Thursday, February 2, 2012
Autoten: 2013 Toyota Corolla (JDM-Code name 140A) rendering and spyshots
As we know the Corolla is consist of Auris(Hatchback for Europe),Corolla Altis(Wider verions for North American and Asia) and Corolla Axio/Fielder that limit only in Japan.This post, Autointrends have information for JDM specification that including the sedan version-Axio, and wagon version call Fielder.both car is count as the 10th generation’s Corolla start sale since October 2006 in Japan and received latest update in April 2010.The car is soon to get replacement and Mag-x of Japan have release rendering and spyshot of the car,The Axio call codename 140A and the Fielder called 141A internally.From the rendering we have seen, the headlight look resemble of new Toyota Camry’s headlight (Asia version),Shoulder line have been keep at minimal which not wider than 1700 mm to receive cheaper yearly tax in Japan ( Called 5No.),Tail light is very close to the Chevy Sonic.
The same source also have the computer generate image of the interior console which look simple but have Inherent benefits.Featuring automatic climate control with LCD display,Wood finished,Navigation system and multifunction steering wheel.Body’s size is expect to keep around current model at about 4395 mm long X1695 mm wide and 1460 mm height.Considering the car is smaller than the international version (Altis).
The car will powered by 4 cylinder 1.3 liter,1.5 liter and 1.8 liter petrol engine.The smallest 1.3 liter is expect to be top seller as it got 20k.m./liter fuel consumption in JC08 mode.
The car will be deliver at May 2012 in Japan,As well as the Wagon version.
Admin (Image form Mag-x )
Admin (Image form Mag-x )
Source;
Honda goes the diesel route
This car and the diesel are not slated for North America....
by Kushan Mitra
There was an interesting news item in The Economic Times this morning which talked about Japanese carmaker Honda being in the advanced stages of developing a diesel motor. The carmaker recently forecast a massive drop in profits expected for the fiscal year ending March 2012 thanks to a rising yen and massive production issues caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the recent floods in Thailand. These caused Honda several headaches in India over the past year, production for their new small car the Brio had to halt a few weeks after the vehicle's launch because of a lack of parts coming from Thailand.
by Kushan MitraThere was an interesting news item in The Economic Times this morning which talked about Japanese carmaker Honda being in the advanced stages of developing a diesel motor. The carmaker recently forecast a massive drop in profits expected for the fiscal year ending March 2012 thanks to a rising yen and massive production issues caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the recent floods in Thailand. These caused Honda several headaches in India over the past year, production for their new small car the Brio had to halt a few weeks after the vehicle's launch because of a lack of parts coming from Thailand.
But Honda's fortunes in India in 2011 have not only been impacted of a lack of parts from Thailand. Honda's premium products had a significant price premium on their rivals for many years. But existing rivals, particularly Hyundai, have dramatically improved both drivability and looks in the new Verna. The entry of new rivals such as Volkswagen, particularly the new Vento, have hammered the best-selling City sedan.
How bad are things for Honda? During April to December 2011, Honda Siel cars India (HSCI) sales fell to 27,939 units from 43,838 units in the same period last year. Even if natural disasters elsewhere can explain a part of the 36 per cent decline, it cannot explain all of it. Look at the City, which for years on end was the best performing car in its class, it has been outsold 3:2 by the Hyundai Verna, despite the Korean car going through a generation change earlier in 2011. The Volkswagen Vento has also just about outsold the City, and maybe if Honda did not face supply-side issues, it would not have been pushed down to P3 in its segment.
And a lot of the sales of the City and the compact Jazz have come through generous price-cuts. The City which saw prices for the entry-level model cut twice this year, first by Rs 66,000 and then by another Rs 50,000 when a mid-generation facelift was recently launched. This has played havoc with the City's residual value, previously one of the best in the industry. The competition has not just eaten into Honda sales they have also made the Japanese carmaker pretty much admit that their cars were overpriced.
But sales are still not picking up and the problem lies not in prices but in the Indian car consumers' shift towards diesel powered cars. There has always been a price differential between petrol and diesel in India, but in 2011 when the price difference reached Rs 20 per litre and as diesel technology mproved considerably, consumers started to see reason in spending Rs 100,000 extra on a diesel variant of a car over the petrol model (at the same specification level). Driving just a 1000 kilometers a month, the average consumer would make his or her money back in 24-30 months depending on the car. With a large majority of the Verna and Vento's sales being to the diesel variant (Volkswagen is offering discounts on petrol-powered models).
So a diesel engine would make a massive difference for Honda. Despite the price-cuts the brand still holds immense value, and a iDTEC engine as speculated would offer excellent performance. Honda officials admitted to me that Honda is looking at a smaller diesel engine than the 1.6 litre engine which is soon going to be launched in Europe and a 1.2 litre engine will comfortably fit inside the engine bay of the Brio and the Jazz, with the larger 1.6 litre making it onto the City, Civic and C-RV.
