It will introduce an affordable standalone hybrid model next year to rival Toyota's Prius.
The car should arrive here by 2010. Unlike the Civic Hybrid, the new hybrid is an all-new model that is not part of Honda's current line-up.
Next month, Honda will be the first to retail fuel-cell cars. Its new FCX Clarity (right) will be sold in the United States first.
Film producer Ron Yerxa, actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her film-maker husband Christopher Guest, and businessman Jim Salomon are among the first customers.
Toyota
The Japanese carmaker got the hybrid ball rolling when it launched the Prius in 1997.
Today, it is still the leading maker of hybrids, with more than a dozen models boasting the fuel-saving petrol-electric drivetrain.
The next mass-market model to arrive in Singapore is expected to be the Camry Hybrid, which will be made in Thailand and Australia.
The company aims to launch a lithium-ion hybrid (which packs more electric power), possibly with plug-in function, by 2010.
It is also working on a new fuel-cell car that has a range of more than 800km.
Mitsubishi
It is teaming up with France's PSA Peugeot-Citroen to make powertrains for electric cars.
Its Fuso truck division, part-owned by Daimler, has launched its second-generation hybrid buses and is now working on diesel-electric hybrid trucks. Its Canter Eco-D concept tipper (below) shows the direction.
Nissan
The Renault-controlled firm is taking baby steps towards hybrids, preferring to rely on CVT (continuously variable transmission) to make its cars more fuel-efficient.
It will first introduce a 'mild hybrid' system, with stop-start function (engines turn off automatically at the lights and turn back on once you step on the accelerator), to its bigger models as well as its 4x4s.
In its view, buyers of smaller models are not willing to pay for hybrid technology.
BMW
The Bavarian marque has launched its EfficientDynamics (ED) range in Europe and the US.
ED Beemers are fitted with a slew of fuel-saving functions such as the stop-start function, a battery that is recharged when braking and a prompt that tells you when to change gear.
BMW is also planning to launch hybrid models. It is the only carmaker today that offers hydrogen-combustion cars for sale.
Volkswagen
VW chief Martin Winterkorn says the European Union's mandate to limit carbon dioxide emission to 120g/km by 2015 is 'realistic and achievable'.
He says the carmaker will develop a Golf that manages 100km on 3 to 4 litres of fuel (probably diesel).
Like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, it has a fuel-efficiency line of vehicles, dubbed BlueMotion.
Among other measures, BlueMotion cars have tyres with low roll resistance, they cut weight with less insulation or by using lighter materials, and their gearboxes have longer ratios.
VW is also replacing normally aspirated engines with turbocharged units that have smaller displacements.
Its 170bhp 1.4-litre twincharged engine, first seen in the Golf GT, is making its way into models such as the Jetta, Touran and possibly Passat.
Others
Audi, Porsche and Ferrari are other marques that will offer hybrid variants in the future.
General Motors will offer plug-in hybrids around 2010 and Ford is in a venture with Daimler to improve fuel-cell technology.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on 22 June, 2008
