Volkswagen AG will join forces with Japan’s Sanyo Electric to develop a lithium-ion battery, a key component of hybrid and electric cars, the Nikkei Shimbun reported yesterday.
The German automaker hopes to start importing the battery for use by 2012, the newspaper said, citing company sources.
By working with Sanyo, Volkswagen hopes to catch up with rivals in eco-friendly vehicles, the newspaper said.
Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in personal computers and mobile phones, and Sanyo has the largest global market share for them.
Toyota, which has enjoyed enormous success with its Prius hybrid model, has worked with Matsushita Electric Industrial, known for its Panasonic brand, to start mass-production of a lithium-ion battery for use in Toyota’s hybrid models by 2010, the Nikkei said.
Nissan Motor Co and Japanese electronics giant NEC Corp have also agreed to start mass-producing a lithium-ion battery for a more eco-friendly vehicle than is possible with nickel-hydrogen batteries, which are used widely in vehicles now, the Nikkei said.
The lithium-ion battery that Sanyo and Volkswagen will develop will be smaller than a nickel-hydrogen battery, making it possible to design lighter cars than those using conventional batteries, the paper said.
Sanyo is going through a restructuring and believes its battery business is key to its turnaround.
Sanyo is currently manufacturing nickel-hydrogen batteries that can be recharged repeatedly and supplying them to Honda Motor Co and Ford Motor Co.
Volkswagen and subsidiary Audi AG will also adopt Sanyo-made nickel-hydrogen batteries for use in the Volkswagen group’s first hybrid model, to be rolled out as early as next year, the paper said.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS