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Toyota Hybrid Sales Hit 1M Mark

admin — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:01:33 +0000

Toyota Hybrid Sales Hit 1M Mark

Toyota announced that its combined US Prius sales have topped the one million mark. The company began selling the Prius in the US nine years ago and reached the milestone mark earlier this model year. The company will be introducing its redesigned Prius to the US market shortly and will introduce a plug-in hybrid version in 2010.

Right now, however, the company reports that its February sales slid by nearly 40% over sales figures from last February. Sales of the Prius were down by one-third over last year's sales tallies. The company has also cut production in both its US and UK facilities. Earlier this year, Toyota halted final construction on its new Blue Springs, MS plant. Originally, the facility was to produce Toyota trucks and SUVs, but the company announced it would re-tool the plant to produce Priuses instead. The company has not yet announced when it will activate the new plant.

The industry-wide global sales slump has not prevented Toyota from opening new markets, however. The company announced that it will begin sales of the Prius in India in 2010. Toyota is in talks with the Indian government that may lead to a local production plant. If local production isn't an option, Toyota may not be able to price the vehicle competitively enough to drive sales in that country.

Toyota will face increasingly stiff competition in the hybrid market in most major sales regions with the introduction of the Honda Insight, priced at slightly less than $20,000. In addition, several Chinese manufacturers say they will be bringing low-cost hybrid vehicles to the market within the next few years.

When gas prices topped $4 per gallon, hybrid vehicles were nowhere around, but with the sharp decline in gas prices, the number of new and used hybrid vehicles available is mushrooming. AutoNation, the country's largest used car locator, reports that it currently has more than 600,000 hybrids from all manufacturers in its inventory, and that the selling price for hybrid vehicles has dropped by nearly one-quarter.

The major factor in hybrid sales may be the cost of gasoline. In a recent survey, about 80% of respondents said they were considering a hybrid purchase to save money on gasoline. Only 20% of the respondents in that survey said they would purchase a hybrid primarily for ecological reasons.

Photo Credit: Gregory Williams

SAIC Says It Will Be In The Hybrid Game In 2011

admin — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:31:18 +0000

SAIC Says It Will Be In The Hybrid Game In 2011

China's third-largest automaker, SAIC Motors, says it will gear up its hybrid production for the domestic market by 2011. The company will sell its vehicles under its own brand. According to SAIC, the vehicles are now in a testing phase and will come to the market in large numbers within three years.

The company is wrestling with how to cut its production costs on the vehicle, in order to cut the price tag for the end user. Currently, SAIC says that the cost of the car is 20% higher than that of its comparable conventional models. The company will invest nearly $1 billion in research and development for hybrid technology.

Company officials also backed away from their earlier claims that they were interested in an overseas acquisition of possibly General Motors or Chrysler. Instead, the company says it will concentrate on developing its position in the domestic Chinese market and meeting the Chinese government's request to produce 2 million vehicles with Chinese automaker First Auto Works (FAW). Earlier this year, SAIC suspended production at its British factory, based on a steep decline in demand for the company's vehicles.

The company says its January sales were up 7.6% from the same time last year, due in large part to heavy investment by the Chinese government. Officials say, however, that they expect to see an overall first quarter decline in sales of nearly 5 percent.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of SAIC Motor Co.

CMU Says Volt Won’t Be A Consumer Hit

admin — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:40:29 +0000

CMU Says Volt Won't Be A Consumer Hit

GM can't catch a break. Carnegie Mellon University's latest report, which deems the Volt "Not Cost Effective In Any Scenario" may just replace Ralph Nader's 1965 indictment of the company's Corvair (and the rest of the auto industry), "Unsafe At Any Speed." An analysis of GM's Volt says that the plug-in electric vehicle's 400-lb battery pack guarantees that the car can never be priced for consumer success.

