Nissan Motor Co will offer a luxury gas-electric hybrid for the US and Japanese markets next year, Japan’s top business daily reported yesterday, as competition intensifies in the green technology.
Nissan’s Tokyo headquarters were closed for the weekend.
Automakers are generally tightlipped about specific product plans, but Nissan has already shown prototypes of their hybrid models.
Nissan has fallen behind Japanese rivals Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co in developing its own hybrids but has made no secret of its ambitions to play aggressive catchup.
It now buys hybrid systems from Toyota for the Nissan Altima hybrid, but is promising a vehicle packed with Nissan’s own hybrid system by next year.
BATTERY
Nissan is developing a different kind of battery for hybrids from those used by Toyota and Honda.
Nissan officials say their battery is better at providing quicker and more power.
The Nikkei Shimbun, which did not cite sourcing, said Nissan’s hybrid system will be offered for the luxury Infiniti M, sold as the Fuga in Japan.
Nissan plans to expand hybrid offerings to other luxury models and sports cars, the report said.
Nissan officials have said the country’s third-biggest automaker is working on a bigger hybrid system than Toyota’s popular Prius, the global top-seller among hybrids, and will make hybrid sports cars and luxury models.
Among luxury cars, Toyota already offers various Lexus hybrids, while German automakers Daimler AG and BMW AG are planning hybrids.
COMPETITION
In recent months, competition among lower-end hybrids has heated up with a major challenge to the Prius’ dominance from Honda’s hit Insight.
Hybrids deliver better mileage and reduce global warming gas emissions, compared with ordinary cars, because hybrids switch between a gasoline engine and an electric motor to deliver gas-sipping efficiency.
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
South Korea yesterday said that it was removing loudspeakers used to blare K-pop and news reports to North Korea, as the new administration in Seoul tries to ease tensions with its bellicose neighbor. The nations, still technically at war, had already halted propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarized zone, Seoul’s military said in June after the election of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. It said in June that Pyongyang stopped transmitting bizarre, unsettling noises along the border that had become a major nuisance for South Korean residents, a day after South Korea’s loudspeakers fell silent. “Starting today, the military has begun removing the loudspeakers,”
RSS