omn1potent
22-05-2008, 03:13 PM
Honda hatching new hybrid (http://carsguide.news.com.au/site/motoring-news/story/honda_hatching_new_hybrid/)
http://carsguide.news.com.au/images/uploads/honda-remix-concept-3.jpg
22 May 2008
The countdown to the most important hybrid car since the dawn of the petrol-electric era has begun.
Honda is working on an affordable city runabout to undercut the benchmark Toyota Prius on size and price, aiming to have it on the road by early next year.
It is already set for sales in Japan, the USA and Europe and the senior executives at Honda Australia have begun a push for local deliveries within a year of its global launch.
Details of the new hybrid, which promises to be much more radical than either the Civic or Accord hybrids currently built by Honda, were revealed yesterday by company president Takeo Fukui in Japan.
He says the newcomer - based on the on a concept car called the Remix, which was displayed at the Los Angles motor show six months ago - will be a five-door hatchback with seats for five.
But it's not the only hybrid on the Honda plan.
The company also wants to revive the spirit of its hot hatch CR-X with a petrol-electric model which should also be on the road by 2010.
News of the new Honda hybrids comes in the same week that Toyota celebrated production of its one-millionth Prius. It is a promising result, but only comes after two generations of the Prius and needs to be judged against a Toyota target of selling one million hybrids a year.
More details, and the official name for the little Honda, will be announced later this year, but Fukui confirmed it will use the Integrated Motor Assist system from the Civic Hybrid sold here and the Accord Hybrid sold in North America.
He says that cost reductions on the IMA system’s components will make the little newcomer the most affordable hybrid.
The IMA system uses an electric motor that can drive the car for short distances at lower urban speeds, and assists the petrol engine on demand.
Honda Australia says the new small hybrid would be a welcome addition to the local line-up.
“We’d certainly be very keen to take the vehicle,” senior director Lindsay Smalley says.
“We’re sure that once the demand in major markets has been met, we’ll have an opportunity to take that car.”
He says that sales estimations would be linked to the price point at which the hatch would be offered here.
“There are lots of factors that could affect the final price,” Smalley says.
“The exchange rate is a strong issue – while the Aussie dollar is high we could expect to bring the car to market at a far more competitive price than the current Civic Hybrid.
“But if the dollar drops, the situation would be different.”
Smalley says any cost relief in the components of the IMA system for the new hybrid could feed across to the Civic version as well.
“Generally the higher the volume, the more the cost efficiency in production.”
This would have the potential to increase the demand for the Civic Hybrid, which lags far behind its main competitor – the Toyota Prius – in sales.
However Smalley says this is a supply issue, rather than being price-related.
“There is limited production on the Civic Hybrid, based partially on the availability of IMA,” he says.
“We’ve been capped to about 100 per month, and we’ve sold every one we can get.
“We’re now getting strong interest from local and State governments. But the vast majority of our current buyers are private – people who put up their own dollars to buy hybrid technology.
“Our main competitor depends on fleet and heavily subsidised sales.”
Smalley expects that demand for the new hybrid hatchback would also be strong.
“I can imagine the same demand, partly in the context of rapidly increasing fuel prices and the need for much stronger environmental outcomes and community awareness of those issues. We’d expect very strong demand,” he says.
The hybrid hatch will be built at the Suzuka plant in Japan, with an estimated production run of 200,000 per year – half of which would be earmarked for the US
http://carsguide.news.com.au/images/uploads/honda-remix-concept-3.jpg
22 May 2008
The countdown to the most important hybrid car since the dawn of the petrol-electric era has begun.
Honda is working on an affordable city runabout to undercut the benchmark Toyota Prius on size and price, aiming to have it on the road by early next year.
It is already set for sales in Japan, the USA and Europe and the senior executives at Honda Australia have begun a push for local deliveries within a year of its global launch.
Details of the new hybrid, which promises to be much more radical than either the Civic or Accord hybrids currently built by Honda, were revealed yesterday by company president Takeo Fukui in Japan.
He says the newcomer - based on the on a concept car called the Remix, which was displayed at the Los Angles motor show six months ago - will be a five-door hatchback with seats for five.
But it's not the only hybrid on the Honda plan.
The company also wants to revive the spirit of its hot hatch CR-X with a petrol-electric model which should also be on the road by 2010.
News of the new Honda hybrids comes in the same week that Toyota celebrated production of its one-millionth Prius. It is a promising result, but only comes after two generations of the Prius and needs to be judged against a Toyota target of selling one million hybrids a year.
More details, and the official name for the little Honda, will be announced later this year, but Fukui confirmed it will use the Integrated Motor Assist system from the Civic Hybrid sold here and the Accord Hybrid sold in North America.
He says that cost reductions on the IMA system’s components will make the little newcomer the most affordable hybrid.
The IMA system uses an electric motor that can drive the car for short distances at lower urban speeds, and assists the petrol engine on demand.
Honda Australia says the new small hybrid would be a welcome addition to the local line-up.
“We’d certainly be very keen to take the vehicle,” senior director Lindsay Smalley says.
“We’re sure that once the demand in major markets has been met, we’ll have an opportunity to take that car.”
He says that sales estimations would be linked to the price point at which the hatch would be offered here.
“There are lots of factors that could affect the final price,” Smalley says.
“The exchange rate is a strong issue – while the Aussie dollar is high we could expect to bring the car to market at a far more competitive price than the current Civic Hybrid.
“But if the dollar drops, the situation would be different.”
Smalley says any cost relief in the components of the IMA system for the new hybrid could feed across to the Civic version as well.
“Generally the higher the volume, the more the cost efficiency in production.”
This would have the potential to increase the demand for the Civic Hybrid, which lags far behind its main competitor – the Toyota Prius – in sales.
However Smalley says this is a supply issue, rather than being price-related.
“There is limited production on the Civic Hybrid, based partially on the availability of IMA,” he says.
“We’ve been capped to about 100 per month, and we’ve sold every one we can get.
“We’re now getting strong interest from local and State governments. But the vast majority of our current buyers are private – people who put up their own dollars to buy hybrid technology.
“Our main competitor depends on fleet and heavily subsidised sales.”
Smalley expects that demand for the new hybrid hatchback would also be strong.
“I can imagine the same demand, partly in the context of rapidly increasing fuel prices and the need for much stronger environmental outcomes and community awareness of those issues. We’d expect very strong demand,” he says.
The hybrid hatch will be built at the Suzuka plant in Japan, with an estimated production run of 200,000 per year – half of which would be earmarked for the US