Just last year, Honda broke the sales record in China by selling 580,000 units. This certainly puts the Japanese car manufacturer in a good light. Honda introduced its crossover premium utility vehicle, the Crosstour, during the Beijing exhibition. According to reports, the Crosstour will be produced locally by the Guangqi Honda branch. Sales for this vehicle should begin by the end of 2010.

Also in the exhibit was Honda’s concept model Li Nian. Guangqi Honda owns this brand. Late this 2010, Honda sets its eyes on presenting the mass-produced Li Nian to the public through the Guanzhou Motor Show. Li Nian is produced specifically for the Chinese market, and there’s no news about its global release just yet. In English, the term Li Nian can be translated as “idea”.

Dongfeng Honda, a joint venture between Honda Motor Company and the Dongfeng Motor Corporation, is also working on its own line of original brands.

According to reports, Honda owes much of its sales boost to the growing demand for cars in China and growing business market India, and the growing interest of consumers in the US. Japan’s second biggest car manufacturer posted a profit of 72-billion yen for the first quarter of this year.

The government of UK disclosed in March that they will be giving a $44 million grant to Land Rover for the assembly of the new vehicle. The production version of the LRX will make use of the Land-e Concept’s engine that can run on petrol and electricity.

The Hybrid LRX can bring occupants from point A to B using different modes like the usual petrol only, electric only, and the hybrid type. The project is looking an estimated expense of about $650 million and will take about two more years to release the hybrid system for the market to use.

Land Rover confirmed that the LRX will carry the Range Rover tag. The company is also looking into producing more fuel efficient fleet and the hybrid will be an essential member of the line up.

The LRX Concept caught the spotlight during the Detroit Auto Show of 2008. The concept car was using a hybrid engine that runs on both diesel and electricity. The LRX concept was able to achieve a 60 mpg using bio-diesel. The carbon emission was also excellent at 120g of CO2 per kilometer.

Aside from some engine varieties, technologies like the start-stop system and carbon fiber finishing of the panel may be implemented with the LRX Hybrid.

Assembly of the LRX hybrid will be done at the Halewood factory in the UK. The assembly plant is handling the production of the X Type Jaguar and the Freelander 2. Big thanks to Land Rover Cars for the heads-up on this car…

“Hoping to conquer an untapped market, Lexus follows through a recent research that reveals 60 percent of novice luxury car buyers would purchase a hybrid. There were rumors that the Lexus hybrid will undoubtedly be founded on the Prius, but Lexus spokesman Greg Thome said that the HS 250h more likely connects to the Toyota Avensis that is being sold in Europe.”

This is what Lexus Car Talk says about this somewhat boring-looking, yet very exciting first dedicated Hybrid by Lexus called the Hybrid Lexus HS 250h.

I’m test-driving one asap!

Mercedes A-Class Hybrid Car

The technology behind hybrid cars are that they are designed to run on alternative fuels like solar cells or hydrogen gas without emitting any toxic gases in the atmosphere. There are people who ask if these hybrid cars perform as well as their fuel counterparts? If one looks under the bonnet of a hybrid car, they will notice that it has two engines instead of one. One of them runs using electricity and the other uses diesel or petrol. Both these engines work in tandem and give you both better performance and higher mileage at a cheaper cost. You will never be stuck if the fuel finishes. The electric engine will ensure that you reach home.