Despite GM's protestations about the desirability of the car's 40-mile all-electric range, the cost to manufacture and replace the Li-ion battery pack will doom the car's commercial success, and relegate it to a collector curiosity. According to the report, smaller cars with smaller battery packs will provide better consumer value than the Volt will. Hybrids with an all-electric range of ten miles or less or improvements to current hybrid design will more likely provide the consumer with the right mix of fuel efficiency, acquisition and operational costs, and charging times.

Jeremy Michalek wrote a professor of engineering at CMU the study, which will be published in a future issue of Energy Policy. The research team constructed computer models of PHEVs that account for the impact of various battery sizes on fuel economy, greenhouse gas emissions and charging cycles.

The study found that for moderate travel, which the group defined as those trips between 20 and 100 miles, PHEVs produced fewer greenhouse gas emissions, but fell short on cost-effectiveness. The models indicated that hybrid electric vehicles were more cost efficient with the study's controls. PHEVs became more attractive from a cost perspective only when the price of fuel was high, the price of batteries was low, the cost of electricity generation was reduced or other costs, like carbon taxes, were added to the model.

Carbon taxes are not currently applied as such, however the automakers do face fines if the combined average fuel economy of their fleet does not meet federal standards. Regulations do not govern the tailpipe emissions of any model in particular, so models with lower fuel efficiency and higher carbon emissions can be offset by sales of higher fuel economy models from the same manufacturer.

Recently, several states won the right to regulate tailpipe emissions, a reversal of a long-standing policy that preserved federal control of vehicle emissions. The change in policy means that states can enact tougher emissions standards than those imposed by the federal government. Even with increased restrictions on emissions, and changes to other study variables, the author concludes that the most effective PHEVs will be small urban vehicles whose drivers have access to regular charging facilities.

Source: Carnegie Mellon University PDF link

Photo Credit: MR38

Hybrid Demand Sags

admin — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:11:23 +0000

Hybrid Demand Sags

It's no secret that the automobile industry is in the tank. Virtually across the board, vehicle manufacturers are reporting steep declines in demand for new vehicles in most markets around the world. Hybrid vehicles, which the manufacturers are being pushed to build, are faring even worse. Hybrid vehicle sales are falling faster than even the overall sales figures, which are off by 50% or more over this time last year.

Now Kelly Blue Book and AutoNation are both saying that demand for used hybrid vehicles is way off, too. The reason: cost. Most hybrid vehicles, even used ones, come with a premium price tag. In most cases, the vehicle manufacturers aren't willing to discount the product too much because they're already priced near their manufacturing costs.

Toyota says that the company makes about $100 per Prius sold, once all of the automakers costs are factored into the deal. The automakers' other option is to sell their hybrid vehicles at a loss, which few manufacturers are willing to do right now. With gasoline prices averaging around $2 per gallon nationally and an exceptionally weak economy, there is little incentive for consumers to spend additional money on a hybrid vehicle.

Ford is hoping that the mileage estimates for its newly introduced Fusion Hybrid will lure consumers back into its showrooms. The vehicle is scheduled to arrive at Ford dealerships beginning this month, and the four-door sedan is priced at about $28,000. At 41 mpg, which is nearly 20 mpg better than the standard Ford Fusion (MSRP $19,270), buyers wouldn't hit the break-even point for nearly eight years under the best circumstances, and assuming that the price of gasoline stayed relatively constant at $4 per gallon. At the current average per-gallon price, the break-even point is a hefty 15 years at the earliest.

Still, automakers are hoping to see an increase in demand for hybrid vehicles as the summer approaches. Gasoline prices typically climb in the summer, due mainly to fuel reformulations required by states and the Federal government once the mercury starts to rise. Toyota says it expects to see a year-over-year increase of about 15 percent in sales of its Prius hybrid. Other automakers are not as optimistic and are building hybrids only when they've been pre-sold by a dealer.

Photo Credit: Ford Motor Co.

Three-Day Work Weeks, A Li-Ion Plant In Portugal, and Wow At Geneva

admin — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:35:56 +0000

Wow!

