, Coda’s chief executive. Other suppliers include Delphi and EnergyCS.

Mr. Czinger said the core of the Coda is an lithium-ion battery system developed in a joint venture with the Tianjin Lishen Battery Joint-Stock Company, a supplier to Apple, Motorola and Samsung. Mr. Czinger said that the Coda’s 700-pound, 33.8-kilowatt-hour battery pack is purpose-built for auto applications, with 728 cells (compared with more than 6,000 in the Tesla Roadster) in modules of seven. The battery joint venture will be 40 percent owned by Coda and 60 percent by Lishen.

Coda said the new sedan would have a cruising range of 90 to 120 miles and a recharging time of less than six hours from 220-volt service. Zero to 60 will take less than 11 seconds and top speed is electronically limited to 80 miles an hour. The purchase price will be $45,000, and buyers could receive a $7,500 federal tax credit and state incentives.

On Monday, Coda said it was applying for an undisclosed amount of Department of Energy stimulus funds to build a battery plant in Enfield, Conn., as part of a joint venture with Connecticut-based Yardney Technical Products, which makes aerospace batteries. According to William Yalen, a program manager, Yardney has conducted research on automotive applications, but has not built auto batteries. He said the Enfield factory was scheduled to be operating next year.

Coda may be a small company, but it has big ambitions. The sedan will be introduced next year in a dealer-free, California-only marketing strategy that will depend on the Internet to get the word out. Test rides will be available. The company said it will have the capacity to build 2,700 cars in 2010 (starting in June) and 20,000 a year starting in 2011. That, of course, would be quite an ambitious number for an electric start-up.
Source: [Electric Cars]

Hybrid Cars - Choice Of The New Generation

Its true that everybody uses cars and have very often felt the need to increase the efficiency of your car and at the same time reduce the gas usage to be pocket friendly.

These days of recession where the profit margins are decreasing and oil prices are becoming dearer, driving a car has become very expensive on pockets of every man and not only the common man.

The fuel prices are hiked every alternate day and your expenses for fuel refilling have started reaching astronomical high levels.

These days’ people are opting for public transport or just walking down the lanes to reach their destination. Buying a car is easy but spending money on gas has become so difficult that driving a car would become a luxury in the long run.

Keeping these views in mind the research team has designed a new style of car called as Hybrid cars. These cars are considered to be a future car as they would not necessarily work on gasoline which is so highly priced. They work on dual power that is gas and electric batteries which are fitted inside the car.

While people think of buying used vehicles they give preference to used hybrid vehicles for sale. They are lighter on the wallet and are designed using modern technology also.

These cars are also eco friendly because they have reduced gasoline consumption, and the smoke and greenhouse gas emissions are also significantly reduced.

Buying a Hybrid car is like earning two points from a same transaction, i.e. low cost and environment friendly.

As the hybrid cars are becoming the car of the century there are many giant manufacturers who are plunging them selves into their production as they can sense a huge potential of growth among this segment.

There are big companies like Toyota, Honda, Volvo, and Lamborghini etc. who have entered the market for producing Hybrid cars.

People buy used Volvo cars the used cars fall cheaper then the newer hybrid version. There is an option of buying used Lamborghini cars for sale to fulfill your need, as they are an equally good manufacturer producing hybrid cars.

You can buy these used Volvo cars for sale from various dealers or directly through the internet. Internet is the answer to the modern day’s solution of instant replies. You can instantly get all information about the products that you shortlist at your luxurious time.

You need to search for hybrid cars or go to the advanced search option and check out for hybrid cars manufactured by a particular company and that solves your query. You will get a list of used hybrid cars manufactured by Volvo which are available for sale.

You can select from any of these options and be happy as your pockets are not always light.

The Buzz on Electric Cars

General Motors has previously tried to dispel rumors that bankruptcy might affect plans for the hybrid-electric Volt, insisting pre-production and planning will continue.

Now the automaker is getting help tamping down those rumors from Chevy Volt enthusiast Lyle Dennis. The neurosurgeon and author of the Chevy Volt fan site posted a link on his Twitter account this morning to an eight-minute video he filmed during a tour of GM's Advanced Battery Laboratory, complete with shots of the battery pack. (Hint: skip to 2:30 minutes to get to the show-and-tell).

A company spokesperson in the video noted there are 155 unique parts within the sealed battery pack, 147 of which are designed by GM. There are 200 Lithium Ion cells within the LG Chem-designed battery pack, he noted along with a dig at Tesla: "You can't reliably attach 6,000 cells over a large number of batteries."

The current design is the fifth iteration of the Volt's battery pack since the the original 18 months ago, the spokesman said. The pack is mounted underneath the vehicle and sealed from dust and water. A poster in the background noted that more than 100 battery packs have been built to date, and the company projects more than 300 will be built by the end of the third quarter.

In a slicker video promotion on GM's website, two test engineers roll the battery pack into a thermal chamber for extreme temperature testing. The company announced the opening of the battery lab in Warren, Mich., on June 8.

"The new global GM battery lab will benefit consumers across America by helping us advance the development of battery technology in the United States and put cleaner, more efficient vehicles on the road more quickly and affordably," said Fritz Henderson, GM president and CEO, in a prepared statement at the time.

"Our new lab improves GM's competitiveness by speeding the development of our hybrid, plug-in and extended-range electric vehicles, including the Chevrolet Volt," Henderson continued.

In other electric car news, Electrovaya will roll out its Maya 300 all-electric vehicle in 2011, according to Greentech Media.

The battery maker will use ExxonMobil's battery separator film, which is "an integral part of battery system design and critical to overall performance," according to a press release (PDF) from January 2008.

"The car will run on lithium-ion batteries, charge in about eight to 10 hours, run for 60 miles and plug into regular 110-volt outlets. It will cost around $20,000 to $25,000. An extended-range battery option will run for 120 miles on a charge and cost $30,000 to $35,000," Greentech Media reported.

The company will reportedly make the big announcement Wednesday, but information on both ExxonMobil's and Electrovaya's websites is sparse, while the dedicated site, Mayamobility.com, is largely under construction.

It is hard to see, however, how Maya 300, a $20,000 low speed (25-35 mph) plug-in vehicle, could gain market share. Other around-town electric cars such as Chrysler's GEM car are cheaper (about half the price) despite the top speed of only 25 mph with a range of about 30 miles. Is it worth two or three times the sticker price to have twice the range? Maybe it depends on how the vehicle is used.

In the meantime, electric and hybrid vehicle fans will continue to wait until more affordable, longer-range, higher-speed options are available.