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Honda Plans to Begin Sales of Electric Scooter in December

Honda developed the EV-neo, an electric scooter designed to provide the durability necessary for business use, envisioning a wide range of uses by businesses such as delivery services. Equipped with a lithium-ion battery and a brushless motor, EV-neo realizes excellent environmental performance with zero CO2 emissions in use. The battery is rechargeable using a household power source with attention given to the range per charge. Moreover, EV-neo provides performance equivalent to that of mass-market under-50cc gasoline engine motorcycles realizing a powerful ride even with cargo by leveraging the characteristics of a high-torque motor even at a low speed ride.

Under the key words of "quiet and clean" Honda held the world premier exhibition of the EV-neo concept model (under the name EVE-neo) at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show in 2009 as one of Honda’s new-generation personal mobility products which will contribute to the realization of a low-carbon society while transporting people and cargo. The mass-market model of EV-neo is currently under development.

Honda will continue providing products with excellent environmental performance to more customers in order to contribute to global CO2 emission reduction efforts.

Key specifications of EV-neo Prototype
Dimensions (LxWxH): 1,820 x 693 x 1,066 (mm)
Range: Over 30km (at 30km/h on a flat road) per charge
Battery type/make: Lithium-ion battery manufactured by Toshiba
Charge performance With quick charger: Approximately 80% of the battery
capacity will be charged in 20 minutes
(200V power source)
With regular charger: 100% of the battery capacity will be charged in approximately 4 hours (100V power source)

Japan want 50% of new electric vehicles by 2020

Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry has announced a strategy that calls for boosting electric vehicles’ share of domestic new car sales to as high as 50 percent by 2020. The ministry also aims to install 2 million chargers in ordinary households for electric cars.

As measures to help achieve the targets, it intends to consider offering support, including tax breaks and subsidies for people who buy such electric vehicles. In the strategy unveiled Monday, the ministry said prices of lithium ion batteries used in next-generation electric vehicles should be reduced to one-seventh of 2006 prices by 2015, and to one-fortieth by 2030.

It also referred to a need to secure rare metals used for batteries and to develop infrastructure such as by building facilities where drivers can recharge their electric vehicles. The ministry believes the widespread use of next-generation electric vehicles will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the global competitiveness of domestic automakers.

The Japanese government is expected to incorporate this next-generation car strategy into its economic growth plan, which will be unveiled in June. The ministry’s strategy sets making Japan a global base for developing and producing next-generation vehicles as its overall goal. It also sets a target to raise the proportion of next-generation vehicles to up to 70 percent of new cars sold in Japan by 2030.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (TSE:7267/NYSE:HMC/LSE:HNDA.L) is one of the leading manufacturers of automobiles and power products and the largest manufacture of motorcycles in the world. Honda has always sought to provide genuine satisfaction to people worldwide. The result is more than 120 manufacturing facilities in 30 countries worldwide, producing a wide range of products, including motorcycles, ATVs, generators, marine engines, lawn and garden equipment and automobiles that bring the company into contact with over 19 million customers annually. 

http://world.honda.com