Cheap Models Boost Indonesia Car Sales

Jakarta Globe, Harso Kurniawan, November 7, 2013

Attendees look at vehicles displayed at the Indonesia International Motor
Show in Jakarta on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013. (Bloomberg Photo)

Strong demand for cheap cars sent domestic car sales over one million in the first 10 months of this year, bolstering confidence among car producers that initial sales targets may be exceeded.

Car sales rose to 1,018,786 in the January-to-October period, up 10 percent from 923,071 units sold in the same period last year, based on preliminary data from manufacturers and car distributors.

The cheap cars are mostly sold for less than Rp 100 million a unit, thanks to the government’s low-cost green car policy that offers tax benefits if cars can meet fuel efficiency targets.

Such programs provide affordable alternatives for customers, whose purchasing power fell as the rupiah slumped 18 percent on the back of a current account deficit and accelerated inflation after the government raised subsidized fuel prices in June, said Jongkie Sugiharto, deputy chairman of Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo).

Car sales are on target to reach 1.2 million units this year, above the industry’s initial target of 1.1 million sales in 2012.

“We are seeing a switch from multipurpose vehicles to these LCGCs,” Amelia Tjandra, marketing director at Astra Daihatsu Motor, said on Wednesday.

Manufacturers have introduced six models under the LCGC program, including the Toyota Agya and Daihatsu Ayla, which went on sale in September.

The models are a result of collaboration between the country’s largest car distributor, Astra International, and Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor.

Sales of the new models are forecast at more than 30,000 units this year and 90,000 units next year.

The models qualify for the government’s low-cost green car policy, which excludes luxury tax on such cheap and low-emissions cars by between 25 and 100 percent if the models are 90 percent made of local content and have mileage of 20 kilometers per liter of fuel.

Honda also started selling the Brio Satya in October, with Nissan’s Datsun Go and Go+ and Suzuki’s Karimun Wagon R set to hit showrooms next year.

Neighboring Thailand introduced a similar program in 2010. Dubbed eco-car, the first model to roll off the production line was the Nissan March. The program is said to have changed the landscape of the car industry in the kingdom.

For individual brands, Toyota still dominates the domestic car market with 357,332 units sold in the first 10 months of this year, followed by Daihatsu with 154,156 units.

Suzuki came third with 134,428 units, ahead of Mitsubishi (131,407), Honda (76,888) and Nissan (52,712).

On monthly data, manufacturers sold 110,507 cars in October, up 3.5 percent from the same month a year earlier.

Shares of Astra International rose 2.3 percent to Rp 6,700 In Jakarta trading on Thursday, while Indomobil Sukses International, which distributes brands like Suzuki and Nissan, lost 1 percent to Rp 5,000, compared with a 0.82 percent decline in the composite index.

BMW Mulls Boosting Electric-Car Capacity on Early Demand

Jakarta Globe – Bloomberg, Christoph Rauwald, October 15, 2013

Sporty, chic and futuristic: the i3 tanks up

BMW, the world’s biggest maker of luxury vehicles, will have to increase investment in electric-car production if demand for the new i3 model continues in line with initial orders.

Customers have reserved more than 8,000 of the battery-powered i3, which will cost $41,350 in the US, even before the car hits showrooms in Europe next month, Chief Financial Officer Friedrich Eichiner said yesterday in Amsterdam.

BMW expects to sell more than 10,000 of the four-person car next year and “will adjust capacity according to demand,” he said at a press conference. “If demand holds, which is what it’s looking like, we will soon have to invest more.”

The maker of BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles is upgrading its lineup with the i3, the new 4-Series coupe and a revamp of the X5 sport-utility vehicle to maintain its sales lead over Volkswagen’s Audi and Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz. Both competitors have vowed to surpass Munich-based BMW in deliveries by the end of the decade.

The i3 will go on sale in Germany for 34,950 euros ($47,440) on Nov. 16, followed by the US, China and Japan in the first half of next year. The model made its public debut July 29 at simultaneous events in New York, London and Beijing. The push to sell the electric car and recoup investments in the technology underpinning the vehicle include an international print, TV and Internet advertising campaign.

Margin Targets

The spending on development of new models and expanding production capacity caused the operating profit margin at BMW’s auto division to narrow to 9.6 percent in the second quarter from 11.6 percent a year earlier.

