We have previously reported how Honda CEO Takeo Fukui did not believe the idea of a rage-extended electric car made sense.
Now, according to the AFP, he has gone so far as to say that he “saw no value in developing plug-in hybrid vehicles”.
It seems Honda is interested in petroleum displacement as they have begun leasing a new hydrogen fuel cell vehicle dubbed the FCX Clarity.
But why such blurred vision about plugging in?
Source (AFP)
Thanks to Kent Beuchert for the tip!
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 19th, 2007 at 10:53 am and is filed under Competitors, Hybrid, PHEV. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Dec 19th, 2007 (12:27 pm)FTA: “I do not understand why people see value in plug-in (hybrids),” he said. “I cannot understand the rational for (developing) plug-ins.”
Wow, talk about a CEO that lacks vision and a company that is setting itself up for failure.
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Dec 19th, 2007 (12:38 pm)I think that unfortunately for him and Honda, he’s missing out on an opportunity.
Electric cars “make sense” to the general public, and in return will sell really well.
I’m excited to buy some more GM stock, because it’s relatively cheap now, and I see it going up within the next 10 years.
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Dec 19th, 2007 (1:10 pm)Could it be say one thing and doing the other…..?
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Dec 19th, 2007 (1:31 pm)I think they are putting all their eggs in the hydrogen basket, and it’s a mistake. I think in the future it will become apparent that batteries an/or capacitors are a much better way of carrying energy than hydrogen.
Luckily for Honda, the powertrain of a hydrogen vehicle is nearly identical to that of a PHEV or BEV. Swap out the fuel cell for a range extender or battery pack/capacitor bank and change up some software, tweak the hardware design, and there you have it. But they will still be behind GM and others if they are focusing only on hydrogen.
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Dec 19th, 2007 (1:44 pm)I think the issue is how Honda sees its self. I was talking to a Honda rep a year ago, asking about the future of the Insight since I have one. I wanted to know if they would make a EV only model. They said they see them their focus as an Engine maker first. They take great pride in how reliable their engines are and Cars are just a means to sell engines. Electric motors, to them aren’t worth the time.
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Dec 19th, 2007 (1:50 pm)I don’t know where Kent got that quote, but the news that I read today paints a different picture:
http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/19/news/international/honda_hybrids.ap/index.htm
The article is about Honda rolling out a new hybrid in ‘09, and includes the quote, “‘The competition in hybrids has just begun,’ Fukui said at a year-end speech at a Tokyo hotel.”
So, Honda is simply taking a stance that their focus on EVs will be powering them with hydrogen, so there will be no need to plug them in. (You simply need a massive new infrastructure.)
Before I get comments about this and the FCX not being “hybrids”, I am just using the language of the article. I have always considered fuel cells an alternate BEV.
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Dec 19th, 2007 (2:32 pm)The key thing is price and power. If you can make a rather cheap fuel cell with lots of power, then there might be a future.
The cell they make is 100kW for 67kg. That is very good.
But what about the price? They don’t give any hints. Is the platinum still in?
Fuel cells can’t compete on efficiency, so, they should compete on price.
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Dec 19th, 2007 (3:00 pm)Here may be another reason plug-ins don’t make as much sense to the Japanese:
“In the U.S., however, electricity is cheap by world standards. For instance, Maycock notes that the retail cost of electricity usually runs around 8.5 cents per kWh in the U.S. versus Japan’s 22 cents per kWh.”
Source is from 2004 so it is a bit dated:
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/8225/print/8225solarenergy.html
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Dec 19th, 2007 (3:39 pm)Things change, and if nothing else, Honda can change its mind as new details about the future vehicle market and technology come to light. Maybe Japan will end up being the first major industrialized nation to make full use of renewable power, especially geothermal, along with wind and tide, and will come to have an extremely cheap electricity market. If that happens, considering the oil-poor nature of Japan, the government may mandate plug-in hybrids and EVs as a matter of national security. Hydrogen is never the prime choice for anyone nation with a cost-effective alternative. It is about a third of the efficiency of batteries when using electrolysis, and is only cost effective to produce if made from fossil or bio- fuels. And then the cost of creating new infrastructure is a major concern. But regardless, nothing prevents anyone from having plug-in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. The Shanghai Volt concept is the prime example of that.
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Dec 19th, 2007 (4:22 pm)Typo alert: “rage-extended electric” -> range-extended.
death to oil http://www.oiljihad.org
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Dec 20th, 2007 (7:38 am)If he can’t understand the allure of plug-in hybrids, then he is out of touch with the times and should resign. It may not make business sense. But that is very different from understanding. I think some younger blood is needed at Honda.
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Dec 20th, 2007 (11:40 am)Honda’s position is that inexpensive, non-range-specific, and profitable hybrids make more sense than expensive, range-specific, and loss-leading cars like the Volt.
Honda was the only major automaker that I am aware of that didn’t lobby the US government against the latest CAFE increases (GM and Toyota did). Therefore I don’t question Honda’s continued commitment to the environment. Nor do I question their devotion to engineering or their vision of the future.
If they don’t see the value then there is a chance that the value simply isn’t there. Time will tell.
Here is the complete story:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/318222/1/.html
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Dec 20th, 2007 (6:45 pm)I take this guy very seriously. His cars have a terrific track record.
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Dec 20th, 2007 (8:34 pm)# RB Says:
December 20th, 2007 at 6:45 pm Quote
I take this guy very seriously. His cars have a terrific track record.
*** ****
Things change, as so do the times.
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Mar 11th, 2008 (11:46 am)Given the huge success of hybrids like the Prius, in a way I’m glad to see Honda taking a different route. Time will tell if cars like the Clarity will pan out as a viable alternative to other hybrids.
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Mar 16th, 2008 (7:23 am)At $600 /month just how many takers do you think they will have? And if H gets cheap, then what? Will Honda yank them away from leasers the way GM did with the EV1? Lawyers, politicans, bankers, and car salesmen, They’re all crooks and liars.
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