Honda new hybrid to be cheapest one in Japan -paper

* Honda, Toyota shares both down 0.6 pct (Recasts with comment from analyst)

By Yumiko Nishitani

TOKYO, June 24 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co 's (7267.T) new hybrid car will cost one fifth less than the cheapest hybrid on the Japanese market, according to a newspaper report -- a move that may make hybrids low profit margin models for automakers.

The new car will cost around 1.5 million yen ($16,570), making it the cheapest hybrid in Japan when it goes on sale this autumn, the Nikkei business daily said.

It will cost about 400,000 yen less than the Insight, Honda's other hybrid offering, and about 200,000 yen more than Honda's popular gasoline-powered Fit compact car, it said.

"Lower prices are good for consumers but not for shareholders," said Yoshihiko Tabei, an analyst at Kazaka Securities.

He added that the reported price was lower than the market had expected and could lead to a punishing price war with Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) as well as put both automakers at a disadvantage when compared with rivals who just focus on higher margin gasoline-powered vehicles.

"Toyota has finally begun enjoying profits on the Prius and Honda is barely making profits on the Insight. It will be tough for them to make profits on hybrids."

A Honda spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.

The new hybrid will be based on the Fit and share core components with the Insight, reducing Honda's development costs, the Nikkei said, adding that it will be able to travel 30 kilometres on a litre of gasoline, compared with the Fit's 24 kilometres per litre.

Price competition between Honda and Toyota in the growing hybrid car market has heated up since the debut of the Insight hybrid in February 2009, which was quickly followed by the launch of the cheapest-ever Toyota Prius hybrid.

The relatively low prices of the two latest flagship hybrids, as well as tax incentives for green cars, has helped popularise hybrid cars in Japan.

"With prices in the popular range of 1.5 to 1.6 million yen and with the performance of a conventional gasoline-powered vehicle, hybrids will be increasingly popular even without tax incentives," Tabei said.

Shares of Honda dipped 0.6 percent to 2,704 yen while Toyota slipped 0.6 percent to 3,200 yen, underperforming the Nikkei stock average .N225 which inched up 0.2 percent. ($1=90.51 Yen) (Additional reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bangalore; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

The Higher Rates for Hybrid Rental Cars

The Higher Rates for Hybrid Rental Cars

When my aunt and uncle recently traveled to San Francisco, their flight arrived hours late and they then had to wait nearly three hours at the airport for a rental car to be available. The rental company tried to appease them by offering a Toyota Prius hybrid as an extra perk. It was an upgrade, the agent told them.

Turns out the agent was right. I recently did a quick search on Travelocity for green rental cars in San Francisco, and Toyota Prius models or similar green cars were generally priced at a large premium over equivalent rental cars. So how much more does a hybrid rental car cost, and why is the premium so high?

The exact search I did on Travelocity was for a green car (think hybrid) to be picked up on June 28 at San Francisco International Airport and dropped off at the same place on July 2. The premium for a Toyota Prius or similar vehicle was from about 30 to about 70 percent. At Alamo Rent A Car, for instance, to rent a Toyota Prius or similar vehicle costs $123 — 71 percent more than the $72 it cost to rent a nongreen standard class vehicle (like a Pontiac G6), according to Travelocity.

Lotus to Build Range Extender Engine for Hybrids

Lotus to Build Range Extender Engine for Hybrids

Lotus Engineering, the British sports car company’s automotive consultancy division, together with parts supplier Fagor Ederlan has announced today that it plans to develop its compact three-cylinder range extender engine for production.

Lotus will be handling the engineering side while Fagor Ederlan will be supplying it to other firms, possibly including the major automakers, all around the globe.

The three-cylinder 1.2-liter mill features aluminum "monoblock" construction, meaning the block, cylinder head, and even the exhaust manifold are integrated into a single casting. As a result, it weighs just 125 pounds.

It’s set to run at two speeds: 1,500 rpm, where it produces 20 horsepower (15 kilowatts) of electric power, and 3,500 rpm, for an output of 47 hp (35 kW) at the generator. It’s capable of handling gasoline, ethanol, and blends of the two and has been designed specifically for series hybrid vehicles.

We’ve already seen it in several concept vehicles including the Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid, where it was used to charge up lithium polymer batteries powering a pair of electric motors rated at 414 horsepower. This design is similar to the one used in the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt, where a compact internal combustion engine--or hydrogen fuel cell--is used solely to charge batteries, which then power electric motors that drive the wheels.

One of the first major automakers to utilize the efficient Lotus engine could be Jaguar, which is already testing a range-extended XJ prototype dubbed the LimoGreen. The test vehicle is already returning a combined fuel economy of around 47 mpg and production could start as early as 2012.

Toshiba to supply drive motors for Ford hybrids

* Toshiba to make drive motors for Ford hybrids in U.S.

* Toshiba plans to invest $44 mln to set up new line

* First time company has made units outside Japan

* Toshiba shares down 1.2 pct vs Nikkei's 1.7 pct fall (Adds details, share price)

DETROIT/TOKYO, June 22 (Reuters) - Japanese electronics conglomerate Toshiba Corp (6502.T) said on Tuesday it will supply drive motors for Ford Motor Co (F.N) hybrid vehicles, aiming to cash in on surging demand for green cars.