“We’ll have to work very hard to keep profitability within our target corridor” of 8 percent to 10 percent in the coming years because of large investments required to meet stricter emissions regulations and the weak car market in Europe, Eichiner said yesterday.

Sales gains in China and the US have helped BMW cushion the effects of the sovereign-debt crisis on Europe’s car market, which is sliding to a 20-year low. BMW, which doesn’t anticipate a recovery in demand in its home region before the second half of 2014, expects deliveries to rise this year for its third straight annual sales record.

“Demand in China and North America continues to be strong,” Eichiner said. “It makes sense for us to think about expanding production capacity in North America,” with the U.S. and Mexico both options, he said.

The rollout of the i3 will go ahead as planned next month and won’t be impacted by issues that typically affect the ramp up of a new model, he said. The executive was responding to a report by Wirtschaftswoche over the weekend that problems bonding carbon-fiber components for the car led to a 10-day production halt.

Bloomberg

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Biofueled Airbus makes air show entrance

France24 – AFP, 20 June 2013

An Airbus A321 aircraft using Biojet A-1 Total/Amyris, a biofuel produced from
 an innovative sugar-processing technology, is parked on the tarmac at Le Bourget
airport, near Paris on June 20, 2013 during the 50th International Paris Air Show.

AFP - An Airbus airliner flew from southern France to the Paris Air Show on Thursday with one fuel tank partially filled with farnesane, a biofuel made from sugar cane as the industry experiments with green technology.

The gambit was to show that the fast-growing air transport sector is eager for clean fuels, but the ability for green fuels to compete with petroleum-based kerosene that spews tonnes of CO2 and other pollutants into the atmosphere remains way off.

The sugar fuel was developed by Amyris, a US company owned by the French oil major Total, and could be on the market starting next year.

Other key partners in the demonstration were Air France and Safran, which built the engine used in the test.

"Technically there are solutions, but economically it has not taken off, that is for sure," said Pierre Porot, a biofuel specialist at the French institute IFP Energies Nouvelles.

Parked on the Le Bourget airport tarmac, the A321 looked quite similar to more conventional passenger planes and attracted hardly as much attention as the sleek combat jets sitting nearby.

It was only the second time a plane has flown with this kind of fuel, the first being in Brazil, where Total produces farnesane.

The flight, which lasts about an hour when commercial planes make it, used 10 percent farnesane, consuming about four tonnes of sugar cane.

But developers said use of sugar for fuel would not affect food markets, a usual complaint against biofuel technology..

"Sugar cane is not considered a food product by the (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization, it does not compete therefore with food sources," said Philippe Marchand, head of Total's biofuel unit.

For now however the main issue is cost.

Experts contacted by AFP estimated that existing "biokerosenes" cost between 30 and 50 percent more than the normal fuel.

So while airlines like Lufthansa and KLM have begun to incorporate biofuels in their operations, and a flight using only biofuel took place in Canada late last year, no carriers use it in significant quantities.

"Test flights are easy because they need only a few thousand litres of fuel," noted Claire Curry, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

"But to obtain large quantities you have to build refineries costing $200-300 million and the problem is finding the money," she said.

Total's Marchand is not deterred however, and once the new fuel has been certified, he intends to expand production facilities to Europe.

"French beet farmers are very interested in diversifying their activities because of the weakness in the ethanol market," he said.

Philippe Boisseau, head of Total's New Energies division said: "In four to five years, the goal is to make the fuel with non-edible parts of plants. To transform cellulose into non-food sugars that are then turned into biojet" fuels.

Other possible end products include biodiesel, cosmetics, medicines and even perfumes.

The cost issue could reverse meanwhile, because standard kerosene prices and carbon taxes will likely climb higher, forcing airlines to come up with alternatives.

Major aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus, Boeing and Embraer have said they are mulling joint programmes to develop biokerosene, since their futures also depend on a sustained source of jet fuels.

Environmental groups are bringing pressure to the air industry too. On Thursday, the French activist group Reseau Action Climat denounced the pollution generated by constantly growing traffic.

"Flying is the most polluting means of transport. Measured by passenger and by kilometre travelled, it is three times worse for the climate than cars," the group said.

Total hopes to have its farnesane fuel certified by the end of the year, and possibly have planes flying with sugar-based fuel in 2014.

