Friday October 07, 2005

GM sells assets to Toyota

peakoil.com -> bloomberg.com :

General Motors Corp. agreed to sell its holdings in Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. to Toyota for about $740 million, or less than half their value on GM's books, as it struggles with rising losses. The Fuji stake had been valued at $1.5 billion, the automaker said. "It's surprising how fast GM is selling off the family silver," said Graeme Maxton, a director of the Economist Intelligence Unit in Hong Kong. "It rings alarm bells."

A stake in Fuji Heavy will give Toyota access to the company's technology for batteries which can be used in hybrid gasoline-electric cars. Hybrids such as Toyota's Prius and Honda's Civic are equipped with nickel hydride batteries made by Panasonic EV Energy Co. Fuji Heavy's Chief Executive Officer Kyoji Takenaka has said his company's manganese lithium-ion batteries last longer than Panasonic's nickel hydride batteries and handle temperature extremes better.

- Will the next-generation Prius be running on lithium-ion batteries? Now that would be interesting. As we all know, mobile phones have long ago switched from Ni-Mh to Li-Ion, perhaps hybrids will also be undergoing a similar transition in the future. The factors holding this back have been issues like cost and recharge cycles.

See also :

1. Ford, GM SUV sales nosedive
2. American automakers shift from bad to worse
3. GM to cut 25000 jobs in U.S. by 2008
4. GM, Ford debt cut to junk status

(2005-10-07 08:31:43 SGT) [Biz] Permalink

Most popular blog postings on lowem.log :

1. 2010 Nissan Leaf electric car specifications : 107hp, 24KWh lithium-ion batteries, 100-mile range
2. 2010 Honda CR-Z hybrid, 2010 Honda Fit/Jazz hybrid models confirmed
3. 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid preliminary specifications released
4. Singapore SIBOR rate falls to 0.69% in Jan 2009, lowest since Apr 2004
5. How to insert currency exchange rates into Google Spreadsheets
6. Singapore : Nuclear power not ruled out
7. Live spot gold price quotes chart on COMEX
8. 2010 Toyota Prius specifications released : 50 mpg, 1.8L, 134hp, Ni-MH, solar roof option

Featured articles on lowem.log :

1. 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid preliminary specifications released
2. 2010 Honda CR-Z hybrid, 2010 Honda Fit/Jazz hybrid models confirmed
3. 2010 Toyota Prius specifications released : 50 mpg, 1.8L, 134hp, Ni-MH, solar roof option
4. Honda, GS Yuasa JV to make lithium-ion batteries for 2010/2011 Honda Civic Hybrid
5. New efficient nanotech materials may boost enhanced geothermal power systems
6. NYMEX crude oil recovers from $32.40 low after 2.2 mbpd OPEC production cut announced
7. Singapore property market recovery seen as private home sales surge 52% in Jul 2009
8. Singapore SIBOR rate falls to 0.69% in Jan 2009, lowest since Apr 2004