Honda Motor is staying out of the race to develop ultra-cheap cars, hoping motorists in fast-growing markets like India will pay more for safer, greener vehicles, its president said yesterday.
India's Tata last month unveiled a US$2,500 car, the world's cheapest, which is set to hit the roads there by October. French-Japanese partners Renault and Nissan aim to launch a similarly priced vehicle by 2010.
"Honda will not make cars at such a low price," said Takeo Fukui, president and CEO of Japan's second-largest automaker.
He said he didn't think the firm's "Indian customers buy cars that are cheaper but at the same time poor in quality."
"Whether it is the Indian market or the Chinese market, I believe that state-of-the-art safety and environmentally friendly technologies are necessary for our products," he said.
Tata says its new "Nano" cars are safe, affordable and meet emission requirements in India and abroad. But environmentalists fear they will jam up India's already clogged roads even further and add to choking pollution.
Analysts said the era of ultra-cheap cars will spur the creation of a vast new market segment in India, a nation of 1.1 billion people, where the auto sector is already booming amid rapid economic growth.
"In India, there will be competition between motorcycles and four-wheel vehicles, because India is a hot country and motorcycles don't need to use air-conditioners," Fukui said.
"As for four-wheel vehicles, the battle will be tough," he said.
Honda, a pioneer of environmentally friendly motoring, sees hybrid vehicles accounting for one-tenth of its global sales by 2010.
"Demand for fuel-efficient cars is likely to grow," Fukui said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
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