In an effort to stanch the bleeding, Toyota says it may cut European production in a move that will leave the automaker with a three-day workweek in most locations. Toyota says that it is forecasting a 30 percent decline in European sales in 2009 and doesn't expect to recover fully for three to four years. Another option the company is considering involves shuttering its European plants for three months, leaving workers with just five days' pay. Overall, Toyota says its goal is to preserve permanent employment at its plants and is negotiating with the autoworkers' union in Britain to achieve that goal.

Despite the glum predictions, Toyota says it still expects to sell about 67,000 hybrid vehicles, a 15 percent increase over 2008 sales figures. The company also says it believes it can meet its 2010 sales goal of 400,000 units of the new Prius in 2010. Toyota also uncovered the RX450h Lexus hybrid, which it plans to sell in Europe in 2010.

Slow sales haven't stopped the competition, however. Nissan introduced a diesel-electric concept that sports a look reminiscent of the Fisker Karma or Tesla Roadster. The Essence two-seat luxury hybrid sedan features a 434hp, 3.7L diesel engine coupled with a 158hp electric motor. The company hasn't said whether it plans to put the vehicle in production, but did announce plans to study the construction of a lithium-ion battery plant in Portugal, leaving many to speculate that a production version of the Essence will see the light of day.

Last year, the national government in Portugal announced plans to build a nationwide charging network for plug-in electric vehicle as part of its plans to reduce CO2 emissions. Renault-Nissan will begin selling electric vehicles in Portugal in 2011, and also has zero-emission plans in Denmark, Monaco, Yokahama, Japan, Tennessee, Oregon and California.

Made In China: More Hybrids On The Way?

admin — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:59:28 +0000

Made In China: More Hybrids On The Way?

First Auto Works Group (FAW), a Chinese automaker, says that it will produce about 1,600 hybrid cars and half as many hybrid buses by 2012. At that point, the company plans to ramp up production of its hybrid vehicles to 11,000 annually, with another 1,000 hybrid buses. The company also says that it will spend more than $600 million on hybrid vehicle research and development.

FAW Group has been testing a fleet of 12 hybrid buses in Liaoning province, and expects to add another 88 buses to the City of Dalian's fleet following the test period. The Chinese government has also said that it will subsidize the purchase of hybrid vehicles. FAW joins SAIC Motor Corp, one of China's premier automakers, and BYD in producing hybrid vehicles for the domestic market. BYD and SAIC have already said that they want to export vehicles to other markets, particularly those in Europe and North America.

Last year, FAW Group and GS Motors of Mexico announced a partnership that will enable FAW to manufacture its hybrid vehicles at GS Motors' Michoacan, Mexico factory, with the ultimate goal of exporting the cars to the US. GS Motors' president Kathleen Ligocki predicts that Mexican-made Chinese hybrids will hit the US in five years or less. She also believes that the vehicles may be sold at discount retailers like Wal-Mart or Costco for less than $10,000 per unit.

Earlier this month, Chery Automobile launched a new plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that can travel nearly 100 miles between recharges. The S18 has a top speed of 74 miles per hour and offers a recharge cycle of less than six hours. China's largest automaker will offer the hybrid vehicle to government agencies on a trial basis for about a year. Afterward, the vehicle will be sold to the public for about USD $15,000.

Chery Automobile established partnerships with General Motors and Volkswagen, but Chery's plan to distribute its vehicles in North America ran afoul of General Motors' intellectual property rights when Chery allegedly copied designs that GM had licensed to the now-defunct Daewoo Motors Corporation. GM dropped its lawsuit in China, but reserves the right to sue Chery if the company tries to market the copied vehicles in North America or Europe. Currently, Daimler holds the exclusive distribution rights to Chery's products in North America.

