plus 1, Toshiba sets up new SCiB battery plant in Japan - Electronic Engineering Times

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Toshiba sets up new SCiB battery plant in Japan - Electronic Engineering Times Posted: 01 Nov 2009 08:33 AM PST Anticipation strong future demand, Toshiba Corp. will construct a second dedicated production facility for its safe, long-life, rapid-charge SCiB battery, in the Kashiwazaki Frontier Park, in Kashiwazaki city, Niigata prefecture. The market for Li-ion batteries is expected to see significant demand growth, and to account for a growing share of a Li-ion battery market scale that is expected to reach sales of approximately 2 trillion yen ($21.9 billion) worldwide in fiscal year 2015. Toshiba anticipates strong demand for SCiB, primarily for application in battery-powered electric vehicles (EV), in a range extending from motorcycles to forklifts through to cars, and has decided to establish a second production facility for SCiB. Toshiba selected Kashiwazaki because of the city's commitment to realizing a low-carbon society by promoting EV and attracting EV-related businesses. The city is recognized as a model area for the "EV and plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV) town," promoted by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in order to encourage adoption of EV and PHV. The prefecture and city's subsidy program also influenced Toshiba in selecting the site. The total investment in construction and installation of manufacturing equipment will be in the region of 25 billion yen ($273.7 million), and the new facility will have a floor area be approximately 33,000m². Construction is scheduled to start in April 2010, with a completion date of October 2010. In spring 2011, the plant will start to produce SCiB cells and modules for application in battery-powered EV. The initial capacity of 500,000 cells a month is expected to rise when the automotive application market takes off in fiscal year 2011, allowing the plant to achieve significant cost reductions through mass production. SCiB is Toshiba's breakthrough rechargeable battery that offers excellent safety, long-life and rapid charge. Toshiba positions the SCiB as a new business with promising long-term growth potential. The company currently produces SCiB for industrial applications at Saku Operations in Nagano prefecture. Establishing a new production facility site will support an operating structure that allows timely responses to increasing demand from the new market for battery-powered EV and also for the power storage market that will accompany the coming transition to smart grids. The company aims to achieve net sales of 200 billion yen from the SCiB business by fiscal year 2015. This content has passed through fivefilters.org.

Nissan calls Leaf name a 'minor miracle' - Korea Herald Posted: 01 Nov 2009 08:26 AM PST After Nissan Motor Co. tackled technical restrictions on its first electric car involving range, battery life and temperature fluctuations, it still had to come up with a name. Choosing "Leaf" wasn't easy. Before settling on names for new models the carmaker consults lawyers in as many as 200 countries or territories, including the Canary Islands, to make sure candidates aren't trademarked or considered offensive in local languages. "It was a minor miracle that the name was cleared," said Kozue Nakayama, Nissan's head of brand management. "We go through a vetting process to avoid words that have negative connotations or links to sex and violence." When carmakers come up with a possible hit name, they often trademark it regardless of whether an applicable model is in the works. Nissan has spent more than 500 billion yen ($5.5 billion) developing electric cars to compete with Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius and Honda Motor Co.'s Insight hybrids. The Yokohama-based automaker also had to consider the more than 1,000 team members who have been involved in the project and wanted a say, according to Nakayama. At Nissan's annual shareholders meeting in June, chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn was pressed to explain why no name had been announced yet. "When you name a child, isn't it often the case that in addition to the parents, the grandparents also weigh in?" Ghosn said at the meeting, according to Nakayama. "Please understand that there are so many of us with strong feelings." "Leaf" was chosen since a plant, which converts carbon dioxide into oxygen during photosynthesis, is the "ultimate energy source" and is easily understood across cultures, Nakayama said. Some names can have unintended connotations. When Volkswagen AG called its first luxury car bearing the company's brand "Phaeton" after the son of Helios, the Greek sun god, analysts pointed out that in mythology, the boy was killed for driving his father's chariot too close to the earth. The model subsequently failed to meet sales forecasts. Nissan drew from its own "piggy bank" of names in rechristening its Qashqai sport-utility vehicle "Dualis" for the Japan market, when the model went on sale in May 2007, Nakayama said. Qashqai, which refers to a tribe of people in Iran, can be mistaken for the question "Is it cash?" in Japanese and is difficult to pronounce, she said. When Honda renamed the Fit compact for markets outside Japan in 2002, it decided on "Jazz," which was originally trademarked in 1986 for possible use for a 50cc motorcycle, according to the company. "Japanese model names have often been amusing to non- Japanese," said Ashvin Chotai, managing director of Intelligence Automotive Asia, citing names such as Daihatsu Motor Co.'s "Naked" minicar, Mazda Motor Corp.'s "Bongo Friendee" van and Isuzu Motors Ltd.'s "Big Horn" sport-utility vehicle. Trademarks explain why many car names contain X's, Z's and acronyms, as most everyday words are already reserved, Nissan's Nakayama said. The Leaf is powered by lithium-ion batteries and has a range of 100 miles on a full charge. It will go on sale in Japan, Europe and the U.S. next year, according to Nissan. The carmaker expects at least 20,000 U.S. orders for the model by the time deliveries begin by the end of 2010. "Nissan is staking its future on the Leaf, and its name must match up with consumers' needs and their subconscious," said Tatsuya Mizuno, director of Mizuno Credit Advisory in Tokyo. In addition to Toyota and Honda's hybrids, it will compete against General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet Volt, which will debut by late 2010. Stricter emissions regulations are spurring introductions of electric cars. Starting with 2012 models, California state law requires 3 percent of vehicles sold over a three-year period to be so-called "zero-emission vehicles." Sometimes, top executives get directly involved in the naming process. That was the case with Toyota's new Lexus LFA, a $375,000 "supercar" unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show last week. LFA stands for Lexus F-series Apex, with the F referring to the Fuji Speedway racetrack. That F was suggested by Toyota's President Akio Toyoda, a racing fan, during his days as executive vice president, according to the company. Suzuki Motor Corp.'s Chairman Osamu Suzuki played a role in naming the WagonR, the company's first wagon-style vehicle, which was first sold in 1993 and ranked as Japan's best-selling car last year. "R" is pronounced "AH-ru" in Japanese, which sounds like the word for "we have." "Suzuki has sedans. We have sedans, but we now also have wagons, so I thought we could just call it WagonR," Suzuki wrote in his 2009 autobiography. Hamamatsu, Japan-based Suzuki now plans to enter the mid- size sedan market in the U.S. with its "Kizashi" model. The name means "good omen," which the company hopes the new challenge will be for Suzuki, spokesman Takuma Mizuyoshi said. "Names don't make or break a car's success," analyst Mizuno said. "But they can certainly symbolize a company's risk-taking attitude." (Bloomberg) 2009.11.02 This content has passed through fivefilters.org. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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