Blog #6 "Carmakers Find Ways to Make Cheaper Hybrids"

This article focuses on the future of hybrid cars in the world and its effect as more automakers try to find other ways to make these hybrid cars affordable. An automaker like Toyota has planned to increase its hybrid vehicles more than what it makes now by the year 2015. The majority of these automakers are trying to gain attention and allow consumers to afford them. As a result, most of the automakers are trying to find alternatives to make these hybrid cars more cheaper and compete with the conventional cars that are on the road that use gasoline fuels. As much as these car makers are trying to make the cars of the future there is a gap between the hybrid vehicles compared to the regular conventional cars that are on the road today. The only way the majority of consumers will be able to buy these vehicles is only if they are on a similar price range compared to the much conventional vehicles on the road.

The approach most of the automakers are taking is a decision that will either benefit these automakers as they try to make the components of the hybrid cars with less expensive parts and use lithium batteries or use cheaper power transistors in the electronics that control the hybrid system. Automaker like Toyota has decided to The Nickel-Metal Hydride battery which is a rechargeable power source that is increasingly used in portable computers and other devices and was used with the Toyota hybrid vehicles. another problem most of the automakers face with making these vehicles is the rare capability of finding rare earth metals that are used in making the electric vehicles in "conjunction with its fuel efficient gasoline engines." only time will tell as how these decision will impact the majority of the big car-makers like Toyota, GM, and Ford. As the statistics show the combined sales of all electric-drive vehicles, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery-only autos, expanded 135 percent to 42,314 last month, based on data compiled by Bloomberg. Deliveries for the segment were 371,896 through September, up 96 percent from a year ago.


 http://www.technologyreview.com/news/429266/carmakers-find-ways-to-make-cheaper-hybrids/

 http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-02/gm-volt-toyota-plug-in-prius-buoy-u-dot-s-dot-rechargeable-car-sales