Shiotsu Autotrade Japan – President’s Blog

Facts about Hybrid Cars – Pros and Cons

Actually hybrids are now marketed as the car you must possess, to deal with the high expense of fuel. Paying for one of these brilliant eco-friendly vehicles could save you cash on gas and you will be providing the economy a lift.

That said, there basically are two different types of hybrids: the gas powered money savers and the electric cars. The gas version model is actually driven by a unique specialized gas engine while the electric hybrid includes a chargeable battery, just the way you remote control the Porsche you possessed as a child.  Before you decide on purchasing a Hybrid Car, we would like to list out the common pros and cons of owning a Hybrid car. These facts about hybrid cars can help you make an informed decision whether to go for a hybrid car.

Pros of owning a Hybrid Car

Lower Pollution:

Hybrid cars possess reduced pollution levels compared to other cars. While operating on their electric motors, engines of hybrid vehicles aren’t producing any of the air-borne pollutants we are concerned about when we consider the gas engines.  As rated for an Energy-Efficient Economy by American Council, three of the leading 12 ‘Greenest Cars’ had been hybrid cars.

Higher Fuel Economy:

Spending less on gas is really likelihood for hybrid motorists. Even mild hybrid trucks that enhance the mileage from 17 to 19 mpg are making an impact. Read the rest of this entry »

Nissan rolls out Fuga Hybrid in Japan

Nissan has been busy promoting its Leaf all-electric car in the U.S., but in Japan the excitement centers on its new Fuga hybrid.  Nissan entered the hybrid cars market by unveiling its Fuga luxury hybrid sedan in Japan yesterday.  Fuga is first mass produced hybrid car from Nissan and it will be available for sale in first week of November in Japan.  Fuga hybrid will be priced around 5.7 million yen, compared with 4 million yen for its gasoline model Infinity M.

The Fuga luxury sedan gasoline model is known as the Infiniti M in the United States.  Nissan has been selling Altima sedans in the United States to clear clean-air regulations of California for which they used Toyota’s hybrid system.  However, this new hybrid by Nissan is a great excitement for Japanese, as it is Nissan’s first gasoline-electric hybrid developed in-house, not depending on rivals Honda and Toyota which have a decade long experience in manufacturing hybrid cars.

Fuga makes use of one-motor and two-clutch parallel hybrid system specifically to achieve better fuel economy compared to all other high end gas/electric sedans.  This system helps Fuga to give almost double the mileage as compared to any other conventional gasoline-engine version (19km per liter).  The system connects the 3.5-liter V6 engine and the electric motor directly to the transmission.  This results in improved efficiency as there is no need of a traditional torque converter.  Nissan claims that Fuga’s one motor system is much better than Toyota’s “series parallel” two-motor complex system.

The hybrid version of Fuga uses a lithium-ion battery which can be chargee and discharged at a rapid rate.  The rapid discharging rate makes transmission between the two systems smoother than any other hybrids.  NEC’s joint venture Automotive Energy Supply and Nissan will supply these batteries for Fuga

The new Fuga Sedan is available in a range of models and has various other features like open, comfortable and spacious Interior, dynamic exterior design.  Fuga Sedan is featured with various safety features like school zone alert system , Lane departure prevention, Adaptive front lighting system etc.

Nissan expects to sell 200 Fuga units per year in Japan which is approximately 25% of gasoline engine version’s sale in a month.  It is also expected that its market value in the Japanese auto market will go up compared to CR-Z and Fit vehicles by Honda and Prius hybrid by Toyota.  In Japan, Fuga sedan will qualify for the tax break for next generation vehicle which means it will get exemptions from automobile weight tax and automobile acquisition tax.  The 2.5-liter engine model of Fuga sedan qualifies for environment-friendly preferential tax scheme in Japan.

