Posted on 05/12/2007 11:19:39 PM PDT by Rick_Michael
TOYOTA CITY, Japan (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. expects to cut costs for hybrid cars enough to be able to make as much money on them as it does on conventional gasoline cars by around 2010, a top executive said on Thursday.......
But Masatami Takimoto, executive vice president in charge of powertrain development, said cost-cutting efforts on the system's motor, battery and inverter were bearing fruit, and the cost structure would improve drastically by the time Toyota reaches its sales goal of one million hybrids annually in 2010 or soon after.
"By then, we expect margins to be equal to gasoline cars," he told Reuters in an interview at Toyota's headquarters in Toyota City, central Japan.
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Side news:
http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=22550
High-Capacity Lithium-Ion Batteries On the Way
Abstract: This new generation of lithium-ion batteries, shown at a meeting of the Electrochemical Society, earlier this week, uses a series of impressive new technologies, like nanotechnology, to create the composite materials for generating the electrodes on the cells inside the battery. So far, scientists have managed to measure twice the charge storage capacity in the new batteries, and they estimate that manufacturing costs will be lower than traditional lithium-ion batteries because of the materials (primarily manganese) required for the new nano-crystal electrodes.
Electric cars are going to be perfected in the near future. They’ve been saying this for 100 years. Thomas Edison told Henry Ford not to worry about electric cars, as they would never be practical. So far, he’s still right.
As far as I can see it’s just the cost of the battery and product reliability....which has been sorely lacking. Although I do think this is a workable market. I don’t think it will be all encompassing, so thus my hopes for biofuels (e.g algae) in the long-term future.
I’m not all too agreeable with government intervention or assistance. If a market and product is worthy of placement...then I’m all for it ie why not let it run it’s coarse.
I wouldn’t look to Edison for opinions on a future that elipses his conception of technology. In fact, I don’t even think Edison saw himself as man that knew the future.
“We don’t know a millionth of one percent about anything.”
If they are able to lower the costs and successfully pass it on to the consumer (heh...) it may have some impact. The total cost of the car may actually lead to savings for the consumer. Right now it doesn't and even worse, the environmental impact of the hybrid throughout it's life is allegedly far worse than the standard vehicle. The damage to the environment from the production of the battery alone is traumatic.
Thankfully, that’s not actually the case.
NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) is a benign substance. It can be recycled too. In fact, the guarantee for recycling is rather high, since nickel is a valuable metal. Misconceptions about rechargeable batteries stem from the obsolete NiCd (Nickel Cadmium) technology, which really was harmful.
Life-Expectancy is 10-12 years (roughly 150,000 to 200,000 miles), which is long enough to fulfill the needs of most owners.
Warranty is 8 years / 100,000 miles. So if replacement really is necessary beyond that time, production increases & competition should help to reduce the cost. Continued technology improvements in energy density could too. Additionally, the salvage market has already begun to emerge, allowing you to purchase a used battery-pack (or just some modules) recovered from a vehicle destroyed by an accident. The cost of replacement batteries is just under $4000.
I was told that the battery manufacturing itself is a very dirty process. Very anti environmentally friendly.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
And the same with the lithium ion batteries, which will likely be the new storage source.
“Lithium Ion batteries are classified by the federal government as non-hazardous waste and are safe for disposal in the normal municipal waste stream. These batteries, however, do contain recyclable materials and are accepted for recycling by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation’s (RBRC) Battery Recycling Program.”
This environmental consumer movement is going to cost us...
One must take this into consideration when purchasing a used hybred vehicle, and for the owner when selling his (unwanted) hybred vehicle.
Its ecological advantage has already disappeared.
Ain’t no “free lunch.”
There are reports that the site around the battery manufacturing facility (in Ontario as I recall) is SO polluted and barren that NASA used the place to test the lunar rover.
Wonder what price we’ll all ultimately pay for concentrating toxins in those locations as opposed to spreading it over the globe, where, because of smaller levels, nature can better deal with it.
I’m sure the goofballs in Cahlifonia LOVE that THEIR trash is piling up in Ontario or Pittsburgh or Cleveland as it lets THEM feel good that they’re saving the earth — except for THOSE already dirty, faraway places.
LOL, I think you mean Moore's Law. But I agree with you.
Murphy’s Law says your battery pack will fail days after your warranty expired, and it will be in the middle of the night, miles from nowhere.
And O'Leary's corollary further states that it will be raining, your cell phone will have just died, you forgot your raincoat and you were already running late......O'Leary, you see, was an optimist......
Hybrids may, or they may not, become better and cheaper over the next few years. However, I would certainly not cite Mruphy's Law as a governing rule for hybrids. Murphy's law has prevailed with electric vehicles for at least a century.
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