Monday, May 11, 2009

Lithium: Honda Insight first hybrid to rank top in Japan. TNR.v, SQM, GOOG, BYD, GM, TTM, F, AAPL, ESLR, RIMM, WLC.v, CLQ.v, CDNX, HUI, XAU, OIL, OIH,

This is very importnat news for our Bull market in the making, even if its Hybrid and with Ni-Mh batteries at the moment. Consumers are ready to chose Green Cars and Market for Green Mobility is building up: our Next Big Thing will grow on this base. First Hybrids and then, hopefully, very fast move into all Electric cars with Lithium batteries.
Have a tour to see what you can get now for a little bit over 20k USD on the road. Regarding batteries and Lithium - do not worry we had good news already in March:
Honda links Joint Venture to Build Lithium Batteries in Japan.
"Almost a year ago to the day, former Honda CEO Takeo Fukui stated to the international press that lithium ion battery technology was still not developed enough for it to be implemented in hybrid and electric vehicles (EV).
Just last September Honda R&D chief Masaaki Kato said that power densities in current lithium ion power supplies are "still too poor for cars." Well, it seems that execs at the big H have had a change of heart and have announced their intentions to create their own, improved lithium ion batteries in conjunction with GS Yuasa Power Supply Ltd.Honda's batteries will be designed, built and sold in Kyoto, Japan, under a new company entitled Blue Energy Co. Ltd. effective April 1, 2009. It'll be 49% owned by the automaker, with the rest lying in the hands of GS Yuasa parent company, GS Yuasa Corporation.When the all-new 2010 Honda Insight hybrid goes on sale this summer, it gets an 88-hp, 1.3L four-cylinder engine and a 13-horse electric motor under its hood. Providing the necessary electrical charge to the motor are the soon-to-be 'old-school' nickel-metal hydride batteries. Interestingly, though, the electric powertrain has been designed to accommodate lithium ion supplies in the event Honda deems a battery switch makes sense. The car's natural opponent, the 2010 Toyota Prius, also uses nickel-metal hydride batteries.GS Yuasa is already in cahoots with one of Honda's rivals, Mitsubishi Motors, and is set on producing its lithium batteries sometime this year under the Lithium Energy Japan joint venture. Officials at Honda have yet to announce when their batteries can be expected in future vehicles.For our full 2010 Honda Insight and 2010 Toyota Prius comparison, click HERE.Source: Honda





TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co said on Monday its new Insight model became the first hybrid to be crowned Japan's best-selling car last month.
The Insight went on sale in Japan in early February as Honda's first real attempt to challenge Toyota Motor Corp's dominance in the gasoline-electric hybrid segment.
A ranking of Japan's top 30 excluding 660cc minivehicles announced by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association showed the Insight selling 10,481 units in April, catapulting it from 21st place in March.
The car, whose main sell is its affordability with a price tag starting at 1.89 million yen ($19,190), was followed by Honda's Fit subcompact.
Toyota's Vitz subcompact ranked third. Other Honda and Toyota models comprised the top 10 list.
Toyota's flagship hybrid, the Prius, came in 21st ahead of the launch of its successor third-generation version on May 18.
Honda was the only domestic brand to see its car sales rise in April from the year before.
(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Chris Gallagher)"

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