Chevy Volt will bring 550 jobs to Detroit

Construction of the Chevrolet Volt electric car would bring 550 jobs to the city, General Motors Corp. officials told a Detroit City Council committee today.

General Motors is seeking a $136 million tax abatement over 25 years to build the car at the Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly Plant.

“It’s important because it introduces new technology for General Motors,” said Blake Watkins, tax abatement manager for Detroit’s Planning and Development division. “The electric car is very big to their existence.

“We will be evolving this technology here involving the residents of the city of Detroit…. and moving GM’s technology forward, at the same time moving the city of Detroit forward,” Watkins said GM has proposed $336 million investment into the plant to build the car. The plant currently employs 1,944, he said.

GM officials made their presentation to the city council Planning and Economic Development Committee. Only two members, Kwame Kenyatta and Barbara-Rose Collins, were at the meeting, and both seemed receptive to the abatement idea.

Council's fiscal analyst Irv Corley said the company would still generate an additional $4.6 million a year in tax revenue for the city and Detroit Public Schools even with the possible tax break.


The full city council must still approve the tax abatement and a vote could come as soon as next week.


GM has said the Volt expected to be ready by late 2010.

Japan firms committed to eco-cars

Japanese automakers insist they will move forward with eco-car manufacturing as planned despite their failure to obtain changes in some specifications.
According to an automotive industry source, the Japanese carmakers expressed disappointment that Industry Ministry officials had turned down their requests, but confirmed the project would continue.
"The first eco-cars will be introduced into the market as planned," he said.
The manufacturers had asked the ministry to relax some of the strict and potentially costly environmental conditions set by the Board of Investment (BoI) when it approved their investment privileges.
"Even though the board approved privileges for the six automakers last year for their eco-car manufacturing projects, some of the firms were lobbying to see if some conditions could be altered," said the source.
Representatives from Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi discussed their request with Chakramon Phasukvanich, the permanent secretary for the Industry Ministry, last week.
But the source said Mr Chakramon turned them down, saying that the cabinet had already approved the conditions for investment promotion.
The Japanese companies also asked if their eco-cars allocated for export need to abide by BoI requirements.
The eco-car programme stipulates a maximum engine size of 1.3 litres for petrol engines and 1.4 litres for diesel engines. The cars must also have fuel consumption of no more than five litres per 100 kilometres, meet Euro 4 emission standards or better and emit no more than 120 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre. The cars must also meet or exceed UNECE 94 and 95 safety standards.
If automakers did not have to follow the requirements for export, the lower production cost per unit would result in higher margins.
The manufacturers are also concerned that they might not be able to meet the BoI requirement that they produce 100,000 units within five years, so they asked if this target could be extended.
They are also seeking clarification on whether the special 17% excise tax imposed for engine imports would be applicable for all models of engines.

Honda announced All New City 2008 generation to sporty driving performance and looking

Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (HATC), Honda's automobile production and sales subsidiary in Thailand, today began sales of the all-new CITY.
The design of the new CITY is based on the total pursuit of a compact, yet dynamic form with road presence. In addition, class-leading*1 interior space was achieved to create a cabin that surrounds the occupants with an open and secure feeling. The new CITY is equipped with a 1.5-liter i-VTEC engine, which is further advanced in every way, including greater output and fuel consumption. Furthermore, with Honda's unique commitment to provide both advanced safety and environmental performance, the new CITY achieves the highest levels in every area in the effort to become the new bench mark for subcompact sedans.

The first generation Honda CITY was introduced in 1996, quickly responding to the growing needs for automobiles in Asian markets associated with economic growth in the region. Today, CITY is produced in seven countries*2 and enjoyed by customers in 39 nations around the world. CITY also is becoming one of Honda's core models, along with Civic, Accord, CR-V and Jazz (Fit), with cumulative sales passing the 1 million unit mark in late May 2008.
The sales of this third-generation CITY will begin in Thailand from today and expand successively to other existing markets. Honda also envisions further expansion of CITY sales, in order to meet growing customer needs, especially in emerging markets.

Regarding production of the new CITY, HATC will support the startup of production in developing countries including ASEAN markets, India and China. Honda's automobile production capabilities in Thailand have grown continuously for more than 20 years, which is helping accelerate the advancement of automobile production in the region as a whole by providing technical support for other production operations in neighboring countries. Honda has been strongly promoting local autonomy by transferring more production and procurement functions from Japan to Thailand with the goal of strengthening Honda's production strategy and to increase local parts sourcing. In addition, increased coordination with local R&D and production engineering functions (production equipment and tooling) is supporting the advancement of Honda production operations in Thailand as the leader plant in the region. As a result, the local content of the new CITY has now reached 93% from 83% of current model.
The second HATC plant will begin operation in late October of this year, expanding the total annual production capacity to 240,000 units. HATC will also expand auto exports and technical support to other operations to enhance its role as the leader plant, and strengthen it's competitiveness in the world.
*1 1.5-liter subcompact sedan category
*2 Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, China, Turkey