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Jakarta to Test Green Bajajs From Sweden

Jakarta Globe, Lenny Tristia Tambun, June 20, 2013

A Clean Motion Zbee vehicle. (Image courtesy of Clean Motion)

Fresh on the heels of the central government’s plan to offer incentives for the production of low-cost green vehicles, the Jakarta administration has expressed its interest in purchasing electric rickshaws from Sweden to replace the capital’s aging fleet, known as bajajs.

“Sweden has explained their electric bajajs, and we agree that they are better than the gas-powered models. Plus, the price is not too expensive,” Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjhaja said on Wednesday.

Basuki said that he has asked the Swedish company that produces the electric bajajs, Clean Motion, to send the vehicles over to Jakarta so that city administrators could test them.

“They have to send some over so we can conduct tests. The company said it would deliver them this month, but it seems like they will arrive late,” he said.

Previously, Clean Motion said that it would launch its Zbee electric rickshaw to replace traditional 3-wheeled taxis in order to offer a more environmentall -friendly mode of transportation.

The company also announced its plan to manufacture Zbees in Indonesia by building a factory in East Java capable of producing up to 100,000 of the green vehicles annually.

Basuki said that he would let the people of Jakarta decide if they want to switch from the gas-powered bajaj to the electric Zbee.

According to the Jakarta Transportation Agency, there are 11,669 gas-powered bajajs officially registered with the city. Less than 3,000 of them are blue bajajs, which are powered by compressed natural gas (CNG).

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Tax Break for Eco-Friendly Car Producers Now Official: Minister

Tax Break for Eco-Friendly Car Producers Now Official: Minister

Jakarta Globe, ID/Damiana Ningsih, June 5, 2013

A model poses next to a car displayed at the Indonesia International
Motor Show 2012 on Sept. 20, 2012. (JG Photo/Safir Makki)

The government has officially issued a decree to support the production of low-cost, environmentally-friendly cars in Indonesia, a minister confirmed on Wednesday.

Industry Minister MS Hidayat said on Wednesday that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed the 2013 decree number 41 on luxury items tax, which includes vehicles, on May 23. The decree was legalized on the same day by Legal and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin.

“This regulation will cover some programs related to eco-friendly cars, support conservation of energy use and [the use of] alternative energy, for example low-cost and green cars, hybrid, electric cars and cars using biofuel. It will curb taxes and boost demand for greener cars,” he said.

Hidayat said no luxury tax would be imposed on cars or station wagons with engine capacity of up to 1,200 cc and with a minimum fuel consumption of 20 kilometers per liter.

Tax exemption would also apply to diesel or semi-diesel vehicles of up to 1,500 cc, also with minimum fuel consumption of 20 kilometers per liter.

The current tax for new vehicles ranges from 10-75 percent depending on engine size. Only emergency vehicles, such as ambulances, are tax exempt.

Some analysts have forecast that the policy could eventually boost Indonesian vehicle consumption by a third.

Indonesian auto sales, buoyed by an expanding middle class, hit a record 1.1 million last year though the figure is expected to be slightly lower this year because of likely fuel price increases and higher downpayment requirements.

Hidayat said the automotive industry could now launch eco-friendly car production in line with the regulation. He added that the regulation was aimed at spurring a long-term movement toward sustainability, rather than immediate commercial interests.

“Relating to the price [of the vehicle], even though there was a pricing set by the Ministry of Finance, I wish for flexibility. The pricing should be as fair as possible when complying with the adopted technology. Don’t make it solely as a commercial purpose,” Hidayat said.

Previously, Astra International said the company would delay production of its eco-friendly vehicle, the Ayla, until government regulations on low-cost, green cars were finalized.

Astra Daihatsu Motor opened a new plant in Karawang, West Java, in April that has a production capacity of 120,000 units per year. Daihatsu had set a goal to produce 3,000 Ayla cars per month in the facility.

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SBY Signs Eco-Friendly Car Regulation

Jakarta Globe, May 28, 2013

KompasOtomotif

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recently signed a government regulation aimed at supporting the development of environmentally-friendly vehicles in Indonesia.

Newsportal Kompas.com reported on Tuesday that Yudhoyono signed the Low Emission Car Project decree, which seeks to curb taxes and boost demand for greener cars.

