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Honda confirms world premiere of new electric vehicle prototype at 2019 Geneva Motor Show

World premiere of Honda’s new electric vehicle prototype confirmed for 2019 Geneva Motor Show Early design sketch of prototype revealed Next step in Honda’s commitment for two thirds of European sales to feature electrified technology by 2025 Honda has confirmed the global premiere of a prototype version of its new electric vehicle at the Geneva… Continue reading Honda confirms world premiere of new electric vehicle prototype at 2019 Geneva Motor Show

Exclusive: Worst-case no-deal Brexit puts Bentley’s return to profit at ‘fundamental risk’

CREWE, England (Reuters) – Loss-making carmaker Bentley is on track to be profitable this year but a worst-case no-deal Brexit puts that at “fundamental risk”, its boss told Reuters, adding that the chance of Britain leaving the EU on March 29 with a deal now seemed “fairly low.” The Bentley name is seen inside a… Continue reading Exclusive: Worst-case no-deal Brexit puts Bentley’s return to profit at ‘fundamental risk’

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, 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

Tesla Model 3 is affecting Prius sales, admits Toyota – though still not convinced on EVs

Tesla’s Model 3 is stealing away sales from a surprising range of vehicles and Toyota is admitting to seeing an impact on Prius sales. As a premium car, you would think that it would more likely affect Lexus sales, but Toyota says “Tesla is creating an entirely new segment of vehicles.” Last year, Tesla revealed the top… Continue reading Tesla Model 3 is affecting Prius sales, admits Toyota – though still not convinced on EVs

Honda to hike vehicle prices by up to Rs 10,000 from next month

NEW DELHI: Honda Cars India on Thursday said it will increase prices of its vehicles by up to Rs 10,000 from next month in order to partially offset the impact of increase in commodity prices and foreign exchange rates.The company will hike price of its premium SUV CR-V by Rs 10,000 and other models by… Continue reading Honda to hike vehicle prices by up to Rs 10,000 from next month

Chevrolet ad will stop airing after Ford, Toyota, Honda challenge

A new Chevrolet commercial claiming the General Motors Co. brand is more reliable than Ford, Honda and Toyota has stopped airing nationally and will stop appearing in local markets after those three competitors challenged the ad's comparison assertions, The Detroit News has learned.
Ford, Honda and Toyota confirmed they each challenged the 60-second TV spot, which aired in Metro Detroit during the North American International Auto Show. Its title: “Chevy Surprises Competitive Owners When It Comes To Reliability.”
A lawyer for one of the three automakers who challenged the ad sent an email to GM's legal counsel this month demanding that the automaker stop making the reliability comparison claims in its advertising campaign, according to sources familiar with the correspondence. GM was given until 5 p.m. Jan. 14 to respond to the demands.
In a verbal response, a lawyer for GM told a counterpart at one of the rival automakers that Chevrolet is moving in a different marketing direction as it ramps up its campaign for the new Silverado pickup trucks, the sources said. And the GM lawyer added thatthe ad already had stopped airing nationally, with plans to remove the commercial from local markets in the coming weeks, the sources said.
“Chevrolet stands by the reliability claim and the ad remains in the brand’s toolbox but we have decided to take it out of the regular rotation at this time to launch new Silverado creative,” Chevrolet said in an emailed statement to The News. “We have not altered our marketing campaign because of any concerns with the accuracy of our ad content.”
The ad is still posted on Chevrolet's YouTube page. Ford and Toyota, however, say GM told them that the ad would be pulled after the two automakers complained.
“Through discussions with GM, we were informed they decided to pull the ad,” said Toyota spokeswoman Karen Nielsen. Honda declined to comment beyond confirming its concerns.
Chevrolet has agreed to stop airing the advertisement altogether, though it is still appearing heavily in Metro Detroit, Ford spokesman Mike Levine said. “We’d like to see that happen immediately.”
The ad, which started airing this month, uses the “Real People” premise Chevrolet has used for more than three years to claim that a “recent nationwide survey” found Chevrolet to be a more reliable brand than Toyota, Honda and Ford — three of the bow-tie brand's biggest competitors.
The reliability claim in Chevrolet's commercial, which was scrutinized last week by Jalopnik, is based on a survey of 2015 model-year vehicles commissioned by Chevrolet and completed by Paris-based market research firm Ipsos Group S.A. Fine print at the bottom of Chevy's reliability ad directs viewers to ChevyReliability.com for more information on the survey.
That website redirects to a one-page document that says Ipsos surveyed owners of 2015 model-year Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac owners versus owners of “competitive brands.” The research firm sent 840,979 “non-sponsored” letters to targeted owners and received 48,679 completed surveys.
The definition of reliability, Chevrolet says in the document, “is the percentage of vehicle owners who reported they have not repaired or replaced any vehicle components in the past 12 months (excluding fluids, filters and those related to accident/collision).”
Consumer Reports, which surveys its readers every year for a reliability study, found in 2018 that Toyota was the second most-reliable brand after its sister brand, Lexus. Honda finished 15th and Ford finished 18th. All three brands were ahead of Chevrolet at 23rd.
But J.D. Power's 2018 dependability rankings, which are more similar to the study Chevy commissioned for its reliability ad in that it looks at 2015 model year vehicles, ranked Chevrolet above Toyota, Honda and Ford.
As Chevrolet's reliability ad comes off the air, the brand is rolling out a massive campaign for its all-new 2019 Silverado pick up truck, which debuted last year at the Detroit auto show.
nnaughton@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @NoraNaughton
Read or Share this story: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/general-motors/2019/01/16/chevrolet-ad-stop-airing-after-challenges-ford-toyota-honda/2585826002/

