MoU between Volkswagen and BYD

Volkswagen and Chinese battery and auto maker BYD signed MoU to explore the options for partnership in the area of hybrids and electric vehicles powered by lithium batteries.

In addition to Volkswagen, BYD is also talking to Ford Motor and another European auto maker about similar arrangements, reported Wall Street Journal.

While lithium-ion batteries are seen as the technology that will ultimately power most plug-in cars, their successful use has been hindered by relatively high price, limited durability and safety concerns. BYD claims it has largely resolved those issues by turning to a safer, more cost-effective technology called iron-phosphate-based lithium-ion technology.

Last year, Audi entered into cooperation with Sanyo on the development of lithium-ion technology, claiming that the new battery technology would be ready for use by 2012.

Ulrich Hackenberg, executive board member for technical development of Volkswagen, said: "Hybrids and electric vehicles will play an increasingly important role. Particularly for the Chinese market, potential partners such as BYD could support us in quickly expanding our activities."

Source : Automotive Business Review, by a staff reporter, May 26th, 2009

Mercedes-Benz goes green

Mercedes-Benz is contemplating a plug-in hybrid variant for its upcoming next-gen M-Class SUV.

According to German car mag Auto Bild, the next-generation ML may feature a 60kW electric motor mated to a twin-turbocharged 3.5 litre direct-injected petrol V6, with a plug-in system allowing an electric-only range of some 30km.

By plug-in standards a 30km EV range isn’t anything to write home about, but considering the length of the average commute it should at least produce a sizeable reduction in the ML’s thirst for petrol. CO2 output is also expected to benefit, with emissions figures of 160g/km forecast.

Should the rumours prove to be true, the next-generation plug-in M-Class should offer a marked improvement over the soon-to-be-launched ML450 Hybrid (pictured). The ML450 Hybrid has a less powerful electric motor, no plug-in capability and only average fuel consumption, and at this stage appears to be a US-only vehicle.

The new M-Class is tipped to debut sometime in 2011, with sales to begin in the latter half of that year. We’ll let you know when (or if) the rumours become reality.

Source : The Motor Report, by Tony O'Kane, June 15th, 2009

Chevy Volt plug-in electric cars to roll out in 2010 with a moderate price tag

The Chevy Volt will be one of the new plug-in electric cars released next year. The Volt will become a 2011 model is expected to compete with hybrid vehicles and deliver up to 100 miles on a single battery charge. There are still certain details left out which General Motors has not confirmed.

Electric cars will soon become the next generation vehicles to compete. The GM Volt still uses a combustion engine used to deliver additional electric power for extended trips. The engine is also used as a generator to recharge its batteries.

Chevy Volt will use the same platform for the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze. The wheelbase and track measurements will be identical to the Cruze. GM designed the new electric car for the mainstream public and its intended to look efficient.

Even so, the Volt has been changed several times and the pre-production model looks smaller and does not appear to be mainstream. This automobile has also undergone more wind tunnel testing than any other GM car. The automaker put more time into its aerodynamics to free up battery technology costs.

New cars in 2010 which run on electric power will come in two flavors. One is the plug in hybrid, which uses both a gasoline engine and electricity, while the other uses more battery stored power and a smaller engine to keep the vehicle at a full charge. New vehicles coming next year will offer better fuel economy, but they do not reduce our overall dependency for foreign oil.

Chevy Volt electric cars use a 1.4-liter four-cylinder gas engine, which is more power than it needs to recharge its battery. The plug-in hybrid lithium-ion battery is expected to provide an average of 40 miles of driving range. However, GM recently stated that they are aiming for 100 miles but left out details on battery and engine specifics. The Chevy Volt price is another topic of interest. If GM sells the vehicle for $39,000, they will not return a profit. Moreover, they will lose money on each automobile sold.

The Volt battery can fully recharge in less than three hours using a 220-volt outlet. It will take six hours if you plug-in from home to any standard 110v outlet. Even so, it is still cheaper to charge the battery using the plug-in technology.

GM has placed the electric car in pre-production for final tests. This is the phase in which the automobile will be completed and fully road-tested before it goes into post-production.

Source : newsoxy.com, by Kara Gilmour, June 12th 2009

2010 Toyota Prius plug in hybrid can deliver more than 50 mpg while offering smooth handling.

Toyota has built a fine 2010 Toyota Prius car that can deliver more than 50 miles per gallon. The plug-in test drive was exciting, and it provided several details. This 50 MPG plug-in hybrid vehicle is loaded with new technologies and solar panel energy.

Toyota Prius has solar panels mounted on its roof that automatically charge its solar ventilation system. When the doors to the automobile are unlocked , you expected to feel hot air rushing out of the car, instead, the interior is cool. This is a great feature because heat is the number one reason why interior in vehicles is destroyed.

