Hybrid War Intensifies With Introduction of Jazz Hybrid
Kuala Lumpur, 15 March 2012 – The tide on the Hybrid war in Malaysia just turned today with the launch of the all-new Jazz hybrid by Honda Malaysia. Barely three weeks after Toyota launched the Prius C at RM97, 000.00, Honda offers the new Jazz hybrid at RM94, 800.00, and is targeting a sales number of 3,000 units this year.
Interestingly, the renewed incentives for zero duty on hybrid vehicles, extended until the end of 2013 has resulted in a new class of imported vehicles that are really more affordable, and the two car makers who are leveraging on this fact are Toyota and Honda. Toyota has two Prius models, one of which is the ‘C’, based on the Yaris. Under the Lexus brand name, the Lexus C 200h is a hatchback retailing at under RM200k, and this model has seen a large order bank from Malaysian buyers, some of whom see this as a very affordable Lexus. Honda has the Insight and now the Jazz hybrid. The next model is logically the Civic Hybrid, which is probably what Mr. Yoichiro Ueno, the MD and CEO of Honda Malaysia was alluding to when he said that Honda Malaysia would be introducing more hybrids here very soon. The Honda Civic Hybrid was launched here some five years ago, and the new 2012 model will again add more excitement as it will come with lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries as compared to the current crop of nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. Both work well in hybrid cars, but it is thought that Li-ion has a longer life as it does not have ‘memory effect’.
The ‘Hybrid War’ between the two big Japanese makes is a boon to the Malaysian car buyer, as it opens up more choices for the consumer; the other benefit, especially for people working in our traffic-congested cities, would be lower fuel bills, and environmentally, it means cleaner air around us. I expect that other brands will be monitoring the situation closely, and will be looking at introducing hybrids here too.
Electric cars and plug-in hybrids are the next step in the quest to reduce carbon footprints in the automotive industry – electric cars are currently very dependent on the evolution of the battery, as this has a direct impact on the electric car range. Electric cars are currently operational in Japan and some European countries, but a key factor would be the setting up of an infrastructure for re-charging batteries in car parks while the owners are at work. Plug-in hybrids are the likely successors to the current crop of hybrids – these are basically cars that have a larger capacity battery than a hybrid – the cars are plugged in to household electrical sockets to be charged up when not in use to extend travelling range, and are driven as electric vehicles up to the point when the stored electricity is exhausted, and are thereafter driven by the hybrid system until it can be plugged in again. Naturally, plug in hybrids are more expensive as the system is a little more complex, plus the battery pack would be larger, and thus would have an impact on the overall cost of the car.
The new Honda Jazz Hybrid comes with the same mechanicals and hybrid system as that found in the Honda Insight, and mooted fuel consumption is 21.3 kilometres per litre of fuel. Translated to litres per 100 kilometres, it works out to be 4.694 litres.
In terms of features, the Jazz shares the same body as the current 1.5 litre Jazz that is available from Honda Malaysia at RM107k, with some small differences in trim. Just as interesting is that the current RM94, 800.00 price tag of the new Jazz Hybrid was what the Honda Jazz was retailing for in 2006 and 2008.