But it appears Honda is aware of this, they realise that introducing a diesel in India will lead to huge demand, even if the government gives in to the environmental lobby in India and imposes a Rs 80,000 'surcharge' on diesel cars, which at best would add another year to the break-even point. Maruti and Hyundai already cannot cope with demand, there is a six-eight month waiting period for the Diesel Swift and a Diesel-powered Verna involves a four to five month wait. So will Honda invest in a forging and casting plant in India to make Diesel engines? That remains to be seen.
But even if the engines are imported, Honda officials told me that no diesel powered cars will be sold in India in 2012. But with 11 months of the year remaining and the fact that things change quickly in the automotive industry, take nothing for certain.
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Honda to spend $98 million to build CVT parts at Ohio plant
During trial production, two of Honda's advanced continuously variable transmissions undergo leak testing on the new assembly line at Honda's plant in in Russells Point, Ohio.DETROIT -- Honda today said it will invest $98 million at its Anna, Ohio, engine plant to build pulley components for the company's continuously variable transmissions.
The CVTs are part of Honda's next-generation powertrain technologies aimed at boosting performance and fuel efficiency.
Production of the pulley components in Anna is to begin in 2013.
"The production of this new CVT technology puts the Buckeye State right in the middle of Honda's global strategy," Hide Iwata, CEO of Honda of America Manufacturing, said in a statement.
The investment in the Anna plant is aligned with a $120 million investment announced last year for Honda's plant in Russells Point, Ohio, where the company will begin producing the CVT this summer.
The modernization and expansion of the Russells Point transmission plant and the new pulley component production at Anna will create a combined 150 new jobs, Honda said.
Since November 2010, Honda has announced more than $500 million in investments for advanced technologies and systems at its four Ohio plants. In January, Honda's Acura luxury brand said the all-new Acura NSX -- which debuted last month at the Detroit auto show -- will be developed in Ohio and built at a new manufacturing operation in central Ohio.
PRESS RELEASE: Honda to Invest $98 Million in Anna Engine Plant for Production of Advanced Transmission Components
Honda will build new continuously variable transmission (CVT) in Ohio;
Total recent Honda investment in Ohio operations exceeds $500 million
ANNA, Ohio, Feb. 1, 2012 – Honda announced today that it will invest $98 million at its Anna Engine Plant as part of a strategy to build the company's next-generation powertrain technologies in Ohio. The move is aligned with a $120 million investment, announced last year, for the production of a new continuously variable transmission (CVT) in nearby Russells Point, Ohio.
The Anna Engine Plant will manufacture high-tech pulley components for Honda's new CVT technology, which is part of the new Honda 'Earth Dreams' powertrain technology lineup, to be deployed for the first time in the U.S. in the all-new, more powerful and fuel-efficient 2013 Honda Accord.
Honda will produce its technically advanced CVT on a new assembly line at Honda Transmission Mfg. of America, Inc. in Russells Point. The modernization and expansion of the Russells Point transmission plant, along with the new pulley component production at the Anna plant, will create 150 new jobs.
Since November 2010, Honda has announced new investments exceeding $500 million in its two auto plants and two powertrain plants in Ohio.
"For decades, our two Ohio powertrain plants have worked together to deliver advanced products for our customers," said Hide Iwata, president and CEO, Honda of America Mfg., Inc. "The production of this new CVT technology puts the Buckeye State right in the middle of Honda's global strategy."
The new transmissions will debut in the all-new 2013 Honda Accord models that will come to market later this year. The Accord for the U.S. market is built only in Ohio at the Marysville Auto Plant.
"Applying Honda's new Earth Dreams Technologies in the production of engines and transmissions will greatly enhance the driving performance of Honda vehicles, and help us achieve fuel economy leadership in every segment over the next three years," said Iwata.
While the Anna plant prepares for its production launch, the Russells Point transmission plant will proceed with CVT production this summer. These transmissions require highly sophisticated pulley components. Initially, these components will be supplied from Honda operations in Japan, before CVT production for U.S. models is taken up by the Anna plant in 2013.
"Our associates have incredible experience and we are counting on them to help us introduce an even higher level of powertrain technology for our customers," Anna Engine Plant Manager, John Spoltman, said. "The new CVT technology will be mated with Honda's new Earth Dreams 2.4-liter direct-injection engine, which will also be produced here at the Anna Engine Plant."
Earth Dreams technology defines Honda's next-generation engine and transmission strategy to realize advanced levels of both performance and fuel efficiency. Introduction of the new CVT for mid-size cars, will improve fuel economy by approximately 10 percent compared with the current five-speed automatic transmission.
