SUZUKI FAN

Sanyo to supply Suzuki with hybrid car batteries

Japan’s Sanyo Electric  the world’s largest maker of rechargeable batteries, said on Thursday it would supply Suzuki Motor with lithium-ion battery systems for its plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Suzuki, 20 percent owned by Germany’s Volkswagen, will install the systems in 60 of its Swift small cars and begin test drives later this year.

Japan’s No. 4 carmaker has not decided when it will begin commercial sales of cars.

Suzuki is the fifth automaker to choose Sanyo as a supplier of lithium-ion batteries.

Sanyo is also supplying Ford and Honda  with nickel-metal hydride batteries and has been co-developing next generation nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries with the VW group.

It has also agreed with France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen to co-develop nickel-metal hydride batteries.

Suzuki Begins Testing the Swift Plug-in Hybrid Micro-Car

Suzuki dealerships in Japan will test 60 units of the car in the second half of this year, the company said in a statement in Tokyo today. The vehicle runs 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) on a fully charged battery and will have a 0.66 liter engine to generate electricity, Suzuki said, without saying when or where the car may go on sale.
The new model is a plug-in version of the automaker’s Swift compact car. The vehicle’s battery will be able to be charged from a household power outlet. When the power level becomes low, a light car engine will begin supplying electricity to the battery.

Sanyo Electric Co. is considered likely to be the primary supplier of lithium-ion batteries for the vehicle.

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