Prius has an instant fuel economy bar graph which is different than its first and second-generation previous models. This graph has moved from the navigation screen, from previous models, to the dashboard instrument panel. The third-generation gauge is now located on top of the dash so the driver can keep their eyes on the road ahead.

Toyota Prius 2010 drives with precision and feels stable and secure. The steering wheel responds immediately because of the automobile's electric-assisted power steering (EPS) and can handle turns accurately. The EPS is probably one of its best features because the car handles so smoothly around corners.

Toyota 2010 Prius also includes an added steering caster to enhance the vehicle's straight-line stability. The steering rack is rigidly mounted to improve central feel. The electronic-assist power steering feels like real steering with accurate precision.

The Prius Hybrid automobile ran very quiet during the test drive. It was hard to believe the engine was on. The engine is a 1.8-liter inline-4 with variable intake valve timing and power output is rated at 98 hp.

However, the new Toyota Prius can deliver up to 134 hp. The plug-in hybrid car gets an additional 36 hp coming from the carryover nickel-metal hydride battery pack. The hybrid batteries can provide more punch while improving efficiency.

The new Toyota Prius averaged 53.4 mpg during the test drive and review. It has been noticed that slower acceleration and not using the brake as often helped with fuel economy. It is possible to achieve more mileage on this car.

The Toyota Prius plug in can go from 0-60 is 10 seconds. This isn't bad for this vehicle.

Toyota built a fine car, and there will be another review. There is so much to tell about this vehicle. The Toyota Prius price is around $22,000 depending on what features you add.

Source : newsoxy.com, by Andy Hodges, June 11th, 2009

Penske to become a big PHEV & EV distributor

Electric vehicles may be the first to be built in the U.S. by the new Saturn, says Roger Penske, the race driver-turned-automotive entrepreneur whose Penske Automotive Group has agreed to acquire Saturn from General Motors Corp.

In an exclusive interview shortly after announcing the deal in Detroit, Penske said that the Obama administration's new emphasis on development of battery-powered vehicles means EVs "will be right at the forefront" and "might be the first produced" by a Penske-owned Saturn.

Penske, who has the U.S. distribution deal for Daimler's Smart Car, including the upcoming Smart Fortwo EV, said that Saturn and Smart would be kept separate and Saturn dealers wouldn't be asked to market Smarts.

He said with 3.5 million Saturn's already sold, he's confident there's enough of a loyal customer base to make the brand successful as a stand-alone and that he intends to emphasize fuel efficiency and low price in future models to build sales volume back to the 200,000-a-year level. Saturn sales have slipped to less than 100,000 a year under GM.

Source : edmunds.com, by John O'Dell, June 5th 2009

Chrysler Hopes to Accelerate EV Production

Chrysler has submitted three proposals representing a request for $224 million in funding to two US Department of Energy (DOE) initiatives: the Electric Drive Vehicle Battery and Component Manufacturing Initiative and the Transportation Electrification Initiative. Proposed vehicles covered under the submission include Dodge Ram 1500 Plug-in Hybrid-electric Vehicles (PHEVs), Chrysler Town & Country PHEVs and Chrysler Town & Country Electric Vehicles (EVs). The DOE funding would also advance United States battery leadership in a joint program with A123Systems and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Through a partnership between Chrysler’s ENVI group and the US Postal Service (USPS), Chrysler will deliver 165 Chrysler Town & Country EV cargo minivans for daily mail service in four regions throughout the country. ENVI has created numerous partnerships with energy providers and utility companies in order to develop an electric-vehicle charging infrastructure that will efficiently service its electric-vehicle test fleet.

EVs coming from the North

The Quebec Environment Secretary will launch a huge EV program stimulus next autumn. This is one of the reasons of the alliance between Ford and Hydro-Quebec (Quebec having one of the World’s biggest hydraulic potential).

The brand new “La Romaine” dam project could produce enough energy to supply a whole generation of EVs.

Last week, Canadian based Car parts manufacturer Magna bought back German car manufacturer Opel from General Motors (with the agreement of the German government) and Quebec invited the Ontario based company to install its EV program on its territory.

Magna indeed intends to develop its EV Mila (picture hereby), presented at the last Geneva Auto Show last winter. Magna didn’t want to launch the project without having a car manufacturer at its side, but now, this industrial tool is part of the company.

Quebec administration therefore announced that it will lead an important tax incentives policy in order to make sure that PHEVs and EVs will take off.

Source : cbcnews.ca, June 10^th, 2009

EESUs available by end of 2009

The drama that is EEStor continues to unfold. The secretive company is known to be working on developing a radical new type of battery that offers several times the energy storage at a fraction of the size and weight of modern day lithium ion batteries. The material would theoretically have several times the lifespan as well as it isn't subject to the type of degradation lithium-ion is. The small Canadian firm Zenn Motor Cars is a a partial owner of EEStor and has an agreement to use the new batteries in its Zenn City electric car as well as to develop the ZENNergy drive powertrain that can be retrofitted into other vehicles.

