Shoya Okinaga

Japan

Staff Writer at Nikkei Asia

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Articles

Nissan to bet on plug-in hybrid technology as EVs lose steam

Sep 22, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Shuhei Ochiai |Shoya Okinaga

TOKYO -- Nissan Motor plans to develop its own plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, preparing to reach the market as soon as the late 2020s, Nikkei has learned, and also is considering having partner company Mitsubishi Motors supply PHEVs to Honda Motor, which does not offer that type of vehicle in the Japanese market. As sales of fully electric vehicles stall globally amid high prices, Nissan sees highly profitable PHEVs as an important bridge to the time EVs achieve wide adoption.
Japan's Koito to boost automotive lighting capacity in Mexico, Brazil

Sep 17, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Shoya Okinaga

TOKYO -- Koito Manufacturing will invest 33 billion yen ($234 million) to expand production capacity for automotive lighting equipment in the Americas by fiscal 2026, the Japanese company said on Tuesday. Koito will build a new plant in Mexico slated to come online in April 2026. This will boost the company's annual capacity for headlights and rear combination lights in the country by around 60% to 4.8 million units.
Honda, Nissan to recycle plastic from scrapped cars

Aug 11, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Shoya Okinaga |Haruka Kadooka |Azusa Kawakami

TOKYO/NAGOYA, Japan/NEW YORK -- Honda Motor and Nissan Motor are among the Japanese automakers building supply chains for recycled plastic, Nikkei has learned, to make their vehicles greener and comply with expected new European regulations. Plastic is an essential material in automobile production, used in bumpers, interior components and other parts. Under a 2023 proposal by the European Commission, at least 25% of a new vehicle's plastic would have to be recycled.
Honda has new alliance, but can it match Toyota on this stock metric?

Aug 6, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Shoya Okinaga

TOKYO -- Honda Motor has teamed with two other automakers in a bid to create a Japanese powerhouse that can rival Toyota, a challenge that will play out in the stock market as well as the global EV race. "Just doing the same thing is not going to give us global competitiveness," Honda President Toshihiro Mibe told reporters last Thursday. "In that sense, this cooperation among the three companies will be a strong weapon as we compete in this environment."
Honda to report record Q1 $3bn-plus profit on strong U.S. hybrid sales

Aug 5, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Shoya Okinaga

TOKYO -- Honda Motor is set to report a group operating profit surpassing 450 billion yen ($3.08 billion) for the first quarter ended June, it was learned Monday, a new quarterly record fueled by strong sales of hybrid vehicles in the U.S. market. Operating profit apparently jumped by roughly 20% on the year.
Honda to cut China production capacity for gas cars by 30%

Jul 24, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Shoya Okinaga

TOKYO -- Honda Motor plans to slash production capacity for gasoline-fueled vehicles in China by one-third, equivalent to about 10% of its global output, as falling sales of Japanese cars spur changes across the entire Chinese supply chain, Nikkei has learned. The company will shut three of its seven production lines in the world's largest auto market, lowering annual capacity for gas cars from 1.49 million vehicles to 1 million.
How Subaru maneuvered to set global safety rules for drones

Jul 17, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Shoya Okinaga

TOKYO -- Rules preventing drone collisions drawn up by Subaru have become the global standard, with the Japanese company building relationships through the approval process to attain that distinction. Subaru first received the news last October that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) accepted its proposed anti-collision standards for unmanned aerial vehicles.
Sony, Honda to adopt common EV platform, seeking lower costs

Jul 5, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Shoya Okinaga

TOKYO -- Honda Motor and Sony Group will use a common platform to manufacture electric vehicles, as the Japanese partners look to reduce the cost of development. The common platform will be found in Honda's 0 Series EVs, as well as electric vehicles to be sold under Afeela, a brand controlled by the joint venture Sony Honda Mobility. The EVs first will be released in North America in 2026.
HondaJet launches service to fly tourists to regional Japan

Jun 18, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Shoya Okinaga

TOKYO -- Honda Motor is kicking off a transportation service using its HondaJet business aircraft, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday, helping travel agencies plan tours off the beaten path for foreign visitors and other customers. The HondaJet Sharing Service will ferry travelers between selected airports. Honda will handle all of the transportation, including land travel to the destination. The service will have a fixed usage fee per 300 kilometers, to be collected from the travel agencies.
Honda speeds up EV push with record R&D spending

May 11, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Shoya Okinaga |Kazuhiro Noguchi

TOKYO -- Honda Motor plans to pour a record 1.19 trillion yen ($7.6 billion) into research and development this fiscal year as it steps up the development of electric vehicles to catch up to Tesla and Chinese players. The R&D budget, announced Friday, represents a 23% increase on the year and exceeds 1 trillion yen for the first time, with the bulk of it going toward EVs.