Toshiba, which also produces lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, said it would start making the automotive propulsion units in the United States to meet growing demand.

It will be the first time the company has manufactured the parts outsideJapan.

By expanding globally, Toshiba hopes to grab a slice of growing demand for hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. Toshiba said it expects the drive motor market to jump 20-fold to 1 trillion yen ($11 billion) by the 2020 financial year.

It plans to invest about 4 billion yen ($44 million) to set up a new production line at an existing facility in Houston and start production in 2012 with a monthly capacity of 100,000 units, a company spokesman said.

Toshiba shares fell 1.2 percent to 483 yen by midday in Tokyo on Wednesday, outperforming a 1.7 percent slide in the benchmark Nikkei average .N225. ($1=90.51 Yen) (Reporting by James B. Kelleher in Detroit and Sachi Izumi in Tokyo, editing by Leslie Gevirtz and Michael Watson)

Toyota taken aback by swift response to Prius hybrid

	Toyota taken aback by swift response to Prius hybrid

The Toyota Prius hybrid, the world’s largest selling one, has caught the imagination of environment-friendly and deep- pocketed Indians in just three months of its debut on Indian roads. Priced at Rs 26.5 lakh and Rs 27.86 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the sales have gone well beyond the company’s expectations in India. Toyota Kirloskar Motors has received bookings for 80 cars; it has delivered 45 units since its launch in March. This is far more than the average monthly sales of 12 units estimated by Toyota when it had introduced the vehicle in India. Globally, Toyota Motor Corporation has sold nearly two million units of the Prius since 1997. The Prius hybrid in India has a waiting list of two months. The company says the vehicle is being sought by doctors, industrialists and top executives aged between 35 and 50 years. “Prius hybrid is an internationally acclaimed vehicle and its global image has helped to boost demand for the vehicle in India, where the well travelled, technology enthusiasts and environment-conscious people are now willing to shell out that extra for a vehicle which is not just environment-friendly but also helps them to create a statement,” said Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director, Toyota Kirloskar. This signals a shift in Indian mindsets. The Civic hybrid, launched two years earlier, failed to generate expected response and the company had to withdraw it from the market in just six months. While initial sales of the Civic hybrid, originally priced at Rs 21.5 lakh in India, was a mere 60 units in six months, Honda Siel Cars India managed to sell 300 units in all, after it had slashed prices by Rs 8 lakh. According to Abdul Majeed, national head (automotive practice), PricewaterhouseCoopers, the idea of ‘green’ and environment-friendly vehicles is slowly picking up in India, more so among the next generation. “Further, with stricter regulations, these new technologies and battery-driven cars will be the order of the day and car manufacturers like Toyota are trying to create visibility for such products in India with their Prius,” he added.

High Performance Engines of Mercedes-Benz to support Formula Student

High Performance Engines of Mercedes-Benz to support Formula Student

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) has announced a new partner for Formula Student (FS) 2010. Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines (HPE) has become the latest to offer its expertise and support to Europe’s biggest educational motorsport event.

Formula Student is run by the IMechE to challenge the next generation of engineers to drive a single-seater racing car they have designed and built from scratch. The aim of the competition is to help students develop academic, vocational and practical engineering skills and training that is considered essential by industry experts for students hoping to pursue a career in F1 or motorsport. The Mercedes-Benz HPE partnership will complement the existing relationship with FS Patron Ross Brawn, Team Principal, MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One Team.

The new partnership augment FS’s collaboration with a number of well respected and high profile organisations supporting the 2010 competition including Shell, Airbus in the UK, E.ON UK, Cenex, Autodesk, National Instruments and The MathWorks.

Mercedes-Benz HPE competes at the top level of motorsport and F1, with three teams being powered by its engines: MERCEDES GP PETRONAS, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Force India. Based in Northamptonshire, it designs and manufactures engines and hybrid drive systems for Formula 1 applications. Those due to benefit from Mercedes-Benz HPE’s engineering include world championship winning drivers Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.

Andy Cowell, Engineering Director at Mercedes-Benz HPE and IMechE Fellow, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with FS because not only do our own engineers benefit, but also we get to meet the best international mechanical engineering students who could well be our employees of tomorrow, the next generation of engineers for Formula One. Our company is based in Northamptonshire near to where FS is held, so the competition is a great advert for motorsport excellence in this part of the world.”

Formula Student attracts entries from universities all over the world. This year teams from countries including Australia, Canada, India, Sweden and Croatia will all take part in the five-day event at Silverstone on 14 - 18 July. At the event FS cars undergo a series of dynamic tests such as acceleration, sprint, skid-pad, endurance and fuel economy. Students are also tested on design, presentation and cost assessment elements.

FS will once again run its low carbon category of Class 1A cars which allows teams to develop new and novel powertrain technologies, resulting in race cars with low carbon emissions.