GM’s Cruise self-driving car venture plots a course to get its Seattle team up and running

Cruise Automation self-driving Chevy Volt took a scenic tour of Seattle, including the Pike Place Market, over the weekend. (Cruise Automation Photo / Stephen Brashear) The Seattle “tech talk” sponsored this week by GM’s autonomous-vehicle subsidiary, Cruise Automation, had all the hallmarks of a recruiting event for software engineers, plus an extra twist: the self-driving… Continue reading GM’s Cruise self-driving car venture plots a course to get its Seattle team up and running

Nissan e-Power hybrids for the US will aim for performance, not just mpg

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Nissan Note e-Power hybrid
Considering how much of a commitment Nissan has made to electric vehicles over nearly a decade—mass-producing them on three continents—the lack of any parallel commitment to plug-in hybrid models, or even hybrids, has been baffling.

Nissan finally remedied that in 2016, with the introduction of its e-Power hybrid system, on the Japan-spec Nissan Note. At that time it was claimed to be the first series hybrid system in a mass-produced compact car.

Nissan then said that e-Power, which harnesses some know-how from the Leaf, promised to offer the driving characteristics of a fully electric vehicle, and that it was quieter than other hybrid configurations in comparable vehicles.

DON’T MISS: Nissan Gripz Concept uses Note e-Power series-hybrid system

Just after the launch of e-Power, Nissan had said that it was studying the technology for use in the U.S., with a stronger motor/generator and different tuning to suit the higher-speed higher-demand situations that American drivers encounter, versus Japan. Many years ago Honda considered a similar series-hybrid layout and after examining those driving differences, opted instead for its series/parallel two-motor hybrid system that—as with GM’s Voltec, clutches the internal combustion mechanically into the system.

Nissan Note e-Power hybrid

Still studying—but Japan, China, and Europe are the priority

That appears to be where Nissan remains today—still studying the technology, still not committed to it for the U.S. on any large scale, and not arriving soon, according to Ivan Espinosa, Nissan’s corporate VP for global product strategy and product planning. When it arrives—or if it does—it may be presented as more of a performance system, he says.

Part of the issue in why the U.S. is waiting longer for the system, Espinosa says, comes down to demand. Japan, China, and Europe are going to be the prime markets for e-Power for now because of regulatory concerns and environmental awareness.

CHECK OUT: Nissan e-Power series hybrid builds on electric-car expertise

Globally, Nissan is taking a patchwork approach with its powertrains. As Espinosa underscores, some markets will remain somewhat dependent on internal combustion, while others will prioritize e-Power and others will push harder on EVs. “For Nissan, the priority is battery electric vehicles, combined with our e-Power technology, which has been very successful in the markets in which it has launched.”

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Who Shops At Tesla Stores? — #NewsQuickie

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Published on January 11th, 2019 |

by Zachary Shahan

Who Shops At Tesla Stores? — #NewsQuickie

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January 11th, 2019 by Zachary Shahan

The data firm Factual stalked shoppers at US Tesla stores for a period of time last year and discovered some interesting things about the people who walk into those Apple-like showrooms.

Like CleanTechnica readers, the people strolling around Tesla stores and galleries were fairly wealthy. (Who’s surprised?) Shoppers were 109% more likely to have incomes between $150,000 and $175,000.

They were also 70% more likely to be new home owners than the average American.

The Tesla shoppers were also quite young, which fits well with my anecdotal evidence. Those strolling around Tesla stores were 40% more likely to be 35–44 years old.

Perhaps the wackiest — or most interesting — finding is that the respondents were 135% more likely to be Disney enthusiasts.

To wrap things up, these are the 10 dealership brands most likely to be frequented by the humans Factual found snooping around in Tesla stores:

Jaguar
Land Rover
MINI
Volvo
Audi
Volkswagen
Porsche
BMW
Lexus
Honda

We haven’t done thorough in-store (or lingering-outside-the-store) research, but we have conducted surveys of over 2,000 electric car drivers and 1,000 potential drivers. We didn’t ask if they were Mickey Mouse enthusiasts for some reason, but we did ask them a bunch of questions about the electric cars they have, the features they want in their next cars, and who they are. One particularly interesting finding was that 45% of current electric car buyers intend to buy a Tesla next.

To get that full report, head to: Electric Car Drivers: Demands, Desires & Dreams (2018).

If you plan to buy a Tesla too and want the benefits that come from using a referral code, feel free to use mine — http://ts.la/tomasz7234 — or not.

About the Author

Zachary Shahan Zach is tryin' to help society help itself (and other species). He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor. He's also the president of Important Media and the director/founder of EV Obsession and Solar Love. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, and Canada.

Zach has long-term investments in TSLA, FSLR, SPWR, SEDG, & ABB — after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in these particular companies and feels like they are good cleantech companies to invest in. But he offers no professional investment advice and would rather not be responsible for you losing money, so don't jump to conclusions.

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