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Honda announces plans to sell plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle by 2012

Autoblog Staff — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:29:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Japan, Honda, Electric

At a news conference yesterday in Japan, Honda chief executive officer Takanobu Ito outlined the company's future plans to roll out advanced technology vehicles. Among the highlights: Ito revealed Honda will introduce both a mid-size plug-in hybrid and an electric commuter vehicle in the U.S. and Japan by the end of 2012. As part of the company's global push to develop more-efficient vehicles, Honda will also introduce a small diesel-powered car in Europe around the same time that its battery-powered vehicles hit our shores.

Honda will also begin testing "next-generation electric personal mobility products, including electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, electric scooters and electric carts" in the Kumamoto and Saitama regions in Japan before the end of 2010. The purpose of the tests is to verify "the effectiveness of next-generation personal mobility products with electromotive technologies," i.e., plug-in vehicles and how to best use renewable energy (solar) with these vehicles. Honda will test all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the U.S. once the Japan tests are underway. U.S.-based participants include Stanford University, Google Inc. and the City of Torrance, CA. Torrance will get a plug-in hybrid electric test vehicle by the end of this year. Honda said its first hybrid to get a lithium-ion battery will be the next-generation Civic Hybrid, coming in 2011. More details are available in the press releases after the jump.

[Source: Honda, Reuters]

Continue reading Honda announces plans to sell plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle by 2012

Honda announces plans to sell plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle by 2012 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GM rebuts Carnegie Mellon Chevrolet Volt slight

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:57:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Green, Chevrolet, GM

Click above for high-res image gallery of the 2011 Chevy Volt

Time to get out the popcorn and sit back for a good argument. Remember Carnegie Mellon's recent study on the merits of plug-in hybrids like the Chevy Volt? According to the University, a PHEV with a 3kWh battery pack would provide the best compromise between price, performance and environmental benefits by allowing for an electric-only range of around 7 miles. The Volt will use a 16kWh lithium ion battery pack and be able to travel 40 miles on electricity before its gas engine kicks in to keep the party moving. If General Motors' calculations are correct, nearly 80% of all American drivers could drive the Volt to work and back without ever using a drop of gasoline, recharging every night using off-peak electricity from the grid.

In response to CMU's report, Jon Lauckner, GM's Vice President Global Program Management, has published a post on GM's Fastlane Blog offering a few good reasons why CMU's data may be skewed. For starters, GM says the cost of its battery pack is quite a bit less than CMU is estimating. Plus, the Volt will be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit due to its high energy storage capacity that the study fails to recognize.

According to Lauckner, GM is not about to make the mistake of delaying the introduction of plug-in hybrid vehicles after missing the boat on conventional hybrids a few years back, and we agree that they should definitely move ahead with the car's introduction. The idea of offering smaller capacity packs for drivers who don't often drive 40 miles in a day, though, could have merit. We'll see how it all plays out in late 2010 when the Volt is scheduled to go on sale.

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Volt

[Source: GM Fastlane]

GM rebuts Carnegie Mellon Chevrolet Volt slight originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CONFIRMED: Ford considering plug-in Escape Hybrid

John Neff — Sat, 13 May 2006 16:48:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Green, Ford

Plug-in hybrids remain a mysteriously contentious issue with automakers, despite the fact the public and many non-profit and for-profit organizations are pushing for the technology's mainstream adoption. At Ford's annual shareholder's meeting Bill Ford responded to a question about plug-in hybrids by saying "We have nothing to announce today, but yes, we are keenly looking at it." You may remember we foresaw Ford considering the technology earlier when Niel Golightly, Ford's Director of Sustainable Business Strategies, admitted the company was considering the technology.

Hybridcars has posted a three-page letter sent to Bill Ford by Prof. Andrew Frank of UC Davis, the inventor of the plug-in hybrid, and Felix Kramer, founder of the non-profit California Cars Initiative, beseeching the man and his company to endorse the group's research and development of a plug-in Ford Escape Hybrid. You can read the letter here.

Again, Ford could score major PR points by being the first to mass market a plug-in hybrid. An Escape that could achieve 100+ mpg would certainly be front page news.

Many are speculating that liability concerns are what's keeping automakers at bay. Safety issues surrounding more batteries that are larger being stored onboard, the potential for sparks near gasoline vapor and even drivers pulling away with the car plugged in could be of particular concern.

[Source: HybridCars.com]

CONFIRMED: Ford considering plug-in Escape Hybrid originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 May 2006 16:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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