Tag: Mazda

Toyota and Panasonic to jointly make electric-car batteries, explore solid-state tech

Panasonic Li-Ion EV battery
Toyota has been a laggard in the race to transition to electric cars. The company was an early leader in fuel-efficient hybrids, but has since focused on developing fuel-cell vehicles, and executives have expressed skepticism about electric cars and lithium-ion batteries.

Now in an effort to accelerate its move to electric cars, the company may be pairing up with the largest manufacturer of lithium-ion battery cells in the world for electric cars, Panasonic. Panasonic also supplies batteries for Tesla, built at the giant Nevada Gigafactory that the two jointly own.

CHECK OUT: Lithium-ion vs. nickel-metal hydride: Toyota still likes both for its hybrids

The Nikkei Asian Review reported Sunday that the two companies plan to set up a joint battery manufacturing plant in 2020 to produce batteries for more than 5.5 million electric cars. Reuters followed with another report of the venture, citing a source of its own.

Under the venture as it's been reported so far, Toyota will own 51 percent of the factory, and Panasonic will own the rest. Batteries produced at the factory will supply not only Toyota but also companies that have signed on as partners with Toyota to develop electric cars. These include Mazda and Subaru.

Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota and Kazuhiro Tsuga, President, Panasonic

Honda also sources electric-car batteries from Panasonic, and Nikkei reports that the companies hope that they can also sell the new batteries to Honda.

READ THIS: Panasonic says solid-state batteries are still 10 years off

Toyota and Panasonic will also reportedly work together to develop next-generation solid-state lithium-ion batteries, which are expected to provide increased range with less weight and cost for electric cars. They could also be less flammable to improve safety.

Toyota has been working to find other chemistries that would be useful for electric cars. It announced in 2017 that it plans to put solid-state battery tech into a production vehicle in the early part of the next decade.

DON'T MISS: VW is planning to build 15 million electric vehicles

The two companies signed an agreement in 2017 to explore the tie-up that Nikkei reported this week.

Toyota has set a goal to sell 5.5 million electric cars by 2030. That still lags behind Volkswagen, the world's second-largest automaker after Toyota. Volkswagen has announced plans to build 10 million vehicles a year by 2027.

Toyota Will Team Up With Panasonic On High Capacity EV Batteries

2 H BY WADE MALONE The corporations will set up a joint venture for electric vehicle battery manufacturing. Japanese corporate giants Toyota Motor and Panasonic are joining forces to face the growing demand for plug-in vehicles. According to Nikkei, their plan is to launch a joint venture for battery manufacturing as soon as 2020. Both… Continue reading Toyota Will Team Up With Panasonic On High Capacity EV Batteries

Toyota, Panasonic setting up EV battery JV amid rising China competition: source

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Panasonic Corp (6752.T) are set to launch a joint venture next year to produce batteries for electric vehicles (EV) in an effort to compete with Chinese rivals, a source familiar with the matter said. Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda (L) and Panasonic Corp President Kazuhiro Tsuga… Continue reading Toyota, Panasonic setting up EV battery JV amid rising China competition: source

Mazda Develops World’s First Cold-Stamped Parts Using1,310 MPa-Class High-Strength Steel

2019/01/10 Products and Technology To be applied across the lineup starting from the all-new Mazda3 HIROSHIMA, Japan—Mazda Motor Corporation, working separately with Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation and JFE Steel Corporation, has developed the world’s first cold-stamped vehicle body parts made from 1,310 MPa-class high-strength steel.1 The parts are used in Mazda’s new-generation Skyactiv-Vehicle… Continue reading Mazda Develops World’s First Cold-Stamped Parts Using1,310 MPa-Class High-Strength Steel

Leading the way: Tesla trounces luxury competitors in year-end sales tally

2017 Tesla Model 3
Now that Tesla has released its final sales numbers for the end of last year, we finally have a yardstick to measure the company’s sales success.

In the third quarter, Tesla made a point of noting that, with the Model 3 approaching full production, it became the fifth bestselling—non-SUV—car model in America.

On New Year’s Day, the company reported it delivered 63,150 Model 3s from October to December. That’s up 13 percent from 55,840 from July through September.

READ THIS: Tesla cuts prices $2,000, almost hit 250,000 vehicles in 2018

Taking Tesla's sales numbers at face value for the moment, the company says it sold more Model 3s in the third quarter than some entire brands, including some of its chief competitors, including Acura, Audi, Cadillac, and Infiniti.

Other rivals were also feeling the heat from Model 3 sales. In total Lexus sold 71,107 vehicles and BMW sold 85,949, according to sales numbers from Automotive News (subscription required.)

2018 Tesla Model S and 2018 Tesla Model X

Model 3 sales for Q4 weren’t that far behind entire affordable brands such as Mazda (65,203) and Volkswagen (87,836).

And that’s just one model from Tesla, versus other brands’ entire lineups.

It’s not a direct comparison, because Tesla’s numbers include Canadian sales, while those from other brands are only in the U.S. Still, in the third quarter, Tesla sold about 1,500 Model 3s in Canada, as it focused sales there to delay the expiration of its federal tax credit in the U.S. So the numbers aren’t far off.

Whole lineups

Counting the Model S and Model X (which are exported in greater proportion), the company sold 75,100 cars in the U.S. in Q4, according to Automotive News numbers, more than Lexus (71,107), Audi (55,903), Buick (51,627), Acura (44,451), Infiniti (44,031), Cadillac (41,462), Lincoln (28,307), or Volvo (24,224).

Only BMW and Mercedes sold more, at 95,710 and 101,047, respectively. Using Tesla’s own number of 90,700 sales for the quarter wouldn’t change that order, even though Tesla’s number includes sales of all three of its cars in Canada, and the Model S and Model X around the world.