“The president signed it yesterday [Monday],” Johnny Darmawan, the president director of Toyota Astra Motor, told Kompas.com on Monday.

An anonymous source at the Ministry of Industry also confirmed to Kompas that the decree had been signed.

The regulation stipulates special tax incentives for eco-friendly vehicles such as hybrids and electric cars. Furthermore, it notes that such cars must be assembled in Indonesia and fulfill the minimum standard for local parts to receive the tax break.

“It was proposed that luxury taxes would not apply to low-cost green cars ,” Budi Darmadi, the director general of advanced industry based on high technology at the Ministry of Industry, said.

Previously, Astra International said the company would delay production of its eco-friendly vehicle model, the Ayla.

Astra Daihatsu director Pongky Prabowo said the company is waiting for government regulations on low-cost green cars before it starts producing the Daihatsu Ayla and the Toyota Agya, the latter a collaboration with Toyota Motors.

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New subsidies for green cars in China

New subsidies for green cars in China

Want China Times, Xinhua 2013-05-24

A BYD F6DM sedan. (Photo/Xinhua)

A new subsidy policy is intended to promote the use of energy-saving automobiles, according to a Thursday report by the China Securities Journal.

The previous policy, which expired at the end of last year, provided a subsidy of 50,000 yuan (US$8,150) to automakers for every hybrid vehicle sold, while 60,000 yuan (US$9,800) was provided for every electric vehicle sold.

Miao Wei, head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said in March that a new subsidy policy for energy-saving cars will be issued in the first half of 2013.

The China Securities Journal report cited an MIIT official as saying that the policy will need final authorization from the State Council, or China's cabinet, after several government departments pass a draft version of the policy.

Li Weili, chief of the manufacturing division under the State Information Center, said the new policy is expected to last until 2015 at least. He said detailed provisions regarding subsidies for electric cars will likely be implemented before the end of June 2013, although provisions related to hybrid vehicles may come out later.

Standards for the evaluation of hybrid vehicle energy consumption have yet to be created, which has postponed the creation of special subsidies for hybrid vehicles based on how much fuel they save, Li added.

The MIIT has shown a tendency to support hybrid vehicles with lower energy consumption, which has led many automakers to boost research and development for such vehicles.

Ling Tianjun, chief engineer of green vehicles at the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), one of China's four largest auto groups, said SAIC has started selling hybrid cars at lower prices with the help of subsidies totaling over 100,000 yuan (US$16,300).

Chery, one of China's largest private automotive enterprises, has decided to spend more on electric vehicle research, the report said.

The MIIT, together with Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Science and Technology, announced a program to encourage innovation in green vehicle technology in September 2012.

But Duan Zhihui, Chery's chief hybrid vehicle engineer, said the three-year time limit for the new subsidies may cause auto companies to rush their research and development in order to avoid missing the opportunity to receive the subsidies.

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Plug-in hybrids may outpace other new-energy cars in China

Want China Times, Staff Reporter, 19 May 2013

A new-energy car show in Jinan, Shandong province. (Photo/Xinhua)

Electric cars continue to face cooling global sales, while many in China debate which way the country should go forward with its own energy development, reports the China Youth Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Youth League.

Some industry insiders say that China should continue developing electric cars, while others say that they should be abandoned in favor of hybrid cars. The government plans to subsidize both electric and hybrid cars according to their oil-saving ratio divided by 16 degrees, with the minimum subsidy as high as 3,000 yuan (US$490) per car, but the specifics of the plan have yet to be revealed.

There are currently three types of new energy vehicles in development: electric cars, which uses electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device; plug-in hybrids, which combines an internal combustion engine with rechargeable batteries; and conventional hybrids, which has an internal combustion engine and can save energy, but cannot be recharged.

Plug-in hybrid cars have been the main focus and priority for research and development, according to industry insiders, while some ventures continue to explore possibilities for both electric cars and hybrids, such as Toyota and PSA Peugeot-Citroen.

Dr Herbert Diess, a BMW director in charge of research and development, said that plug-in hybrids will be a very good choice for future development, because it can satisfy the needs of short-distance and longer-distance travel. BMW's new i3 electric cars are targeting the needs in drivers in larger cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, but it's not the best choice for long-distance travel, Diess said.