Photo Credit: Marc van der Chijs

Midwest Still Holds Promise For Hybrid Auto Industry

admin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:25:06 +0000

Midwest Still Holds Promise For Hybrid Auto Industry

Executives from the Ford Motor Company, on hand in Milwaukee for the opening of the 2009 Milwaukee Auto Show, say that the company is in a good position to begin and sustain hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle production in the Midwest. Robert Iorio, a Ford executive in propulsion implementation, says that some midwestern suppliers are likely to be busy in the next five years meeting the company's demands for hybrid power train components and accessories designed especially for HEVs and EVs.

Iorio says that the company is especially interested in air conditioning systems and electric steering systems, both of which need to be developed and mass produced at a competitive price. Ford plans to bring a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle to the market by 2012, and plans to expand its hybrid vehicle line. The Ford Fusion hybrid, which created waves last month, will hit the dealer showrooms in March with a price tag just shy of $28,000. The car is rated at 41 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway and just slightly outdoes the rival Toyota Camry hybrid, which is rated at 33/34 with a price tag of about $26,000.

At the top of the Blue Oval's wish list is domestic Li-ion battery production capability. Earlier this month, Ford signed a production contract with Johnson Controls-Saft for Li-ion batteries for its PHEV program. Ford has not yet said what type of vehicle its first PHEV will be, but the company has been testing modified Escape Hybrids in Southern California for about two years. The company has publicly committed to making smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, so an Escape PHEV is not a given.

Johnson Controls-Saft has said that it will eventually bring its Li-ion battery production to the US, but for the foreseeable future, the battery cells will be produced at a facility in France and shipped to the US for final assembly. The company has not said where it plans to locate its US battery production facilities. The company has automotive divisions located in Alabama, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Executives from Ford say that while the automakers strongly support domestic battery production capabilities, the auto industry requires help from Washington to encourage battery research and development, and offset high start-up and operational costs one production facilities are in place.

Photo Credit: Jeramey Jannene

ZipCar Testing PHEV Service, SF Testing Public Charging Stations

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:15:46 +0000

ZipCar Testing PHEV Service, SF Testing Public Charging Stations

One of the major concerns about widespread PHEV introduction has been the lack of charging infrastructure to support a large number of PHEVs on the road. The City of San Francisco is answering that concern by making available three public charging stations outside of City Hall. The stations will be used by City CarShare, ZipCar and the city's own fleet PHEVs.

The charging stations were supplied by Coulomb Technologies and are part of a two-year test. The new charging stations are just the first of a network of city-supplied stations announced last year. The city has entered into a partnership with Better Place to install charging stations throughout the Bay Area. Better Place says its investments in support infrastructure for PHEVs will exceed $1 billion in the coming years.

Coulomb Technologies has also entered into an agreement with the City of San Jose to create a curbside vehicle recharging network. Don't assume that your tax dollars will be used to top off your batteries, though. The network will be subscription-based. Subscribers will receive a keychain pass, like those used at some gas stations, to get the juice flowing. The company will also sell the charging stations to parking lot owners and businesses that want to provide charging capabilities for their patrons or employees.

For its part, ZipCar will begin supplying PHEVs as part of its San Francisco fleet. The company will use converted Toyota Priuses. The conversions will use A123 Systems' Hymotion L5 Plug-in Conversion kits. Currently, ZipCar has one PHEV in its fleet, but plans to add more. Within a year, the company should have access to factory-built Prius PHEVs.

A converted Prius can achieve as much as 100 mpg in the first 30-40 miles of driving. That figure drops to a more conventional mpg once the batteries have been exhausted. ZipCar currently serves 26 cities in North America and has a fleet of 5,500 vehicles, most of which are conventional. The company has not said when it plans to extend PHEV vehicles to other cities in its service area.

Photo Credit: Rakka, via Flickr

Hybrid Sales: Singing In The Rain or Whistling In The Dark?

admin — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:48:10 +0000

Hybrid Sales: Singing In The Rain or Whistling In The Dark?