The new component production operation at Anna will utilize 84,000 square feet of plant space for lathing, heat-treating, grinding and subassembly of precision CVT pulley systems. With the capacity to manufacture 1.18 million V-6 and four-cylinder engines annually, the Anna Engine Plant is the largest automobile engine factory in Honda's global production network
At the Russells Point transmission plant, CVTs will be manufactured on a sophisticated assembly line that is being constructed as part of a $70 million, 200,000-square-foot expansion of the facility. An additional $50 million is being invested in a 75,000-square-foot expansion of the facility for additional aluminum casting operations to support the CVT assembly line.
Honda Transmission Mfg. of America currently employs 1,050 associates. In addition to automatic transmissions, the Russells Point plant also manufactures four-wheel-drive systems. Both plants manufacture the precision steel parts for engines and transmissions, and four-wheel-drive components.
Today's announcement continues a series of major initiatives by Honda in its Ohio operations. In January, the Acura luxury brand revealed that the all-new Acura NSX supercar will be developed in Ohio and built at a new manufacturing operation in central Ohio. And since November 2010, Honda has now announced more than $500 million in investments for advanced technologies and systems at it four existing Ohio plants.
Other major initiatives now under way include construction of on-site parts consolidation centers at Anna and East Liberty, a sophisticated new stamping press at the Marysville Auto Plant, and several major projects at East Liberty to expand assembly lines, implement new paint technologies and consolidate vehicle quality operations.
Source;
Monday, January 30, 2012
Honda President Ito Forecasts Year of ‘Complete Rebound'
Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co. President Takanobu Ito forecast that business results at Japan's third-biggest carmaker will climb to the highest in at least five years, led by sales of Accord sedans and Civic compacts in North America.Business results in the year ending March 2013 will recover to levels achieved before the failure of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. roiled global markets, as sales climb above 4 million vehicles for the first time, Ito said in an interview this week. Lehman filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, six months after Honda earned record annual profits.
“It will be the year of the complete rebound,” Ito said at the company's Tokyo headquarters. “Sales in North America will lead the recovery. We'll introduce a fully revamped Accord in the fall, and that will be a big plus to our sales.”
Ito's comments reflect a revival in confidence by Japanese automakers as they recover from a year plagued by natural disasters at home and in Thailand. Toyota Motor Corp., Asia's largest carmaker, said this week annual sales will be 100,000 units higher than it anticipated last month.
“Honda's targets are definitely aggressive, but the U.S. economy seems like it's going to recover to a better-than- expected level this year so it's likely for them to achieve it,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees $600 million at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. in Tokyo. “They've remodeled their best-selling cars, and we can expect strong sales in North America to help them regain market share.”
Reversal of Fortune
Honda fell 1.9 percent to close at 2,689 yen in Tokyo. It's gained 15 percent this year, the best performer among Japan's three biggest automakers. That's a reversal from 2011, when the stock's 27 percent drop made it the worst performer.
Honda's operating income, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, will probably double to 586.6 billion yen ($7.6 billion) next fiscal year after shrinking 52 percent, according to the average of 24 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Earnings reached 953.1 billion yen, 851.9 billion yen and 868.9 billion yen, respectively, in the years before Lehman's bankruptcy.
Ito, 58, is counting on the U.S. market to drive growth.
Redesigned Accord
The redesigned Accord sedan, the Civic and CR-V sport- utility vehicle will help Honda increase U.S. sales 24 percent to 1.43 million units in 2012, Ito said. Sales in the market, Honda's largest, declined 6.8 percent last year, led by a 17 percent drop in deliveries of the Accord. The Accord is Honda's best-selling U.S. model, followed by the Civic.
Ito ruled out any major overhaul of the Civic after the current version of the sedan, which failed to receive the “recommended” status its predecessors had from Consumer Reports magazine, was the best-selling model in the compact-car segment in the last three months of the year.
Honda's new models will give it an edge in the U.S. over South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co., which is producing close to full-capacity, said Kota Yuzawa, a Tokyo-based analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. That puts Honda in “good position” to regain lost market share, he said.
Honda may not be alone. Japan's three biggest carmakers are poised to gain market share this year at the expense of U.S. producers led by General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co., according to five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
‘Unstoppable' Motorization
In China, the world's largest auto market, Honda expects its sales to rise more than 20 percent to 750,000 units in 2012 after they shrank for the first time in 2011 in a slowing market, Ito said. The company plans to introduce three gas- electric hybrid models in the country this year, he said.
“China is still strong,” Ito said. “Once motorization captures a market, it's unstoppable.”
China's total vehicle sales -- including cars, trucks and buses -- grew 2.5 percent to 18.5 million units last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, trailing growth in the U.S. for the first time in at least 14 years. Honda expects the market to expand to 20 million this year, or “just above” China's economic growth, he said.