Technorati Tags: Japan, Fuga hybrid, Fuga, Nissan

Remarkable Sales of Toyota and Honda Hybrid Cars

For over a year, the Toyota Prius has been leading the sales in hybrid cars in Japan.  Ever since its launch, the Toyota Prius has maintained the position of being the top seller in Japan.  Honda insight is another popular hybrid car from Japan. This year alone, sales of hybrid cars in the first couple of months reached upto 72,191 units.  And it has even beaten hybrid car sales in the U.S. by more than double.

The remarkable sales of hybrid cars in Japan have been attributed to Japanese customers becoming aware of saving the environment and moving towards eco-friendly hybrid cars.  It is significant that though fossil fuel is available cheaply in the U.S. and without added gas tax as is done around the world, the buyers are slowly opting for hybrids.  It is just a matter of time before sales of hybrids would reach higher.

United States gets Honda hybrid cars and Toyota hybrid cars imported from Japan on a large scale;  however, the Japanese car manufacturers like Honda and Toyota are selling far more hybrid gas-electric cars in Japan itself.

The new Honda Insight and Toyota Prius have taken the Japanese automobile market by storm.  More than double the monthly sales target was achieved by the sale of the Insight in Japan, in April 2010.  With the introduction of the third-generation Prius, there has been a rise of nearly 20 percent in the sales orders received by Toyota, half of which are for the new Prius.

It is now fairly understood that the hybrid car market in Japan is keenly competing with the U.S. market, in spite of the fact that the American vehicle market is double the size as that of Japan.  It is estimated that domestic sales in Japan this year are expected to rise in leaps and bounds with the fierce battle on between the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight.

Automakers around the world are facing the test of global commitment towards eco-friendliness of vehicles.  The rise of global hybrid sales and specifically in Japan has spurred the government to offering subsidies to automakers to increase auto sales and move auto buyers towards buying more eco-friendly vehicles.  The Japanese government has a budget of $4 billion to make this a success, by offering incentives to customers who buy green cars.  Likewise, the United States government too is debating on offering incentives to vehicle manufacturers to motivating them into produce green cars.

It is felt that consumers in Japan favor the hybrid cars due to the fact that gas taxes are heavier in comparison with the U.S. taxes at the pump.

To hold the cutting edge in the auto market, both Honda and Toyota have become even more committed towards manufacturing hybrid cars in greater numbers to reduce their economies of scale. U.S. automakers are hoping to get back their footing into leading the manufacture of more eco-friendly and fuel efficient cars.

If you are interested in buying new or used Toyota or Honda hybrid cars, please get in touch with us with your requirements.  We have many Honda and Toyota hybrids in our stock and can find a suitable match for you.

Technorati Tags: Japan, hybrid cars, Honda Insight, Toyota Prius, fuel efficient cars

Back in 2007,  Honda had revealed its Sporty Hybrid Honda CR-Z Concept at the Tokyo Motor Show.  Honda has kept its promise to launch the production version of Honda CR-Z Hybrid in early 2010.  Honda has now unveiled the ‘CR-Z hybrid sports coupe’!

The hybrid cars which came out first were boring, bland and what not! Honda has decided to change all that with its next generation hybrids.  It has decided to mix environment friendliness and driving fun.

For the sports car enthusiast, Honda CRZ is the world’s first hybrid sports car with a 6 speed manual transmission although you can still choose to order a hybrid with paddle shifts and CVT auto transmission.

‘CRZ’ is an abbreviation for Compact Renaissance Zero. This green fuel efficient car has a 1.5 liter i-VTEC engine with ‘Integrated Motor Assist’ which is actually a hybrid system.  Although 25 km/liter from the vehicle is quite good, what blows your mind is the way the vehicle is styled. It looks futuristic, cool and sharp!

It is also the first hybrid with ‘NORMAL/ECON/SPORT’ driving modes. The ‘SPORT’ mode increases the gear ratios, steering and throttle response whereas ‘ECON’ mode brings the car into economy mode offering you maximum kilometers to the liter.

In Japan, the Honda CR-Z basic model is priced at 2,250,000 Yen and the top model at 2,500,000 Yen.  It will be released in Japan first and then in other parts of the world.  The price for other countries has not been decided yet.

