Honda avoids rush to plug-ins
From Times Wire Services
Honda Motor Co., first to lease hydrogen autos to U.S. drivers, said that batteries had not advanced enough to make rechargeable cars a good replacement for gasoline models and that it wasn’t following rivals that plan to sell plug-ins.
“For battery-powered vehicles to become more widespread, more popular in the market, we feel battery technology needs to advance further,” said Masaaki Kato, president of Honda’s research unit.
Honda is bucking an industry move toward lithium-ion batteries as high fuel prices push carmakers to develop alternatives to gasoline power.
