micro hybrid

After a four-plus-year hiatus, Honda will resume production of minicars (a.k.a. Kei cars, vehicles with engine displacements of 660 cc or less) for Japan. Coming first for the Honda line-up is a yet-to-be unveiled wagon-type minivehicle that's scheduled to roll off the lines this ...

Johnson Controls announced Wednesday that it's investing $100 million to construct a stop-start automotive battery factory in China. The facility will supply global and local automakers in Asia and is expected to gear up for production in early 2013. Kim Metcalf-Kupres, vice president strategy, ...

U.S. automotive supplier Johnson Controls says that, over the next two years, it will nearly triple its investment in two German facilities that manufacture batteries for vehicles equipped with stop-start technology. Alex Molinaroli, head of the Johnson Controls' automotive battery division, told ...

Johnson Controls says that the number of vehicles equipped with micro-hybrid technology (a.k.a. stop-start or idle-stop) will at least triple within five years as automakers strive to develop vehicles with improved fuel efficiency. Globally, Johnson Controls figures, stop-start tech will be ...

German-based Schaeffler Group, a leading supplier of torque converters, says that it has developed an easily integrated stop-start system for vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions. According to Schaeffler, fitting a slushbox with stop-start tech is difficult because the torque converter ...

Worldwide sales of vehicles equipped with stop-start technology (aka micro hybrids) will soar in the coming decade, rising from three million units in 2011 to 37.3 million units annually by 2020, according to Pike Research. At that level, stop-start technology will be standard equipment in more ...

PowerGenix, a manufacturer of rechargeable nickel-zinc (NiZn) batteries, has unveiled its first prototype power pack developed exclusively for the burgeoning micro-hybrid (aka stop-start or idle-stop) segment. PowerGenix claims that its NiZn batteries offer several advantages over the lead-acid ...

Stop-start technology has been available on numerous European automobiles for some time, and, according to Hybrid Cars, the fuel-saving tech is projected to be offered on up to 42 percent of vehicles in the U.S. by 2016. However, there are virtually no incentives pushing automakers to equip ...

A123 Systems is looking to cash in on the emerging stop/start hybrid market with its 12V Nanophosphate lithium-ion battery. Compared to typical lead-acid AGM batteries, A123 says that its li-ion units offer enhanced charge acceptance, which reduces the load on the vehicle's alternator and engine, ...

As has been predicted before, micro-hybrid technology (a.k.a. stop-start or idle-stop), will dominate the automotive industry within the next five years. This is according to a report from Lux Research, where senior analyst Jacob Grose is predicting that global sales of micro-hybrids will outpace ...