The Honda CRZ debut comes at an apt time barely two weeks after arch rival Toyota recalled almost 44 thousand Priuses and other hybrid cars for complaints of faulty breaks and delay in response of breaks on bumpy roads and cold conditions.

Honda claims that the braking system of its Hybrids is different from Toyota and that Honda has not received any complaints in its hybrid models about braking.  Honda plans to sell over 250,000 hybrids a year by 2010.  Honda CR-Z is a global hybrid car that will make the gasoline-electric technology more available and affordable to sports car lovers.

Technorati Tags: Honda CR-Z Hybrid, hybrid cars, Honda CRZ, Japan, Toyota, Honda

According to Japan Automobile Dealers Association (JADA), Toyota Motor’s Prius was topmost selling car in Japan in 2009. For the first time in the history of top selling cars any hybrid car has secured that top position. Toyota Prius sold about 208,876 cars in 2009, which is thrice the number of Prius cars sold in the earlier year. Toyota dominated Japanese car market by producing 8 of the top 10 best selling models last year. Toyota Prius is also the best-selling gas-electric hybrid in the world and has sold about 1.6 million vehicles so far.

The world’s biggest automaker – Toyota rolled out a revamped, fuel-efficient and cheaper model with the capacity of about 38 kilometers per litre in May 2009. Since then, Toyota Prius has been Japan’s top selling vehicle. Success of Toyota Prius in Japan emphasizes the growing consumer acceptance of green cars. As the numbers speak for it, the Prius exemplifies the ideal package people in Japan are looking for whether that is in terms of driving, environmental or performance.

The sale of hybrid vehicles in Japan has increased due to the incentives and tax breaks offered by Japanese government to the buyers of green vehicles. This has also helped Japanese automakers like Toyota to improve their hybrid sales figures.

To avoid competition, the Japanese automaker – Toyota have kept the price of Toyota Prius very low like the starting price of basic U.S. model is $21,000 and starting price of Prius is $22,000 which is same as last year’s base price of same model . In Japan, the price of Toyota Prius starts at 2.05 million yen, or about $22,000.

After Toyota Prius, the second position was occupied by Honda’s fit which is non-hybrid car and sold around 157,324 cars. The other competitor of Toyota – Nissan is busy with preparation of its own all electric which will be launched by the end of 2010.

Toyota’s success has proved that hybrid cars are not just fancy concept cars people used to watch at the auto shows, but they are now affordable and practical cars for today’s world. The success of Prius has given a new dimension to Japanese automakers. Though the Japan’s auto market has been sluggish for many decades but the benefit from hybrid sales is a bright spot in the middle of overall gloomy demand.

Battered by the global economic downturn last year, Japanese automakers hope that the popularity of fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles will re-energize the deteriorating auto market. Even then hybrids have to face competition from pure electric vehicles like mini-electric car i-MiEV manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors, Subaru Plug-in STELLA manufactured by Fuji Heavy Industries etc

Technorati Tags: Japan, hybrid car, Toyota Prius, Japanese car, Toyota, Nissan, hybrid vehicles

I was waiting for a long time for the launch of a zero emission car which is affordable to the masses. And this week, Nissan has launched their much-awaited zero-emission electric car named “Nissan LEAF”.  It is the vision of Carlos Ghosn, Nissan‘s chief executive that has made possible this new chapter in the history of automobiles.

Nissan’s biggest domestic rivals like Toyota and Honda have previously came up with many hybrid car models. However, these hybrid cars did not become popular due to their high cost.  Other difficulties in these cars were their limited driving range and long charging times with the current battery technology.  Nissan has taken the first step by designing the world’s first affordable car with zero emission.  Zero-emission was the ultimate goal of Nissan when they were doing research on eco-friendly technologies which would amplify efficiency and decrease emissions.