Volkswagen said it will focus on developing plug-in hybrids and will soon mass produce its Porche Panamera and Audi A3 e-tron plug-in hybrid cars. The German automaker will also continue to develop electric cars, and will soon commence production of its Volkswagen up! and e-Gold models.

Mercedes-Benz has been comparatively conservative regarding the outlook for electric cars, the China Youth Daily said, but the company will introduce an S-series of plug-in hybrids, and is cooperating with the Chinese automaker BYD to develop an electric car.

Ford Motors, which is now the second-largest US hybrid carmaker with a market share of 15%, said it is developing both electric cars and plug-in hybrids, adding that once China's new-energy car market has chosen its direction, Ford will be able to immediately introduce its products into the market.

BYD, China's most experienced carmaker in the electric car field, has also adopted a strategy to develop plug-in hybrids for the private passenger-car market, and also develop electric passenger cars and buses to target the public transportation markets.

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Hyundai Unveil the World’s First Mass Produced Fuel Cell Vehicle

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Hyundai Unveil the World’s First Mass Produced Fuel Cell Vehicle

greenerideal.com, Ashleigh-rose Harman, April 11, 2013

Hyundai have sped off the start line in the hydrogen vehicle production race, by rolling the first fuel cell vehicle intended for mass production off of the assembly line.

Hyundai have created a version of the ix35 which runs completely on hydrogen, meaning the only by product this car produces is water. The zero emissions vehicle is the product of the millions that has been invested into fuel cell research by the Korean company. The competition is beginning to build when it comes to environmentally friendly driving, with car manufacturers publicising future plans for a zero emissions driving environment.

Hyundai motor Vice Chairman, Eok Jo Kim announced the new ix35 as ‘the most eco-friendly vehicle in the industry.’  He went on to add that it ‘proves that hydrogen fuel cell technology in daily driving is no longer a dream’.

Fuel cell engines are not a new concept, in fact the first fuel cell vehicle came about in 1959. However, the technology has always been too expensive to develop for the mass market, hindering its advancement for the past fifty years, but Hyundai’s commitment to the cause has allowed the technology to be developed to mass market potential.

Fuel cell engines work by replacing gas with hydrogen. The hydrogen is combined with oxygen within the engine, creating a chemical reaction. This chemical energy is then converted into electrical energy, which in turn powers the motor in the engine. When fuel cell technology is compared to the current ‘plug in’ electric engines, the results show us that fuel cell engines are a way of sustaining our current driving habits, without causing any harm to our environment.

One thousand ix35s are due to be built by 2015. They are first to be made available as fleet vehicles across Europe, available for public and private vehicle leasing. After this Hyundai are planning to release the vehicle for consumer sales, with the hope of lower production costs and a more developed refuelling network.

The European Union has established a hydrogen road map, containing plans for new hydrogen refuelling stations throughout the continent. With hope that fuel companies will help develop the necessary technology to help put this plan into action across Europe and then the US.

Our attitude towards oil is unsustainable when it comes to our planet as well as our supplies, and this is forcing the automotive industries priorities to change. Car manufacturers are finally using their resources to develop technologies that will sustain the vehicle industry and the planet.  Responsibility is now being handed to the gas companies, with the automotive world asking them to help develop the necessary technologies to make electric driving a viable option.

Ashleigh-Rose Harman writes on behalf of Tilsun Group, on a number of automotive topics including vehicle technologies, the future of driving and the benefits of vehicle leasing. Visit tilsungroup.com for information on vehicle leasing, including contract hire on the latest EV’s and Hybrid vehicles.

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Airbus A320neo shines at the Paris Air Show

English.news.cn 2011-06-23

PARIS, June 22 (Xinhua) - The influx of orders and commitments for the Airbus' eco-efficient A320 New Engine Option ( A320neo) Wednesday has made it a super star during the ongoing Paris Air Show.

A320neo (Photo: Airbus)

IndiGo, India's largest low-cost carrier, confirmed its historic order of 150 A320neo and 30 A320. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) concerned was signed earlier in January.

Demand from South American region was also strong as two local leading airlines, namely LAN Airlines and AviancaTaca booked a total of 53 A320neo aircrafts.

LAN Airlines placed a firm order for 20 A320neo while AviancaTaca signed an MOU for 51 A320 Family aircrafts, including 33 A320neo planes.

Another MOU came from Republic Airways Holdings, Inc. The American company ordered 40 A320neo and 40 A319neo in the MOU.

