A top executive at Honda Motor Co. said on Monday profit margins would inevitably fall as more advanced vehicles spread through the market, but he stressed that skimping on R&D costs would do greater harm in the long run.
Japan's third-biggest auto maker last month outlined plans to reduce its cars' carbon dioxide emissions by an average 10 percent by 2010 compared with 2000 levels, mainly by developing more efficient gasoline engines, clean diesel engines and improving its hybrid powertrain.
Diesel and hybrid-powered vehicles are said to cost as much as 50 percent more than conventional gasoline cars to produce, and generally yield smaller profits for auto makers.
AUTO SPIES PERSPECTIVE: We can believe that a hybrid could could up to 50% more to produce but a diesel? That's a hard one to swallow!
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