By Kelly From:Gasgoo.com October 17, 2008

Shanghai, October 17 (Gasgoo.com) General Motors (GM) will introduce its EREV (extended range electric vehicle) Chevrolet Volt to China for production by 2011 to meet the Chinese market demand, Nanfang Daily reported, citing Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman of product development.

Bob Lutz said, Chinese elements were well considered in the design of Chevrolet Volt, which indicates the electric automobile has entered a new stage. And China will be a big market for electric vehicles.

It is reported that Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in series hybrid vehicle by GM, is expected to begin production in 2010.

The vehicle is designed to run purely on electricity from on-board batteries for up to 64km. With the use of a small internal combustion engine driving a generator to resupply the batteries, the vehicle’s range is potentially increased to 579km on the highway (and which can be extended for very long trips by conventional refueling).

Bob Lutz said that Volt, different from the traditional electric vehicles, surely will have a huge market as it solves customers’ concern about driving distance. But the low availability of electric auto parts for the car’s volume production will lead to high price of the first generation Volt.

Bob Lutz is confident about the prospects of the electric vehicles. He said GM has lagged behind Toyota which has promoted its hybrids like Prius for several years. GM sees it unacceptable to lose the first. The world’s biggest auto maker is making efforts to develop vehicles without using gas from now on.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest seller of hybrid-electric cars, said a version of its Prius hatchback due next year will be roomier and more fuel-efficient.

Images posted on the Internet on Thursday show the 2010 Prius, Allison Takahashi, a spokeswoman for the Japanese automaker’s U.S. sales unit, confirmed in an interview. The car is to be unveiled in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, she said. She said Toyota didn’t post the pictures.

The new vehicle “is about the same size as its forebear, but with more interior room and better fuel economy,” the company said in an e-mailed message.

Toyota Motor may create a separate brand for its Prius hybrid car and could add both larger and smaller Prius models to the lineup, the head of Toyota’s American sales division said Thursday.

James E. Lentz III, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., said he had proposed the idea to senior company executives in Japan. Lentz said he did not know when they might approve the project, but said he would meet with executives in Japan next month to discuss future models.

Toyota officials first discussed the concept of a separate Prius brand at the Detroit auto show in January.

Lentz, who spoke after the dedication of Toyota’s new safety and engineering center in Ann Arbor, said the Prius brand would be similar to Scion, Toyota’s brand of lower-priced cars aimed at younger buyers.

The brand would include the original Prius as well as new models bearing a Prius nameplate that Toyota is said to be developing.

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The thrust of the new Honda Insight hybrid — which debuted in Paris this week as a near-production concept — is to “bring hybrid vehicles into a price bracket where a broader range of people can afford them,” says the press materials. Cheaper, in other words. The current estimate is that the Insight — powered by a 1.3-liter gas engine and Integrated Motor Assist, good for about 45 mpg, on average — will cost about $20,000, though final pricing will be announced closer to the on-sale date next spring.

It must have taken a heroic effort for Honda to hit that price point. According to the company, major savings had to be realized in the design and manufacturing of the IMA and other hybrid components (like the battery). Tankers of midnight oil must have been docked right outside Honda’s R&D center.

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Honda has unveiled a new hybrid family car at the Paris Motor Show to challenge the success of rival Toyota.

Honda Motor Co. said today the five-door Insight gasoline-electric hatchback will go on sale in Japan, Europe and North America next spring.

President and CEO Takeo Fukui said the Japanese automaker aims to sell 200,000 of the cars worldwide each year.

Honda said its response to Toyota Motor Corp’s hybrid-only Prius “will be priced significantly lower than any other hybrid car on the market.”

Honda described the car shown in Paris as a concept version of the production model that will be unveiled in January.

Honda said the Insight is the first of three new hybrid models it will introduce within the next four years.

Source:Freep.com

Honda has always intended Hybrid vehicles to be a bridge to a hydrogen powered future, the potential of which has already been demonstrated by the FCX Clarity. The Insight Concept has clear stylistic links to the world’s first production fuel cell car, with both vehicles’ forms shaped to maximise the efficiency of their respective drivetrains.

The Insight Concept is the stylistic inspiration for the production version which will go on sale in 2009. From this unique position in the marketplace, Insight will open hybrid technology to a new generation of customers.

The 1.3 litre Insight is powered by Honda’s acclaimed IMA system, which has been extensively modified to reduce its cost and weight. With careful engineering of key components and refinement of manufacturing processes, the cost of the hybrid system has been significantly reduced. This ensures that Insight can be sold at a very competitive price without compromising ability, quality, environmental performance or profitability.

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A $136 million tax abatement to help persuade General Motors Corp. to build the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car at the Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly Plant won approval today from the Detroit City Council.

The abatement, which lasts 25 years, clears a hurdle toward GM’s proposed $336 million investment in the plant, which employs 1,944 people.

The council approved the measure on a 7-1 vote. Only Councilwoman JoAnn Watson voted no.