Zenn has been waiting for working prototypes since at least 2007, but thus far none has been delivered. Recently, EEStor was able to prove that its material had the permittivity required to allow its fantastic properties and did so over a wide temperature range. Its voltage range and leakage current is not yet known publicly. Nonetheless, based on this data, Zenn chose the option of increasing its investment and stake in the company.

In a brand new interview with Tom Weir, who is VP of EEStor, the next steps for EEStor are laid out. "Our objective is to complete component testing by September 2009, " says Weir. "In parallel, we will be finalizing our second objective which consists of the assembly processes necessary to deliver production quality components and/or EESU's by the end of 2009."

So there you have it, EEStor has promised to delivered production quality materials within six months.

The world is waiting

Source : allcarselectric.com, Lyle Dennis, June 1^st 2009

Chevrolet Equinox two-mode hybrid coming in 2011

Before the financial crisis hit, General Motors had some major plans for its Saturn brand including the launch of a two-mode hybrid Vue and eventually a plug-in hybrid version. Development and engineering for both vehicles had been completed and production of the two-mode hybrid Vue was originally scheduled to start last November.

Rapidly declining sales and an inevitable bankruptcy, however, has caused GM to readjust its plans. The biggest change is the sale of the Saturn brand to the Penske Automotive Group. As for the hybrid vehicles, GM has already confirmed that the technology for the Vue plug-in hybrid will be retained and used in other brands, and now the automaker has revealed to AutoblogGreen that the Vue two-mode hybrid has been cancelled. Instead, GM will use the FWD two-mode system for its Chevrolet Equinox crossover, which should arrive on the market in in petrol-electric form in 2011. The system in the Vue was to use a 3.6L V6 engine mated to the two-mode hybrid drive system. Since the Equinox uses a different 3.0L V6 engine, GM will need additional time to redesign the system.

The two-mode system utilizes an Electrically Variable Transmission (EVT) that GM developed together with Mercedes-Benz and BMW and currently uses in the Chevrolet Tahoe and Silverado, as well as the GMC Sierra and Denali, and Cadillac Escalade hybrid vehicles.

Source : motorauthority.com, by Ralph Hanson, June 9^th, 2009

Forced by worried customers but also by their shareholders, companies started their green revolution.

“Companies progressed a lot…”, says Julia Haake, in charge of firms’ partnerships at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). “…Companies understood that Environment and Growth aren’t incompatible.” And indeed, companies are beginning to engage themselves:

· L’Oréal (cosmetics) will reduce it gas emissions by half between 2005 and 2015, as well as its water consumption and its waste production.

· Procter & Gamble (Consumer Goods) expects a 20 billion dollars turnover for its green products, which is 10 times more than in 2008.

· Philips (Consumer Goods) already has ¼ of green products in its offer and keeps on providing innovations in this matter (low consumption light bulbs, low energy consumption vacuum cleaners, etc…).

Thanks to their size and power, multinational companies can change the World faster than country regulations and more efficiently than politics. They’re also betting on their own durability. Because waking up too late, GM went to failure while Toyota was becoming the World leader in green vehicles.

Even companies that work just on limiting their impact on the environment without asking themselves what use can be done with their products won’t last for long. Planet resources are being running out and carbon taxes are beginning to be a reality. Ecological charges will appear for transport trucks and construction industry in France in 2011.

Companies are more and more concerned by sustainable development because their customers, their investors, politicians and young hired people are. But it’s not always easy for these companies to communicate on their efforts towards asustainable development. Daimler-Benz (Mercedes cars) for example, has the greenest factories of the automobile industry (all their factories are certified) and the company has high goals on gas emission reductions, but their cars are among the most polluting ones. So there a strong difference between the commercial offer and the corporate communication.

On the contrary, Toyota understood quite early the importance of producing greener cars. They launched the Prius in 1997 and had a great communication campaign when the Prius was authorized by the state of California to drive on carpools dedicated roads. And thanks to the Prius, Toyota’s reputation increased of 84% in 7 years, according to Interbrand. This had a direct impact on Toyota’s policy: Today, Toyota sells its hybrid technologies to other car manufacturers and all its vehicles will be hybrid by the year 2030.

Nowadays, the smartest companies don’t just wait for their customers to express a need; they educate their customers in order to be the leader on their market.

A green company is now a company that fully introduces green products and technology in its commercial offer. Philips recently announced that 1/3^rd of ots products will be green by 2012, which is not marginal.

Strangely, the actual crisis is a good impulse for green technologies because sustainable development represents a unique opportunity for companies to differentiate themselves, to open new markets and to give value to their brands.

And crises are necessary if the World needs radical changes!!

There we are!!!