Honda, GM close to eco-car tie-up

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Co. have entered final negotiations to form a comprehensive partnership for the development of ecologically friendly cars, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

Currently, the two auto companies are jointly developing only fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), but they aim to expand their cooperation into the field of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs), which are seen as the mainstream of next-generation eco-cars.

The companies also plan to make the sales prices of their eco-cars lower than those developed independently, by jointly procuring auto parts. The Honda-GM partnership would intensify competition in the development of eco-cars with other automakers, including Toyota Motor Corp.

A PHV is equipped with a fuel engine and an electric motor, and runs about 50 kilometers with the motor only. When the battery is about to run out, the vehicle switches its power source to the engine. The battery can be recharged with an electric source at home.

Hybrid vehicles (HVs) also use an engine and a motor, but the motor is used only at low speeds and is not designed to be used alone for traveling long distances.

PHVs have a longer travel distance than electric vehicles (EVs). They also emit less CO₂ than hybrid vehicles. Regulations to protect the environment will become stricter from 2017 in the United States, the industry’s major market, and automakers have focused their efforts on PHV development.

Honda and GM are mulling cooperation in the development of a driving system for PHVs, and in the procurement of batteries and other auto parts.The companies believe their tie-up can shorten the development period and enhance their advantage in price negotiations with auto parts makers by boosting the volume of their procurement. 

The two companies are considering the joint manufacture of PHVs and FCVs as well, in addition to their development.

Honda was originally planning to release PHVs on its own in the United States in 2018. With the partnership, the company aims to add GM’s know-how regarding PHV development to its own eco-cars, because GM is said to be more advanced in the field.

GM, on the other hand, apparently expects to gain a competitive advantage over Toyota and other automakers. Honda and GM also plan to form a partnership over the development of technology for automated driving.

Developing environment-friendly technology is very expensive, which has boosted the number of partnerships among automakers aimed at cutting costs — such as Toyota joining hands with Mazda Motor Corp. for eco-car development. Expansion of the Honda-GM partnership is likely to prompt similar moves in the future.

Emission-free EVs and FCVs are the leading vehicles in the current development of eco-cars. However, problems with traveling distances and sales prices have prevented the popularization of EVs and FCVs. That is why PHVs are seen as a bridge until the full development of EVs and FCVs.

In Japan, HVs are the most popular type of eco-cars. In a large U.S. state such as California, which has a population of nearly 40 million, the state government requires leading auto companies, which sell many vehicles, to sell eco-cars as a certain percentage of their sales.

From 2017, the regulations concerned will become stricter, as HVs will be excluded from the eco-car category. Each car company is therefore putting effort into PHV development.

Environmental regulations in the United States have taken the lead in the world. Similar regulations are highly likely to be applied in China and Europe.

The International Energy Agency estimates that PHVs’ percentage of new car sales worldwide will rise from 5 percent in 2020 to 35 percent in 2050, and PHVs will become the highest-selling models in the future.

Source;
http://www.the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002660821