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South Korea's electronics giant LG announced it will invest $6.83 billion in green business sectors by 2015.

The conglomerate says the investments - in electric vehicle batteries, LED lighting, solar PV and water treatment technologies - will generate $8.4 billion in revenue, while creating 10,000 green jobs around the world. It will also boost business for about 660 small and midsized enterprises in its supply chain.

About a third of the investment will be in lithium batteries for electric vehicles (by 2013). It's also planning to get into the solar polysilicon business by 2014.

Its LG Chem division says its goal is to be the world's top lithium battery manufacturer, taking a 25% share by 2015. It currently supplies Li batteries for GM's Chevy Volt and Opel Ampera. And it's working with GM on electric vehicle development.

LG Innotek, which makes LEDs, is looking for a 10% global market share. Its vertical manufacturing process makes all the components including chips, modules and packaging. Its flagship company, LG Electronics, will expand solar manufacturing from its current level of 300 megawatts (MW) to 1,000 megawatts by 2014. There too, they expect to be the global leader by 2015. They entered the US solar market in 2010.

In water treatment, LG recently acquired specialist Daewoo ENTEC, allowing it to offer a "total water treatment solution." Through the LG-Hitachi joint venture, the two compaies will collaborate on developing new technologies and services for the huge water treatment market, valued at over $430 billion a year.

"With the market expected to grow at an annual rate of five per cent due to increased pollution and the effects of climate change, we see the water treatment business as a crucial component of LG's future success," says Young-ha, Lee, CEO of LG Electronics Home Appliance Company.

Last year, LG announced it would invest $17.8 billion in green product development to lower greenhouse gas emissions 40% from 2009 levels by 2020.Its competitor, Samsung, is also invest heavily in green with $5 billion in investments by 2013.

South Korea has set an emissions reduction target of 30% by 2020. At the beginning of the worldwide recession, the country was widely praised for allocating about 80% of its stimulus spending toward green-oriented projects.

Source;
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/22947

Renault is all-set to unveil the Pulse compact car for India, on 29^th October 2011.

The Pulse (codename: B58) will be the French car maker’s third offering in six months; the Fluence saloon and Koleos SUV being the earlier two.

The Pulse is based on Renault-Nissan alliance’s V-platform that also underpins Nissan’s Micra hatchback and Sunny saloon and will be built at Renault-Nissan’s Chennai plant alongside the Micra.

The Pulse’s dimensions will be near-identical to the Micra and likewise should weigh less than a tonne which will reap huge dividends in the terms of fuel. While the two cars will share many components including engines namely the 1.2 litre petrol and the 1.5 litre diesel, the Pulse will be easily identifiable as a Renault and willlook different from the Micra. The nose, headlights and grill will be very different and so will the shape of the rear hatch and tail lights included However, the two cars could share the dashboard design as tooling for a new dashboard entails considerable expense.

Apart from the Micra itself, the Pulse will compete with the likes of the Maruti Wagon R, Hyundai i10, Honda Brio and Maruti Swift and will be priced around Rs 4-5 lakh.

Thanks to: Autocar India

Honda in Ireland has introduced a new 180bhp Type S diesel version of the Accord for 2012. The car aims to be an alternative to the BMW and Audi options with a more powerful engine and improved driving feel and plenty of extras as standard for a list price of €39,465 plus delivery charges.

The exterior of the Type S 180PS, with its 18” alloy wheels and aero bumpers and side sills, has a sporty look that reflects the power under the bonnet. The car is equipped with a high beam support system with Bi Xenon head lights and active cornering lights. Standard features include leather seating and electrically adjustable heated front seats. The car has an advanced dual zone climate control linked to the satellite navigation system to detect the position of the sun and set the temperature accordingly. Cabin noise has also been reduced through a new floating sub-frame structure with insulated carpets, all adding to an enriched driving experience.

Type S 180bhp is combined with a 6-speed manual gearbox. Honda claims that the aim of the engine and transmission development was to maintain the high performance driving experience whilst improving the overall efficiency of the engine resulting in lower running costs. Power output is at 180bhp at 4,000 rpm while peak torque is 380Nm at between 2000 and 2750rpm. That delivers an improved acceleration performance of 8.8 seconds in a 0-100km/hr race and a top speed of 220km/h.

Despite the extra power the CO2 emissions are below Euro 5 levels at 147g/km putting the car into Road Tax Band C with an annual road tax cost of €302. The combined fuel consumption is rated 17.8km/litre (5.6l/100km) so it’s very frugal for a big high performance car.

Source;
http://corkindependent.com/stories/item/4833/2011-40/Honda-powers-up-Accord-range-for-2012

With an estimated 255 horsepower turbo (190 kW), a six-speed manual transmission and an advanced unit, adaptable to all four wheels, the Buick Regal GS is a concept of high-tech, high-performance version of the sedan brand new sport. Which was presented at the 2010 North American International Auto.
Mechanics was developed with the aim of producing a sporty driving experience, confidence-inspiring and sophisticated. It is a performance-oriented transmission, the lower body and a lower center of gravity. Exterior and interior cues include two additional vertical front air intakes and a large, 20-inch forged aluminum wheels and performance tires, racing-inspired steering wheel and pedals alloy. Recaro front seats with high-performance four-way lumbar support pillow and plug-ins.
"We designed the Buick Regal GS to explore the lure of a high-performance variant of the Regal," said Craig Bierley, product marketing manager for Buick. "As the Regal, the Regal GS is based on the award-winning Opel Insignia, and we believe will reinvigorate Buick Gran Sport legendary heritage."



Buick Regal GS exterior stands out from the vents in front of the vertical chain, as well as a unique rocker panels, an integrated rear spoiler, dual exhaust, Olympic white paint and satin-metal accents.

In line with its strategy of Pure Drive, Nissan continues to innovate to improve the performance of CO2 and fuel economy to generate profits without real commitment to consumers. As part of this strategy of Nissan launches a pure version of the new hardcover for sale Nissan Qashqai equipped with a new state of the art 1.6 dCi.



The new engine is a perfect example of the strategy of Nissan Pure Drive, replacing the previous 2.0 dCi with a more efficient engine that provides not only a reduction of emissions and significantly improved levels of fuel economy, but provides the same level performance of the more powerful engine.



Best of all, when combined with Nissan Stop / Start CO2 system machine just 119 g / km.
Along with this new innovative options available in Nissan Qashqai range, including a new CVT gearbox for the first time on a C-segment car, Around View Monitor. AVM uses a series of small cameras placed outside the vehicle to make parking maneuvers as safe as possible by giving the driver a helicopter view real-time environment around the car.



Nissan's move underscores the growing line of crossovers on the market and maintaining the Nissan Qashqai for one or even two, steps to the opposition.



"When Qashqai was launched in 2007, quickly re-wrote the rule book in the C segment, offering innovation and the capacity in a market previously conservative. The combination of SUV looks and tenacity in driving dynamics, a strong performance and plenty of interior space has captured the imagination of the public to buy cars. "