From the 'Writing on the Wall' Dept., this announcement today. The gradual and inevitable diversion of even more monies and resources toward fuel cell research will accelerate implementation of this technology even more quickly. Most likely, other automakers will soon follow Honda's lead:
Thursday April 29, 5:05 am Eastern Time
Honda Stops Electric Car Production
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- American Honda Motor Co. has stopped production of its EV Plus, becoming the first major automaker to give up marketing efforts for costly battery-powered electric cars, the Los Angeles Times reported today.
After spending millions to develop the battery technology, Honda is instead focusing on other low-emission technologies, the newspaper said.
''We're highly disappointed in Honda,'' said Tom Cackette, the California Air Resources Board chief deputy director. ''We are concerned that this violates their agreement with the board to continue to produce battery-electric vehicles if customer demand warrants it.''
Cackette said the board intends to investigate. Honda officials say they have fulfilled the company's obligations.
''The program has met both the letter and the spirit of the agreement,'' said spokesman Art Garner. ''Our commitment was to lease 300 electric vehicles over three years, and we've done that.''
California air-quality rules mandate that starting in 2003, up to 10 percent of all new cars sold by the top seven auto makers must be zero-emission vehicles.
Honda's decision to stop marketing the battery-powered cars ''sends a lot of signals,'' said Thad Malesh, alternate-fuel specialist at J.D. Power & Associates.
''They're certainly being more honest than anyone else about electrics,'' he said. ''These vehicles are just not acceptable to consumers.''
Few electric vehicles can travel more than 75 miles before needing to be recharged. A battery pack adds hundreds of pounds to a car and costs thousands of dollars to replace. Costs to lease the EVs are high -- the average lease is about $450 a month.
Toyota, General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChysler and Nissan all say they will continue to produce battery-powered cars and will also continue to develop other low-emission technologies. |
