Drone wars put Japan's Kawasaki Motors, Subaru under spotlight
Kawasaki, in collaboration with French startup VoltAero, is developing twin- and single-engine drones that can fly up to 2,700 kilometers at speeds of up to 600 kilometers per hour with a maximum payload of 500 kilograms.
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Japan Today
6 days ago
- Japan Today
Stellantis pulls plug on hydrogen fuel cell vans
Stellantis showed off its hydrogen fuel cell commercial vans at the Paris Motor Show last year Jeep-maker Stellantis said Wednesday it was pulling the plug on plans to build light vans using hydrogen fuel cells, saying it saw no prospects for it to be commercially viable. The company, whose stable of brands also includes Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat, had planned to begin serial production of commercial vans equipped with hydrogen fuel cells this summer at sites in northern France and southern Poland. "The hydrogen market remains a niche segment, with no prospects of mid-term economic sustainability," said Jean-Philippe Imparato, Stellantis's chief operating officer for the European region. The company cited limited availability of hydrogen refueling infrastructure, high capital requirements, and the need for stronger consumer purchasing incentives. "We must make clear and responsible choices to ensure our competitiveness and meet the expectations of our customers with our electric and hybrid passenger and light commercial vehicles offensive," Imparato added. Hydrogen fuel cell technology was seen as a possible rival to battery electric vehicles to reach zero emissions. When hydrogen and air are fed into a cell it creates electricity and water. The technology could offer faster refill times than recharging electric batteries, but also involves creating expensive new infrastructure and most hydrogen is currently produced from natural gas without capturing the greenhouse gas emissions. Only Toyota, Hyundai and BMW are still developing fuel cell vehicles and few models are on the roads. France's Renault shut its hydrogen fuel cell factory at the start of the year. Stellantis said staff at the factories would be reassigned to other tasks, but acknowledged the move would create "financial challenges" for fuel cell supplier Symbio. Stellantis took a stake in Symbio in 2023 alongside tyre manufacturer Michelin and auto parts supplier Forvia. Symbio opened a fuel cell factory near the French city of Lyon in 2023. Stellantis said it had launched discussions with the other shareholders in Symbio, but Michelin called the announcement "unexpected, brutal and uncoordinated". Forvia noted that Stellantis accounts for nearly 80 percent of Symbio's activity. "Stellantis's announcement will have serious and immediate operational and financial repercussions for the future of Symbio," it said. © 2025 AFP
The Mainichi
15-07-2025
- The Mainichi
Japanese firm wins auction for Hermes's original Birkin bag
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A Japanese company won an auction in Paris for the original Birkin bag crafted by French brand Hermes for a record 1.47 billion yen ($10 million), the firm said Friday. The black leather Birkin bag, named after and created for singer and actress Jane Birkin in the 1980s, has been sold to Valuence Japan Inc., a buyer and reseller of luxury items and jewelry. Sotheby's said the price for the iconic bag "set a new record for any handbag sold at auction." Birkin, who died in 2023, owned the bag for 10 years before it was auctioned for charity. It has her initials "J.B." and still bears the marks of stickers she put on it, according to Sotheby's. Valuence Japan described the bag as a "one of a kind" item, saying it has no plans to sell it but will preserve it for its cultural value.
Japan Today
15-07-2025
- Japan Today
France's PM wants to scrap two public holidays to help fix public finances
By Leigh Thomas and Elizabeth Pineau French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou proposed scrapping two public holidays and freezing most public spending as part of a 43.8 billion euro ($50.88 billion) budget squeeze he outlined on Tuesday. Bayrou's plan involves freezing welfare spending and tax brackets in 2026 at 2025 levels, not even adjusting for inflation, which was immediately criticized by left-wing politicians. Defense spending, however, will increase. France saw its budget deficit hit 5.8% of gross domestic product last year, nearly double the official EU limit of 3% of GDP, as a political crisis left four successive governments paralyzed and incapable of tackling an unexpected drop in tax income and surge in spending for a second year. "Everyone will have to contribute to the effort," Bayrou said, warning that public debt was a "mortal danger" for France and needed to be tackled head on. The welfare spending freeze will likely be as unpopular for many voters as scrapping two public holidays - possibly Easter Monday and May 8, which commemorates the end of World War II in Europe. There are simply too many public holidays in May, and the French must get back to work that month, Bayrou said, adding that this would mean billions in additional revenues for the state, as everybody will work more and produce more. Bayrou's proposals are "massively unfair," Socialist politician Johanna Rolland, the mayor of Nantes, said on X. Bayrou, a veteran centrist politician, must persuade the opposition ranks in France's fractured parliament to at least tolerate his cuts, or risk facing a no-confidence motion like the one that toppled his predecessor in December over the 2025 budget. Any risk of a no-confidence motion would likely only firm up once a detailed budget bill goes to parliament in October. President Emmanuel Macron has left Bayrou the task of repairing the public finances with the 2026 budget, after his own move to call a snap legislative election last year delivered a hung parliament too divided to tackle the country's spiraling spending. If he fails, a new political crisis could trigger more credit ratings' downgrades and drive up the cost of interest payments, which are already set to become the single biggest drain on the budget at over 60 billion euros. In the final two years of his second term, the dramatic deterioration of the public finances may tarnish Macron's legacy. A political outsider, he was first elected in 2017 on promises to break the right-left divide and modernize the euro zone's second-biggest economy with growth-friendly tax cuts and reforms. Successive crises - from protests, COVID-19 and runaway inflation - have shown he has failed to change the country's overspending habit, however. Bayrou aims to reduce the budget deficit from 5.4% of GDP this year to 4.6% in 2026, ultimately targeting the EU's 3% fiscal deficit limit by 2029. "It's the last stop before the cliff, before we are crushed by the debt," Bayrou said on Tuesday. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