In Thailand, where the country's worst floods in almost 70 years disrupted assembly plants and supply of components in 2011, Honda plans to resume production starting in April, Ito said. Damages stemming from Thailand forced the company to scrap this fiscal year's profit forecast.
Reorganizing Factories
As part of Honda's strategy of producing cars where they are sold, the company plans to reorganize its Japanese factories so they focus on production of minicars, a growing category that makes up about 40 percent of the nation's auto demand, Ito said. Orders for the N Box minicar in Japan reached 27,000 units in its first month of sales, more than double Honda's original target.
Minicars, defined as vehicles no longer than 3.4 meters (11 feet) in length, will account for 40 percent of Honda's Japan sales, compared with 25 percent now, Ito said.
Honda joins Toyota and Nissan in reorganizing operations as the yen, which has gained against the world's 16 most-traded currencies for two straight years, erodes the value of exports. Honda plans to boost the portion of vehicles sold in the same region they're built to as high as 80 percent, Ito said. In 2010, Honda sold about two out of three Japan-built cars in the country.
Officials at Toyota and Nissan this month have also echoed plans to increase their portion of vehicles sold in the region where they're assembled.
“Minicars will be key for us in Japan in the next five years,” Ito said.
Source;
http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LYALB80UQVI901-3I262TT8I3HDDBE46BK1GAN789
Honda out to shake up market with 1st jet next year
* Honda sees minimum 25% share of small business jet market* HondaJet aims to be the Civic of small business jets -exec
* HondaJet to up ante on Cessna, Embraer
* Sees demand for small jets growing as users downsize -exec
* Wants to enter Brazil, China earlier than planned
By Chang-Ran Kim
TOKYO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co expects to grab at least a quarter of the world market for small business jets soon after delivering its first aircraft next year, achieving the company's long-standing goal of taking to the skies, an executive said.
Honda, Japan's No.3 car maker and the world's biggest manufacturer of motorcycles and engines, is in the final stages of getting its $4.5 million HondaJet certified. It aims to ramp up the pace of production to 80 a year in the first half of 2013.
Honda received more than 100 orders for the seven-seater jet in three days when it began taking orders in 2006, promising a quieter engine, 20 percent better fuel economy over competing models and operational costs of two-thirds or less.
It has not disclosed an updated number of orders, but Michimasa Fujino, a Honda executive and CEO of its North Carolina-based subsidiary, Honda Aircraft Company, said it held a backlog of about three years from orders taken through its nine dealerships in North America and Europe.
"I'm very optimistic about our prospects," Fujino, who initiated Honda's foray into aviation research in 1986, told a small group of reporters at the automaker's Tokyo headquarters on Monday.
"We're doing with HondaJet what the Civic did to American cars from the 1960s. Our competitors are still producing with technology from the 1990s," he said, referring to Textron Inc's Cessna and Brazil's Embraer SA, which now dominate the 200-a-year small business jet market.
The Civic, known for its reliability, durability and mileage, has consistently been among the United States' best-selling cars since its launch in 1973, forcing industry giants such as General Motors Co to follow suit with cars to meet the country's tighter emissions regulations.
Honda's ambition of making jets traces back to its iconic founder, Soichiro Honda. The HondaJet will make Honda the only car maker in the world to build its own aircraft.
Its engine is made by a joint venture between Honda and General Electric Co.
Honda Aircraft is aiming to turn a profit by 2018, Fujino said.
BRAZIL, CHINA CLAMOURING FOR JETS
The business jet industry is expecting a rebound in sales this year after the global economic crisis hammered sales over the past three years.
While the small business jet market has traditionally been limited to North America and Europe so far, Fujino said he was fielding about a call a week from China, both from prospective buyers and eager dealers, while interest was also greater than he anticipated in Brazil, India and the Middle East.
"Right now we want to focus on delivering on the orders that we have, but I'd like to enter Brazil and China earlier than we'd initially planned," he said, declining to specify a timeframe. New demand from emerging markets could expand the global small-jet market to about 300 a year, he said.
Fujino said he was also seeing more interest in the smallest end of the market as medium-sized jet users look to downsize to get more for their fuel, much like the trend in the car industry.
"Most of our customers are owners of small- and medium-sized businesses, and many are looking to get the most out of the jets that they need," he said.
With operational costs of about $1,000-$1,200 an hour, HondaJet could make travelling in a group of five or six cheaper and more efficient than flying commercially between small cities, he said. Competitors offer at best $1,800 by comparison, he added.
Honda Aircraft will add 300-350 factory staff to bring its total workforce to around 1,000 in the first half of 2013, Fujino said.
Source;
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/30/honda-jet-idUSL4E8CU1TM20120130
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