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Honda Makes Scooters With Hybrid Engines, Fuel Cells August 2004Honda Motor Co., the world's biggest motorcycle maker, said it has built scooters powered by fuel cells and gasoline-electric engines, extending the technology for the first time to two-wheeled vehicles.The automaker developed a scooter with a fuel cell-power plant the size of a normal 125 cubic centimeter gasoline engine as well as a so-called hybrid two-wheeler with a 50cc engine, Honda President Takeo Fukui told reporters at the company's research center in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo. Record-high gasoline prices and tightening air-pollution laws prompted Honda and bigger rival Toyota Motor Corp. to begin selling hybrid cars that have lower emissions. Honda is trying to apply the technology in two-wheelers to extend its lead over motorcycle makers Suzuki Motor Corp. and Yamaha Motor Co. ``Honda is growing because it comes up with new ideas and technology and is able to apply those to their products,'' said Atsushi Osa, who helps manage the equivalent of $110 billion at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. He declined to say whether he owns Honda shares. Honda's spokesman Tetsuya Ikeda declined to say when the hybrid or the fuel-cell scooters would go on sale. He did not provide any details of the models' sale price. Honda shares, which have risen 11.3 percent this year, rose as much as 1.3 percent to 5,330 yen and traded at 5,280 yen at 1:16 p.m. in Tokyo. SOURCE: Bloomberg | ||
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