Besides, Kuwait-based international Aviation Lease and Finance Company, ALAFCO, signed an MOU for 30 Airbus A320neo and six more Airbus A350 XWB aircraft in Le Bourget airport, where the 49th Paris Air Show is held.

The shower of orders from Airbus may leave its arch rival Boeing red-faced with only one booking on the third day of the show.

UTair Aviation from Russia announced an agreement to purchase of 40 Next-Generation Boeing 737 airplanes, including seven 737- 900ERs and 33 737-800s.

The huge success of A320neo may contribute to the soaring fuel prices, which have driven airlines to search for more economic ways to fly.

The A320neo would save 15 percent in fuel cost with Airbus' Sharklets wing tip devices and the latest generation engines, according to the France-based aero giant.

Editor: Chen Zhi

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Meanwhile, jet contrails found to be a worse climate-change culprit than carbon

POPSCI, By Clay Dillow, 03.30.2011

ELEKTRA ONE via PS-Aero

German company PC-Aero is trying to win NASA’s CAFE Green Flight Challenge, and Saturday they took a big step toward doing just that. The company’s ELEKTRA ONE aircraft, designed by PC-Aero’s founder and president Calin Gologan, made its successful first flight. But this one-seater isn’t your average single-prop. ELEKTRA ONE flies on electricity alone.

The Green Flight Challenge seeks a demo aircraft that can fly 200 miles in less than two hours on the energy equivalent of less than one gallon of fuel per person. ELEKTRA ONE didn’t push the envelope that far just yet--the maiden flight hit a ceiling just above 1600 feet and lasted just 30 minutes, burning just half the 6 kWh stored up in its batteries. But the fact that the lightweight aircraft was able to comfortably circle the airfield for half an hour-- more or less silently, we might add--is nothing short of impressive.

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And the timing for such a flight couldn’t be better. A study released Tuesday claims that airplane contrails--those long, white condensation trails jets leave in the sky--may warm the planet more on the average day than all of the carbon emissions spewed from airplanes in the history of modern aviation.

The carbon lingers longer of course--the contrails and any heat-trapping cirrus clouds they cause dissipate in hours or days, while the carbon remains for decades--but still, that’s a lot heat being trapped on any given day. Electric planes, as you may have surmised, wouldn’t contribute to warming on either front. See ELEKTRA ONE take flight in the video below.

[Treehugger, Reuters]

Toyota lays out big green-car push with hybrids, EVs

Reuters, Tokyo, By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia autos correspondent, Thu Nov 18, 2010

A Toyota employee shows how to recharge a Prius-based plug-in hybrid during a photo opportunity at the company's showroom in Tokyo November 18, 2010. Toyota on Thursday laid out big plans for launching greener vehicles, including 11 new conventional hybrids over the next two years and a Prius-based plug-in hybrid that may cost as little as 3 million yen. (Credit: REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao)

(Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp on Thursday laid out big plans for launching greener vehicles, including 11 new conventional hybrids over the next two years and a Prius-based plug-in hybrid that may cost as little as 3 million yen ($36,050).

One of the hybrids will be a compact car with fuel efficiency exceeding 40 km per liter -- the highest for a gasoline-electric model measured under Japanese test cycles, it said.

The world's top automaker has led the industry in cleaner, next-generation vehicle technology, having dominated the hybrid field for more than a decade with the iconic Prius and 13 other models so far.

But with governments tightening environmental and fuel economy standards all over the world, rival automakers are aiming to catch up, particularly with new vehicle technologies such as battery-powered electric cars and part-electric-part-engine "range extenders" such as General Motors's Chevy Volt.

Not to be outdone, Toyota said it would begin selling a plug-in hybrid based on the Prius by early 2012 mainly in Japan, the United States and Europe, targeting sales of more than 50,000 units a year.

The car, which unlike a conventional hybrid can be plugged in to enable longer-distance driving using only electricity, is expected to cost as little as 3 million yen in Japan, Toyota said. GM has priced its Volt at $41,000, while Nissan Motor Co's all-electric Leaf will start at 3.76 million yen before subsidies.

With billions of dollars of cash at hand, Toyota is among the few car manufacturers able to spend on research and development across the range of technologies.

