A stronger Japanese yen against the dollar may prompt Honda Motor (HMC) to shift production of its Fit model from Japan to the U.S. This is mainly because Fit is one of the Honda’s models that attracted attention in the U.S. but are imported from Japan. However, the strengthening of yen against dollar to around 90 is narrowing down the company’s revenues in Japan upon translation.  So far, Honda has focused on regional manufacturing strategy for its vehicles. The company produces about 80% of all the vehicles sold in the U.S. However, the 5-door hatchback Fit – introduced in Japan in 2001 and launched in the U.S. market in 2006 – is manufactured at a facility outside Tokyo.  The model gained huge importance in the U.S. due to its fuel-efficiency (30 mpg). For the first nine months of the year, Fit sales in the U.S. were ...

Toyota Motor (TM) seems to be regaining consumer confidence in the U.S. at a fast pace. The company has rolled out a plan to spend $1 billion on a marketing campaign to boost its U.S. sales in the fourth quarter. The marketing outlay is 30% to 40% higher than the company typically spends in any quarter. Besides the huge marketing campaign, Toyota will also expand its line of gas-electric hybrid models under the widely popular compact Prius. The company is also looking forward to offer hybrid models both larger and smaller than Prius. Toyota has been battered financially by the economic crisis. The company posted its first annual loss (¥437 billion or $4.4 billion) since 1950 for the fiscal year ended March 2009. Further, management has recently projected net loss to worsen to ¥550 billion ($5.5 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2010. However, ...

The bankruptcies of Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GRM) provided Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE ADR: TM) with an unparalleled opportunity to increase U.S. market share. But now patent-infringement claims could result in a U.S. import ban on some of the company’s most popular hybrid cars.

McLean, Virginia-based Paice LLC has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that claims the Toyota Camry infringes on its patents, Bloomberg News reported. An investigation into the claim could be completed within 15 months and result in a ban of some Toyota imports.

Paice, a developer of hybrid electric power train technology, in 2005 won a similar case against Toyota involving the Japanese carmaker’s Prius, Highlander and Lexus RX400h hybrid models. Paice claimed those vehicles used its drivetrain technologies, and a jury agreed, awarding the company $4.3 million

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Toyota Motor (TM) has released its plan to raise production in the U.S. for its pickup trucks as well as fuel-efficient cars by the end of 2009. A recovery in the housing sector and an immense demand generated by the Cash for Clunkers program are the key factors behind the increase in production. Toyota ’s full-sized pickup truck Tundra and mid-sized pickup truck Tacoma saw excellent sales in August. Tundra had its best monthly sales of the year at 7,872 units. Meanwhile, Tacoma sales were up 5% year-over-year to 12,547 units. The increase suggested an improvement in housing demand, as pickups are essentials in the construction industry. Toyota will raise manufacturing capacity of the Tacoma at a California plant. In the meantime, Tacoma production will be shifted to San Antonio, Texas (where Tundra pickups are produced) to ease the transition. Over the coming months, production of ...

The world’s biggest automaker Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) is planning to source lithium-ion batteries for its hybrid vehicles from Sanyo Electric Co. to keep pace with the growing demand for electric cars.

Sanyo, the world’s largest maker of rechargeable batteries, will supply cells for about 10,000 vehicles every year. Sanyo aims to quadruple sales to automakers by 2015 as demand for gasoline-electric cars increases. Toyota will begin using the lithium-ion batteries in 2011.

Panasonic EV Energy Co., Toyota’s joint venture with Panasonic Corp. (PC) is currently the sole supplier of nickel-metal hydride batteries. Panasonic plans to take over Sanyo and double production capacity to around 1 million units a year by the middle of 2010. The deal is awaiting regulatory approval.

Lithium-ion batteries have higher output and capacity than the nickel-metal hydride type that Toyota uses in the Prius and other hybrid vehicles. Demand for gasoline-electric vehicles

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by Dino Delellis

Amongst GM employees, aside from the fear of getting a pink paper next week ( or the week after ) speculation is high as to whether the concept vehicle, being called the Volt, is going to be as revolutionary as the hype suggests.

GM, Ford and Chrysler arrayed a huge number of lawyers and much cherished Washington lobbyists to go after California after it decided to introduce a zero emissions rule on part of all car fleets. While GM was fighting California, it was also building an electric car, 10 years ago called the EV1. The state lost, GM breathed a sigh of relief and promptly destroyed all EV1’s and sold the patents.

It was said that the link between GM and big Oil was never so blatant as when the EV1 was shelved, the many patents accompanying that huge R&D effort was simply sold to BIG OIL.

Balancing …

General Motors unveiled plans to build a plant in Michigan with an investment of $43 million. The facility will manufacture lithium-ion battery packs for General Motors’ upcoming model Chevrolet Volt and other electric vehicles.

The plant in Michigan will be the first US battery pack plant to be operated by General Motors. The plant is scheduled to start production in the fourth quarter of 2009 with a capacity of 70,000 battery packs per annum. The facility will employ about 100 people.

The Volt is on track to become the first mass-market, plug-in hybrid in the US with its launch in November 2010. Unlike Toyota Motor Corp.'s (TM) Prius and other traditional hybrids, Volt is designed to run for 40 miles on a single battery charge, and can be recharged overnight at a standard electric outlet.

The carmaker expects to manufacture 10,000 Volt cars in its first 12 months of production, ultimately ramping up to

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Recently, Japanese auto giant Honda Motor Co. (HMC) revealed its plan to introduce two new gas-electric hybrid vehicles in 2010 in Japan. The company will offer the CR-Z hybrid sports car in February next year, followed by a hybrid version of its Fit compact by the end of next year. The CR-Z has also been set for an international roll-out, but this has not yet been confirmed for the Fit. The new hybrid lineup by Honda is expected to deliver a serious blow to its rival Toyota Motors (TM) in low-emission vehicles. The hybrid version of Fit will be cheaper than the Toyota Prius, on the back of its low-cost single-motor hybrid drive used in Honda’s Insight hybrid. Previously, Honda Insight had lost its luster to Toyota’s third generation Prius in terms of fuel efficiency. Prius 2010 clocks 51 mpg in the city ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 8, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Toyota (TM), Ford (F), Nissan (NSANY), Honda (HMC) and General Motors (GMGMQ). Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Patents: Toyota's Nest Egg

It has recently come to light that Toyota (TM) is building up a number of patents protecting its fuel-saving technologies that would ultimately help it in evading competition. This would also double up as a revenue-making channel for the company by licensing the patents to other automakers.

Ford (F) and Nissan (NSANY) have already sought licensing from the

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It has recently come to light that Toyota (TM) is building up a number of patents protecting its fuel-saving technologies that would ultimately help it in evading competition. This would also double up as a revenue-making channel for the company by licensing the patents to other automakers. Ford (F) and Nissan (NSANY) have already sought licensing from the company to manufacture their hybrids, Escape and Altima, respectively. A recent study of intellectual property for hybrid vehicles has revealed that Toyota has more than 2,000 patents. About half of these are occupied by the company’s best-selling hybrid, Prius. Toyota plans to incorporate its hybrid system in all of its vehicles by 2020. Nevertheless, however hard Toyota tries to evade competition, its rivals have already sought out alternatives that could deal a blow to the company. Honda (HMC) built a hybrid vehicle, Insight – ...