Hybrid Prius, Hydrogen powered car and the new after market kit from A123 Systems

It looks like the auto arena has become a major battle ground of two BIG “H;” Honda’s Hydrogen vs. Toyota’s Hybrid. Who do you think deserve most lime light? If you ask me then my answer will be, I do not know.

By this time, I think all the readers who are reading/not reading this blog, know about the 2009 Honda FCX Clarity, the hydrogen fuel-cell car.

Toyota’s hybrid caught the attention of media after the price of oil started to rise and American people for the first time got the hit of high oil prices. Now, it takes very small time for the Toyota Prius to hit the show room and getting sold. Dealers all over the USA are just observing their Toyota Prius waiting list getting longer day by day. Last month, Toyota Motor Corporation (TYO:7203)) declared that by the end of April it sold about 1,028,000 Prius cars. Now, they have set a target of selling one million vehicles per year after 2010.

Toyota also declared two new hybrid models that will be powered by lithium-ion battery. Masatami Takimoto, Head of R&D, Toyota Motor Corporation, said that one of the new vehicles is going to be a new design and it would be larger than Prius and released under the Lexus Brand in 2010. The other car, a production of version of Toyota’s “iQ microcar”, is a 10 feet long small city car for four passengers.

Battery technology company, A123Systems, has begun selling its new aftermarket kit which can convert the Toyota Prius hybrid into a Plug-in hybrid and increase fuel-efficiency to more than 100 miles per gallon. The kit’s retail cost is under $10,000 and includes installation at select dealerships.

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Toyota Motor Corporation and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. declare to build two new battery plants for hybrid cars

On May 27^th, Japan’s top car maker, Toyota Motor Corporation (TYO: 7203) announced to build a third battery plant with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (TYO:6752) In the face of the rising demand of hybrid vehicles, Toyota decided to increase its battery production. The batteries are used to drive the electric motors in the hybrid vehicles.

Toyota and Matsushita joint venture Panasonic EV Energy Co. will spend $289 million (291 million according to IHT) to build the battery plant which will be situated at Miyagi Prefecture in northern Japan. The company will start its operation by 2010 and it will produce 200,000 units of nickel-metal hydride batteries per year.

On May 23^rd, the two companies announced to build their second battery plant in Shizuoka Prefecture in Tokyo. The plant will cost $194 million. Bloomberg reports:

The new plants will make nickel-hydride batteries to help Toyota meet its goal of selling 1 million hybrid cars including the Prius annually in the early part of next decade. Drivers are opting for cars that use less gasoline after the price of oil has more than doubled in the past year.

``Toyota is way ahead of everyone else in hybrids,'' said Edwin Merner, president of Tokyo-based Atlantis Investment Research Corp., which manages $2 billion in assets. ``Hybrid cars are in short supply and demand is increasing. If they don't exploit this advantage, they may lose market share.''

The factory in Miyagi will start production in 2010 and will be able to make 200,000 batteries annually when it reaches full operation.

Despite high price tag and comparatively lower sales, Toyota Prius is the environmental champion of Toyota and the most sold hybrid car in the USA. Since its inception in 1997 till April 2008, Toyota sold 1.03 million hybrid cars. Of the total sales, North America accounted for 58% and Japan 31%.

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Toyota Yaris is more popular than Toyota Prius

Yes, it is true. The green house effect and soaring price of fuel have put our lives in jeopardy and fuel efficient, eco-friendly hybrid cars are the choice of the season but there is a catch; MONEY. The hybrid cars come with a higher price tag which makes them out of rich for many people. Hence, traditional four cylinder cars are still dominating the highways. Even today in the USA, hybrids consist of 3% of the new cars sold and SUVs 14%. Canada.com reports:

The four-bangers account for 37 per cent of the U.S. market, up from 30 per cent just three years ago

The fact is that hybrids are still quite expensive -- $30,000-plus -- and no matter what the opinion surveys say about how green we have all become in our purchase choices, the bottom line is still the bottom line.

"For now, the easiest, cheapest way for new-car shoppers to get better mileage is to choose a model with a conventional four-cylinder engine. And they are," said Jason Rothkop, a J.D. Power and Associates analyst recently.

Toyota Prius from Toyota Motor Corporation (TYO: 7203) may be the most popular hybrid in the USA, it is facing serious competition from Toyota Yaris model. The little car saw an 83% rise in sales in March. Prius may not be so cheap but American people are buying more fuel efficient small cars. Compared to the USA, Canada people are more into small cars and if you are a resident of Canada you check the fuel efficiency of all cars in the region from the website: http://oee. nrcan.gc.ca. You can also obtain a hard copy of the Fuel Consumption Guide 2008.

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Are all hybrids really money savers?

Although hybrids are the latest craze in the USA in the face of rising fuel cost, they come with higher price tags compared to traditional cars. As a result, you would often end up spending more money after your car than you could save on gasoline. However, some hybrid cars are truly money savers. Currently, there are six hybrid models USA from Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Honda that can save your money. Mlive.com reports:

The good news: Drivers can now choose from six hybrid models from Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Honda that all could earn back their price premiums in less than 10 years. Four of those five can save you enough in gas to offset the higher cost in as few as six years. That figure could climb higher if you considered corporate twins such as the Mercury Mariner for the Ford Escape or the Saturn Aura for the Chevrolet Malibu.

The bad news: Some of the top performers a similar Cleveland Plain Dealer analysis last year fell a few notches. Last year, Honda's Civic hybrid looked as if it would take about three years to earn back its higher cost. In this year's analysis, the Civic takes more than four years.

Currently in the USA, Toyota Camry and Honda Civic makes up the most of the hybrid car sales. For urban drivers, Toyota Prius is better but for suburban drivers Saturn Vue Green as it gives significant boost during highway driving.

So, it looks like buying a hybrid is not going to solve your fuel problems right away. You have to chose carefully from the existing models of hybrids.

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Rising demand makes Toyota Prius scarce in the USA

Toyota Motor Corporation's (TYO: 7203) Prius hybrids are becoming scarce in many parts of the USA and the reason is rising fuel price. Because of high price of fuel, more and more people are going for hybrid cars. Toyota Prius is the most popular hybrid model in the USA. The high demand and lower supply has created this problem. Frank Pugliese, general manager, Millenium Toyota at Hampstead said that all the Prius hybrids in his store have been pre-sold. Anyone looking for a Toyota Prius will have to wait at least for two months. Like Pugilese, most of the Toyota dealers are on the waiting list of Toyota Prius. News Day.com reports:

The auto information company R.L. Polk & Co. of Southfield, Mich., said registrations of new hybrid cars and SUVs in Nassau and Suffolk rose 54 percent, to 4,022, in the 12-month period that ended March 31, the last month for which data is available, compared with the same period a year earlier. That's far beyond the 6.8 percent growth overall in new vehicle registrations.

Since then, demand has only increased, Pugliese said. "For every 20 cents that gas goes up, you can add another week to 10 days to the wait for a Prius," he added.

Long Island is one of the high oil consuming regions in the USA but hybrids account for only 2% of the new cars sold here. Out of the 23 hybrid cars and SUVs sold in USA, Toyota Prius is the most popular. The regular price of a Toyota Prius is $21,760 but some dealers are asking for premiums over sticker price. Toyota Motor Corporation ordered its dealers to sell 1754 cars per month which is 86% high from last year. After waiting for long time, many customers are now rolling out with other models.

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