AUTOSHOW-Nissan hybrids to be mounted first on Infiniti
By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia auto correspondent
DETROIT, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co's (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) proprietary hybrid system will be mounted mainly on its high-end Infiniti and other pricier rear-wheel-drive cars to make the gasoline-electric vehicles a profitable business, the automaker's R&D chief said on Sunday.
Japan's third-biggest carmaker has promised a hybrid car using its own technology by 2010, after introducing its first and only gasoline-electric car through the Altima sedan in the United States using rival Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) system.
"It's easier to absorb the cost of the system with more expensive cars," Executive Vice President Mitsuhiko Yamashita told Reuters in an interview at the North American International Auto Show.
He added that fuel economy improvements from a hybridised rear-wheel-drive car would be pronounced because those cars generally get worse mileage than front-wheel-drive cars.
Nissan's strategy stands in contrast to the direction taken by Toyota and Honda Motor Co (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the industry's two hybrid leaders. Both have said they plan to slash the cost of the hybrid system in the next year or two to spread it across mass-market models. Honda CEO Takeo Fukui said earlier he expected its hybrid cars introduced from 2009 to be almost as profitable as its conventional gasoline cars.
Yamashita said Nissan's hybrid system would not be a good match for smaller cars, at least at the initial stage, because of its high cost. For smaller vehicles, Nissan would lean towards pure electric vehicles that would be driven short distances in cities, he said.
Nissan is trying to take advantage of its close alliance with France's Renault SA (RENA.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to catch up with Toyota and Honda in next-generation vehicle technology after having skimped on R&D spending in the 1990s as it flirted with bankruptcy.
It is also working on introducing clean-diesel cars, for which development is being by Renault. Yamashita said Nissan will offer the diesel alternative on bigger cars that travel long distances in the United States.
At the other end of the price spectrum, Nissan is also studying whether to go ahead with development of a $3,000 car with Renault and Indian motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto (BJAT.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) following Tata Motors Ltd's (TAMO.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (TTM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) lead.
In contrast to some views, Yamashita said a $3,000 vehicle would be an environmentally sound car that outperforms the three-wheeler vehicles sold in many Asian countries, and an effective way to fight global warming.
"A small car with no frills like that has a very low level of carbon dioxide emissions," he said. "If we use our technology, we could probably make a better quality car than (Tata's Nano car)."
Carlos Tavares, Nissan's executive vice president in charge of corporate planning, told Reuters separately that a feasibility study on the $3,000 car would likely be completed in the next couple of months, adding that the enthusiastic reception of Tata's Nano at the Delhi Auto Show last week was an encouraging sign for its own ultra-low-cost model.
DETROIT, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co's (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) proprietary hybrid system will be mounted mainly on its high-end Infiniti and other pricier rear-wheel-drive cars to make the gasoline-electric vehicles a profitable business, the automaker's R&D chief said on Sunday.
Japan's third-biggest carmaker has promised a hybrid car using its own technology by 2010, after introducing its first and only gasoline-electric car through the Altima sedan in the United States using rival Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) system.
"It's easier to absorb the cost of the system with more expensive cars," Executive Vice President Mitsuhiko Yamashita told Reuters in an interview at the North American International Auto Show.
He added that fuel economy improvements from a hybridised rear-wheel-drive car would be pronounced because those cars generally get worse mileage than front-wheel-drive cars.
Nissan's strategy stands in contrast to the direction taken by Toyota and Honda Motor Co (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the industry's two hybrid leaders. Both have said they plan to slash the cost of the hybrid system in the next year or two to spread it across mass-market models. Honda CEO Takeo Fukui said earlier he expected its hybrid cars introduced from 2009 to be almost as profitable as its conventional gasoline cars.
Yamashita said Nissan's hybrid system would not be a good match for smaller cars, at least at the initial stage, because of its high cost. For smaller vehicles, Nissan would lean towards pure electric vehicles that would be driven short distances in cities, he said.
Nissan is trying to take advantage of its close alliance with France's Renault SA (RENA.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to catch up with Toyota and Honda in next-generation vehicle technology after having skimped on R&D spending in the 1990s as it flirted with bankruptcy.
It is also working on introducing clean-diesel cars, for which development is being by Renault. Yamashita said Nissan will offer the diesel alternative on bigger cars that travel long distances in the United States.
At the other end of the price spectrum, Nissan is also studying whether to go ahead with development of a $3,000 car with Renault and Indian motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto (BJAT.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) following Tata Motors Ltd's (TAMO.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (TTM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) lead.
In contrast to some views, Yamashita said a $3,000 vehicle would be an environmentally sound car that outperforms the three-wheeler vehicles sold in many Asian countries, and an effective way to fight global warming.
"A small car with no frills like that has a very low level of carbon dioxide emissions," he said. "If we use our technology, we could probably make a better quality car than (Tata's Nano car)."
Carlos Tavares, Nissan's executive vice president in charge of corporate planning, told Reuters separately that a feasibility study on the $3,000 car would likely be completed in the next couple of months, adding that the enthusiastic reception of Tata's Nano at the Delhi Auto Show last week was an encouraging sign for its own ultra-low-cost model.
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
Cash injection
Palin power abuse scandal