Nissan LEAF is designed to be friendly to the wallet as well as to the environment. The company plans to sell the car for about $15,000 and will have a range of 100 miles on a single battery charge. The name “LEAF”  indicates that as leaves purify the air in nature; this car purifies mobility by taking emissions out of the driving experience. The vehicle has less mechanical complexity than a traditional gasoline-powered car. To elaborate an environmentally friendly theme, blue color is used in Nissan LEAF’s introductory model.

In the zero emission LEAF, driving range of 100 miles is achieved due to its unique combination braking system and innovative lithium-ion battery packs and.  It takes just 30 minutes to charge its batteries up to 80% of its total capacity with a quick charger.

Technorati Tags: zero emission car, Carlos Ghosn, Nissan, hybrid car, LEAF

Honda is now challenging Toyota’s hybrid crown with its new Insight, a five-passenger gasoline-electric hybrid that will get more than 17 Km per liter. That is little less than the 21 Km per liter Toyota’s new Prius can get. But Honda Insight is far cheaper than the new Prius.  In fact, you can get the joy of hybrid technology for under $20,000.

Last month Honda Motor Company launched its all-new Honda Insight Hybrid car at a price tag of 1,890,000  Japanese Yen (US$19,800).  And it ranked as the 10th best selling car in Japan last month bagging over 15,000 orders, outselling Toyota Prius.  Honda was however able to deliver only 4,906 units.

This move by Honda would force the market leader, Toyota, to bring down its prices, leading to a price war in hybrid cars. Toyota is planning to release the next-generation version of Prius this May, at a much lower price.  This will be a good sign for car buyers, as they will have more and more choices for fuel efficient hybrid vehicles at affordable prices.

How Honda achieved this feat?  Honda Insight undercuts the Prius by several thousand dollars.  It is also around $4,000 cheaper than the Honda Civic Hybrid! First of all, the Insight shares parts with other Honda models. Secondly, the Insight’s main source of power is a lightweight gasoline engine that is assisted by smaller batteries, as opposed to the more complicated hybrid system used in the Prius.  This greatly reduces the manufacturing costs, but gives the Insight lower fuel efficiency than the Prius.

Technorati Tags: Honda, Toyota’s, Honda Insight, Hybrid car, Japan, Toyota Prius

Hybrid cars are a recent phenomena in the automobile industry.  Only few car manufacturers like Honda, Toyota, and General Motors had taken this matter very seriously.  Japan’s Honda is the top hybrid automobile maker and marketer as of now.  Two decades ago, Honda was nowhere in car building sector.  Now indeed, it is a brand name for futuristic hybrid cars among the Japanese cars.

The new generation is more passionate about Hybrid cars because they are environment friendly.  According to Honda reports, the hybrid car is zero-emission.  Reduction in fuel consumption contributes a lot to a green environment.  Even Hybrid cars have more fuel efficiency than any other ordinary brand new car.  A hybrid car whether new or used has no more mechanical problems like regular cars.  During the movement of the wheels, the hybrid car creates its own energy during a process of regenerative braking.  All these features in Honda Hybrid cars have made Honda the most striking and craved cars of the new generation.

Honda has newly introduced its 2009 Civic Hybrids.  This Honda hybrid car is a combination of technical qualifications of the common Honda Civic motor cars and reduced fuel consumption as of hybrid cars. As well as it takes care of your pocket also.

Honda Accord hybrid car is among the most popular Honda hybrid cars.  Nowadays this vehicle is out in the automobile market and really enjoying giant and warm patrons from all who are crazy for hybrid car. This hybrid car by Honda is most nature friendly.  The owner of hybrid cars does not find cost as an obstruction because they are astronomical. If we compare some Japanese hybrid models, we find Honda Accord Hybrid at 69 miles per gallon very economical.  Honda is now directly competing to its fellow Toyota, which was the first Japanese company to come up with hybrid cars.

If you are looking for used hybrid cars by Honda or Toyota, please check our stock or get in touch with us with your requirements.

Technorati Tags: Honda, Toyota, hybrid cars, Japanese cars, Honda Civic, Honda Accord