Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) has announced a full-fledged effort to increase its sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in China, developing new SUV and sedan EVs exclusively for the Chinese market. In addition to introducing these new EV models as Nissan brands in 2018, the company will also add local Chinese brand, Venucia, to its...
electric cars
EV Maker GLM to Form Capital Alliance With Hong Kong’s O Luxe
Electric vehicle (EV) venture GLM Co. Ltd., Kyoto, announced on July 10 that it will form a capital alliance with Hong Kong-based investment and holding company O Luxe Holdings Ltd. GLM is planning to begin mass production of its all-new GLM G4 electric car in 2019 and is raising the necessary funds from O Luxe...
Volvo to Go Electric on All Car Models Starting in 2019
Swedish automaker Volvo Car Corp. recently announced that, starting in 2019, the company will no longer launch gas-only vehicles. The company’s entire lineup will be comprised of electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) and hybrid vehicles (HVs). No new exclusively internal-combustion vehicles with gasoline or diesel engines will be released. At the present time,...
Honda Moves Toward Domestic Procurement for New Chinese-Market EV
Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7267) will begin locally procuring batteries and motors for an electric vehicle (EV) to be launched exclusively for the Chinese market in 2018. Thus far, Honda has supplied batteries and motors for hybrid vehicles (HVs) in China with exports from Japan. Utilizing the EV launch as an opportunity, however, the company...
Porsche Japan to Introduce EV Model in 2020, Extend PHV Lineup
Porsche Japan KK will launch domestic sales of a new electric vehicle (EV) in 2020, with plans to add plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs) to its model lineup before then. By expanding its product lineup, the company is aiming to raise the ratio of EV and PHV sales volume to at least 10 percent of total...
Honda Reveals Strategy to Tackle Next-Generation Technologies
Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7267) announced on June 8 its strategy for next-generation technologies. In autonomous driving technology, Honda is targeting 2025 for the introduction of a Level 4 highly automated driving system, which allows for fully autonomous driving in most situations. Under its vehicle electrification strategy, the company will develop an electric vehicle (EV)-dedicated...
Panasonic Aims to Double Automotive Sales, Become Top 10 Auto Parts Supplier
Panasonic Corp. (TYO:6752) in-house company Panasonic Automotive & Industrial Systems Company (Panasonic AIS) revealed at a recent presentation meeting its plans to put management resources into growth areas for the automotive business. Targeting growth areas such as cockpit systems, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and lithium-ion batteries (LiBs), Panasonic AIS looks to increase orders by...
Renesas Teams up With China’s Great Wall Motors on New Energy Vehicles
Renesas Electronics Corp. (TYO:6723) announced on May 25 that it will be working on a joint development effort with Chinese-based Great Wall Motors Co. Ltd. (GWM). The two companies will work to develop automotive semiconductor technologies and solutions for self-driving cars and new energy vehicles (NEVs) such as electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles...
New Nissan Leaf Will Come With Autonomous Driving System
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) Executive Vice President Daniele Schillaci said in an interview on May 24 attended by Japan Automotive Daily that the new Nissan Leaf will come equipped with ProPilot self-driving technology. The electric car is slated for launch in the second half of this year, said Schillaci, who was appointed chairman of...
Nissan Targets 16.5 Trillion Yen in Sales Under New Business Plan
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201) announced on May 11 its new medium-term business plan, which is to run through to fiscal 2022. Based around steady growth and development, the plan seeks in even a harsh economic climate to maintain the automaker’s operating profit margin at 8 percent. While doing so, the company aims to increase...
Roland Berger Study: Almost Half of Consumers Would Favor Self-Driving Cars
As many as 46 percent of consumers worldwide would forego having their own cars if self-driving cars became a reality, a Roland Berger study has found. The consulting firm’s survey incorporates the online responses of some 10,000 consumers across 10 countries, including Japan, the U.S., China and Germany. Roland Berger’s position is that automakers and...
Panasonic Opens New Automotive LiB Plant in China
Panasonic Corp. (TYO:6752) announced on April 27 that its Chinese JV Panasonic Automotive Energy Dalian Co. Ltd. has completed construction of a new automotive lithium-ion battery (LiB) plant in Dalian, Liaoning Province. The announcement was coupled with an opening ceremony on the day. The plant is Panasonic’s first automotive battery cell production base in China....
Nidec Eyes Shipments of 100M In-Vehicle Motors by 2020
Nidec Corp. (TYO:6594) plans to expand its in-vehicle motor business. The company will commercialize new products in such recent domains as next-generation brake systems and traction motors for use in electric vehicle (EV) drive units. Nidec is looking to at least double shipments of in-vehicle motors from fiscal 2016 to over 100 million units for...
Suzuki, Toshiba, Denso to Invest 2 Billion Yen Into Indian Battery JV
Suzuki Motor Corp. (TYO:7269), Toshiba Corp. (TYO:6502) and Denso Corp (TYO:6902) announced on April 14 that they have agreed to jointly establish a new company in India for the manufacture of automotive lithium-ion battery (LiB) packs. The three partners will establish the new JV by the end of 2017, with production slated to begin within...
Toshiba, Waseda University Replace Diesel Buses With Electric, Cut CO2 Emissions by 60%
Toshiba Corp. (TYO:6502) has demonstrated that the use of electric buses equipped with a wireless rapid rechargeable battery system will cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by about 60 percent compared to diesel engine buses. Toshiba conducted its tests jointly with Waseda University, verifying the convenience of wireless charging and its effectiveness in reducing CO2 emissions....
Nissan Electric Cars to Power Kyushu Eco-Island Project
Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (TYO:7201), Sumitomo Corp. (TYO:8053) and Satsumasendai City, Kagoshima Prefecture, announced on April 12 that their joint project, “Mirai-no-shima” (literally meaning “Island of the Future”) is under way. Based in the Koshikishima Islands’ Kami-Koshikishima Island, some 30 kilometers to the west of the Satsuma Peninsula, the project has now received 40 Nissan...
