Hybrid News

Filed under: Etc., Toyota, Japan

Since the Japanese Health Ministry first recognized Karoshi (literally death from too much work) in 1987, the number of claims has steadily increased. In fact, in the year between March of 2006 and 2007, there were 303 claims of Karoshi made, with 147 of those cases acknowledged as accurate by the government. Those are some sobering statistics, and the auto industry in Japan is certainly not immune to the problem. An unnamed man who was a lead engineer on the Camry hybrid project from Toyota died from overwork in January of 2006, according to a recent ruling by the Health Ministry. The forty-five year old man is said to have worked eighty hours of overtime per month, including nights and weekends. He died from heart disease the day before he was scheduled to leave for the U.S. as part of the team preparing for the Detroit Auto Show.

Toyota, for its part, has acknowledged the ruling and says it will work on improving the monitoring of its employees. This latest case will certainly lend some credence for some regarding the recent allegations of workers rights abuses by Toyota, though it is impossible for us to accurately say whether or not the auto giant is directly responsible for the man’s death.

[Source: AP via Yahoo]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Does Chevron make NiMH licensing for hybrids too hard?

Who killed the electric car? GM did when it sold its stake in NiMH battery patents to Chevron many conspiracy theorists claim. Are they right?

Would there be many more hybrid vehicles today if not for Chevron? Read more…..

Original post by Dahcredyns

Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota, USA

Toyota’s Camry Hybrid is selling like crazy these days. Last year, Toyota managed to sell 54,477 Camry Hybrids, an impressive figure no doubt, and sales are showing no signs of slowing down. For example, in the month of March, Toyota set a new record for the hybrid version of the Camry by selling 6,930. For the year, it is on track to sell over 60,000 of its midsize hybrid sedan, a 10 percent increase over the previous year. In fact, the Camry Hybrid, which is EPA rated at 33 miles per gallon city and 34 miles per gallon highway, is easily outselling the 268 horsepower 3.5 liter V6 powered model, which is rated at 19 city and 28 highway. Historically, American buyers have shown a propensity to choose the largest engine available.

When sales of the Prius and the Camry Hybrid are combined, Toyota easily remains the world′s leader in hybrid vehicle sales and appears a lock to remain that way, at least for the next few years.

[Source: Auto Observer]

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Original post by Jeremy Korzeniewski

Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota

It’s looking as if Aussie readers hoping to drive greener might soon be able to do so in a locally-produced machine. The first word of Toyota’s desire to build the Camry Hybrid in the land Down Under came in October at the Tokyo Motor Show. Without government handouts assistance, however, it wasn′t going to happen. Fast forward to the present: all signs point to a deal getting inked by the end of July, with Australian government reps saying that talks with the automaker are progressing “fruitfully.” Once the agreement is formalized, look for the Camry Hybrid to go into production at the Altona plant where the Australian-market Camry and Aurion sedans are currently built.

[Source: The Age]

 

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Original post by Alex Nunez