Each month, automakers release sales figures for both their domestic and international markets. To put it nicely, the sales figures have been …well… in the tank for over a year. Hybrid vehicle sales rose during the height of the summer, when gasoline prices averaged more than $4/gallon in the US and higher still in Europe.

In the US, gas prices fell, and with them fell sales figures for hybrid vehicles. Dealers, who had maintained waiting lists for hybrid cars, now have an ample supply on the lot. Manufacturers are now offering substantial incentives on hybrids, something previously unheard of.

Most major manufacturers reported a steep decline in the purchase of hybrid vehicles in January. Sales figures for the hybrid segment slid even lower than overall vehicle sales, prompting Chrysler to kill production at the only plant tooled to make the Aspen and Durango hybrids. Audi killed its hybrid vehicle programs altogether, and the jaw-dropping turn in sales left automakers wondering about the viability of their very expensive hybrid vehicle programs.

Having said all of that, Honda and BYD now say their hybrid sales figures in January have surged. BYD says it hybrid sales are up nearly 80% over the same time last year, and Honda says they're exceeding their sales targets for the new Insight, which went on sale in Japan at the beginning of this month.

Based on the actual units produced – 24,000 in BYD's case and 5,000 (plus an additional 5,000 pre-ordered Insights) for Honda – it's hard to conclude that the recession is over or that the auto industry is saved. BYD has only been in business since 2003, so large leaps in year-over-year sales figures are plausible. Those big sales jumps are at least curious in a country where hybrid cars sell for about twice the price of their conventional gasoline-powered cousins, and consumers have already said "No thanks!" in large numbers.

In Honda's case, the Insight is the company's designated Prius-slayer and will be priced around USD $20,000 when it hits US shores in March and Europe in April.

Right now, the future of the auto industry, let alone sales of hybrid vehicles, depends more upon the Treasury Department than it does on the manufacturers themselves. The secondary credit market has been up on blocks since last summer. If Secretary Geithner's plan (which is former Secretary Paulson's plan on a grander scale) works, then we can all feel better about hybrid sales figures. Until then, pass the salt.

Photo Credit: Sabina Šabanoviæ

Who’s Got The Best Hybrid? For Canadians, It’s Toyota

admin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:43:52 +0000

Multi-Reso, a Montreal survey firm, recently conducted a survey of 1,300 Canadian car buyers to determine which hybrid auto manufacturer produces the best vehicle. The survey shows that Canadian consumers believe – by a wide margin – that Toyota probably makes the best overall hybrids available today. 38% of respondents said that Toyota was their top choice, versus 11% of consumers who identified Honda and the quality king. The combined rankings of GM, Ford and Chrysler rated just under 10% of all respondents.

According to the survey, more consumers are now considering the purchase of a hybrid vehicle. Thirty-three percent of potential buyers would "definitely consider" a hybrid vehicle, an eight percent jump from 2005 survey results. Men are slightly less willing to consider a hybrid vehicle, but Multi Reso noted that differences between genders, age groups and educational levels of survey respondents have decreased, but says that household income and concern for the environment are still the two most likely predictors for hybrid purchases among Canadian consumers.

Among respondents who are "definitely thinking about" buying a hybrid car, Toyota ranked as being the highest quality option for 40% of respondents. Among respondents who already owned a hybrid, Toyota's quality rating rose to 41% and among those who plan to purchase or lease a new vehicle in the next 12 months, Toyota captured the number one spot 42% of the time. Overall, male respondents ranked Toyota hybrids number one in quality as much as 50% of the time, depending upon their demographic classification.

Late last year, RL Polk and Co., predicted that hybrid sales would account for one in 20 new vehicle purchases by 2012, and that the current economy would not impact the growth of hybrid sales in North America. Unfortunately, auto sales figures for the months of December 2008 and January 2009 begged to differ, with hybrid sales sliding well below overall sales rates in both months. Interest in hybrids may be perked up, if not by rising gasoline costs, by tax incentives that have been worked into the stimulus plan set to make a visit to the White House later this month.

Photo Credit: Steve Woods