Head-to-head

When it comes to direct competitors to the Model 3—upscale sedans costing $45,000 to $80,000—the Model 3 trounces all competitors, with the next closest models, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and the Lexus ES coming in with about 18,000 and 14,000 sales respectively for the quarter. BMW sold 9,847 3-Series sedans, though it has sliced much of that market into niche products such as the 4-series.

DON'T MISS: Tesla Model 3 is fifth bestselling car in U.S., production still short of profitability goal

For the quarter, the Model 3 outsold such mainstays of American roads as the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Wrangler, the Subaru Forester and Outback, and the Honda Pilot. It almost conquered the Toyota Highlander, which had 63,812 sales, and wasn't far behind the Toyota Corolla (68,564) and the Honda Civic (70,724) for the quarter. With its slow production ramp-up early in the year, however, it couldn't approach those top-selling cars for the full year.

Annual sales

Tesla’s slow ramp-up to full Model 3 production was one of the major stories of the year, and the car didn’t start posting big sales numbers until Q3, so many of its sales look less impressive on an annual basis.

For the full year, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus, and Audi—even Mazda and VW—sold more cars than Tesla. Many of those brands, though, sell full lineups of cars and SUVs in multiple sizes and formats (front-wheel drive/rear-wheel drive; sporty, luxurious, car- or truck-based, for example.) Tesla sells three models: two luxury cars and a crossover SUV.

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Why you should buy a Volvo or an Audi instead of the 2019 Infiniti QX60

Why you should buy a Volvo or an Audi instead of the 2019 Infiniti QX60

Mack Hogan | CNBC

Mack Hogan | @macklinhogan

8:48 AM ET Wed, 2 Jan 2019

Infiniti is often forgotten in the luxury market. Created by Nissan as the Japanese company's premium brand, it plays in the near-luxury space alongside Acura and Buick. One of its most important products is the QX60.
For the many who aren't familiar with Infiniti parlance, the QX60 is the company's three-row crossover that slots between the gargantuan QX80 and the all-new QX50. It's a family crossover aimed squarely at segment stalwarts like the Acura MDX.
There's one problem, though: It doesn't feel like a proper luxury product.

The Good

As first impressions go, the QX60 isn't bad. Despite being the sort of massive crossover that American families crave, it still manages to look svelte. Some credit must go to the combination of gun-metal gray accents and lovely deep Bordeaux paint fitted to $65,930 Luxe model I tried.
I was impressed by creamy leather that's quilted to look more upscale. The breeziness of the cabin is magnified by a light wood trim and moon roofs stretching to the third row, helping the QX60 to feel bigger than it actually is. An accomplishment for sure, as the QX60 is no small beast.

Mack Hogan | CNBC

The third row is suitable for seating adults, while still offering a reasonable 16 cubic feet of cargo space behind the back row. It's also easy to move about the cabin, with seats that fold without any hassle and create large passageways for the kids to pile through.

Mack Hogan | CNBC

Finally, it's hard to complain about the on-board equipment. My tester had rear-seat entertainment, a Bose stereo, heated and cooled front seats, heated second-row seats, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, a surround-view camera and the aforementioned surplus of moon roofs. In a three-row luxury crossover, that's not a negligible list of kit for $65,930.

Mack Hogan | CNBC

The Bad

But you can put all the kit you like on a luxury crossover and still get nowhere; it has to feel like a premium product. And the QX60 simply doesn't.
Part of the blame has to be assigned to the working-class roots of the QX60. Underneath, it shares most of its architecture with the Nissan Pathfinder. Plus, we haven't seen an all-new model in over five years.
Neither of those factors is disqualifying in and of themselves. Lexus cars often share bits with Toyota but still manage to feel luxurious, for instance. But the QX60 certainly doesn't. See, offerings from the newest generation of three-row family haulers manage to shrink around you. Buyers don't want to feel like they're commanding a battleship when they're parking outside of Target.

Mack Hogan | CNBC

Yet the QX60 hearkens back to that era. Pulling it into my garage felt like steering a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier through the Panama Canal. On the freeway, it's ponderous and floaty with no discernible connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels of the vehicle. Yes, it's quiet and comfortable, but so are the three-row haulers from Toyota, Mazda, Chevy and even Nissan.
If you're thinking that the tech justifies the price, I'm afraid that isn't the case. While active safety features are on board, they aren't as advanced as the ones on Nissan's Rogue, an SUV that is a full class below the QX60 and doesn't even make an attempt at being a luxury SUV.

Mack Hogan | CNBC

You're also getting a navigation system that was designed during the Bronze Age and that's flanked with acres of gray plastic that has no place in a $65,000 SUV.
As for the powertrain, it's an utterly forgettable combination of Nissan's 3.5-liter V-6 with the company's standard Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). If there's any life in this engine, the CVT sucks it out.

Mack Hogan | CNBC

Final Thoughts

If you've never driven an honest-to-goodness luxury car, the QX60 probably feels nice. You could probably buy one and be entirely satisfied. But some day, your friend is going to offer you a ride in their new Volvo XC90 or Audi Q7. And when you find out that you could have had one for the same price as your Infiniti, you'll never enjoy it again.
In sum, the QX60 doesn't feel any more special than your run-of-the-mill Highlander, CX-9, Pilot or Durango. In some ways — like in the infotainment department — it's far behind even those choices.
Infiniti, though, charges a luxury price for a definitively mainstream crossover. I suggest you look elsewhere.
Rating:
Exterior: 4
Interior: 2
Driving Experience: 1
Value: 1
Overall: 2
Price as tested: $65,930

Mack Hogan | CNBC

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