In the field of battery electric vehicles, which Nissan and its French partner, Renault SA, are aiming to lead, Toyota confirmed it would launch a model based on the tiny iQ in the United States, Japan and Europe in 2012, initially targeting urban commuters.

It was also considering a launch in China, the world's biggest car market, with road trials planned in 2011.

Toyota plans to begin selling fuel-cell vehicles, which are also all-electric but run on hydrogen fuel, in the three markets from around 2015. Their high cost are a hurdle, but Toyota said it expected to be able to offer the car for a price under 10 million yen -- about one-tenth of what the zero-emission vehicle cost at the beginning of the decade.

Toyota is also working on developing next-generation batteries in-house, an ambition that had been held by the group's founder Sakichi Toyoda.

Having established a separate battery division in January with about 100 researchers, Toyota said it had made some progress toward creating a full solid-state battery in a compact package, as well as determining the reaction mechanism of lithium-air batteries.

(Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

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Green cars have great market potential in RI : minister

Antara News, Saturday, July 24, 2010 03:52 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Industry Minister MS Hidayat said green cars had great market potentials in Indonesia, particularly among middle-class consumers.

"There is now a trend to use green and low-priced vehicles," the minister said after accompanying Vice President Boediono in opening the Indonesian International Motor Show (IIMS) 2010 here on Friday.

He said such four-wheel vehicles were now in high demand in Indonesia. Low-cost , energy-efficient and environmentally friendly cars had great market potentials among middle-class people in Indonesia.

However, he said, he could not promise incentives for environmentally friendly cars to enable them to gain a large market. Cars with environmentally friendly technology are more expensive than cars with regular engines.

"If vehicle manufacturers in Indonesia already use environmentally friendly technology in most of their products, then we`ll talk about incentives," said the former chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN).

But Hidayat also said t he supported the provision of incentives for environmentally-friendly cars. But the authority to give incentives, he said, was at the Ministry of Finance.

"I am not a finance minister," said Hidayat when reporters asked about the matter of incentives.

Previously, auto sole agencies (ATPMs) had called on the government to provide tax incentives for environmentally-friendly cars so that they could be sold at lower than their present prices. The price of environmentally friendly cars, such as the Toyota Prius with a hybrid engine, is now almost twice the price of cars of the same type using conventional technology (gasoline engine).

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Volkswagen’s electric Milano Taxi concept is very cool

Paultan.org, bY DANNY TAN, APRIL 21, 2010 AT 12:16 PM BY DANNY

This is the taxi of the future, according to Volkswagen. VW, which will launch its first production electric vehicles in 2013 has shown this electric driven taxi at the Hanover Trade Show. Called the Milano Taxi concept, it is a city MPV tailored to the needs of taxi drivers and passengers with innovative details such as a swivel-sliding door that opens in a forward direction and customisable taxi touchscreens.

The green and black paint of the concept cab is a tribute to the fashion capital of Milan, where taxis were once painted like this. VW says that the Milano’s styling bears similarities to the iconic Volkswagen Samba Bus of the 1950s, and this plus its emissions-free drive and practicality could “make it a highly coveted vehicle in cities like New York and Tokyo”.

“One door less is all the more for a taxi,” said Walter de Silva, VW Group’s Head of Design. The safest way to enter and exit a taxi is on the sidewalk side, which explains why the LHD Milano’s single swivel-sliding door opens on the right side. The door also extends well into the roof, so the opening is very tall. The Milano’s dimensions is 1.60 m tall, 3.73 m long and 1.66 m wide. Like the Samba Bus, the outer roof areas are transparent; combined with a panoramic glass roof, passengers get a spacious feel and great views of the cityscape above.

Also, the need for passengers to always have to gaze at the taximeter in front to see the current charges is now a thing of the past (the meter in our Proton Iswara cabs are always conveniently shielded by the gear stick!). An 8-inch touchscreen in the Milano’s rear not only displays charges, but incorporates a credit card reader as well!

This cute cab has a top speed of 120 km/h and is driven by an electric motor with 85 kW (50 kW continuous power) powered by a lithium-ion battery located underfloor. VW says that the battery’s storage capacity of 45 Kilowatt-hours (kWh) and the Milano’s relatively low weight (1,500 kg) allows it to cover distances of up to 300 km. The battery can be recharged to 80% capacity in just over one hour.

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