Even with the tax break, the company would still generate an additional $4.6 million a year in tax revenue for the city and Detroit Public Schools, said Irvin Corley Jr., the council’s fiscal analyst.

“As many jobs as we can get in the City of Detroit, I’m happy to keep,” Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins said. “These are terrible times.”

Watson said she voted no because the Detroit Three automakers are on the verge of receiving $25 billion in federal loans to aid them, and giving GM a tax break now doesn’t sit well with her.
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The Nikkei reports that Isuzu Motors Ltd. is developing a series hybrid bus that it plans to commercialize in Japan in the first half of the 2010s.

The series hybrid system’s diesel engine can be made roughly 30% smaller than those used in conventional buses and maintains constant revolution regardless of vehicle speed. As a result, Isuzu’s bus delivers 30% better fuel economy than conventional diesel buses. The new system is also about 20% more fuel-efficient than the parallel hybrid system.

Isuzu plans to initially employ the new hybrid system for large buses 9 meters or longer and mid-size buses 7-9 meters in length. Further down the road, it aims to also use the technology in small and mid-size trucks. Isuzu plans to offer public transportation authorities and other potential customers test rides on its series hybrid buses as early as next year.

Isuzu currently offers a parallel diesel-electric hybrid system for its Elf trucks.

Source: Green Car Congress

The Santa Fe blue Hybrid maintains the overall design and dynamics of the standard Santa Fe, but is altogether a different car under the hood. Hyundai engineers developed a proprietary parallel hybrid drive system which mates the powerful but thrifty 2.4-litre Theta engine to a six-speed automatic transmission and a 41PS electric motor for maximum fuel economy and substantially reduced CO2 emissions. This proprietary parallel hybrid drive architecture will serve as the foundation for all future hybrid drive vehicles to be developed by Hyundai.

Advanced hybrid technology
Developed at the Namyang R&D Centre in Korea, the petrol-electric hybrid technology featured in the Santa Fe blue Hybrid reduces CO₂ emissions to just 148 g/km (combined cycle) and delivers a fuel consumption figure of 6.2l/100km (combined cycle). With an estimated top speed of 170 km/h, performance has barely been compromised.

To maximize fuel economy, all of the Theta’s major driveline and cooling system components have been optimized to reduce friction, while the crankcase has been filled with low friction oil. Engine control software automatically shuts off the engine when the vehicle comes to a halt, cutting emissions to zero. When pressure is reapplied to the accelerator pedal, the Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) automatically restarts the engine. The Theta’s engine control software governing injection pressure, engine cycle timing and exhaust retreatment rates has been revised to further reduce fuel consumption.

In addition, the latest electric motor-assisted steering system reduces power drain, and very low resistance tyres further optimize fuel economy.

Electric propulsion for the Santa Fe blue Petrol-Electric Hybrid is provided by a 41PS electric motor (205Nm), which is coupled directly to the six-speed automatic transmission. The top three gear ratios have been extended to ensure lower engine revolutions per minute (RPM) and further enhance fuel economy. Electrical power is stored in a 270V Lithium Polymer rechargeable battery (5.3Ah/270V) which has significant advantages over Lithium-Ion batteries, including higher energy density and lower manufacturing costs. Li-Poly is also more resistant to physical damage and can also take more charge-discharge cycles before storage capacity begins to degrade.

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Seven versions of the all-new Kia Soul urban crossover passenger car will star in a special ‘Soul World’ as the new segment-busting vehicle makes its world debut at the Paris Mondial de l’Automobile from 2 October 2008.

The eagerly awaited Kia Soul marks a revolutionary expansion of the Kia product line-up. A bold statement of Kia’s determination to succeed as one of the world’s top automotive companies, Kia Soul is destined to appeal to a whole new group of European and global consumers.

Alongside the new Soul – which will arrive in UK showrooms during Spring 2009 – will be a raft of new environmental-focused vehicles including a hybrid version of Soul, a cee’d hybrid, a latest-generation fuel-cell powered Sportage and a cee’d ‘Idle Stop&Go’ car, which is due to go on sale in the New Year.

“Soul presents consumers with such a broad selection of styling, comfort and equipment choices, that it redefines the concept of freedom. It’s a brand new urban car packed full of liberating ideas – a car that challenges consumers to ‘free your mind’, to build an emotional bond with their new car and to rethink everything they know about Kia,” enthuses Mr Hyoung-Keun Lee, Senior Executive Vice President and COO, International Business Division, Kia Motors Corporation.

Kia Motors Corporation Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer, has overseen the evolution of Kia Soul from 2006 concept fantasy to its 2008 production reality. “The new Kia Soul will be a breakthrough vehicle for Kia on its journey to be seen as a design-led company and the maker of distinctive cars which consumers aspire to own. Conceived in the USA, developed in Korea and fine-tuned in Europe, I strongly believe that the production Kia Soul urban crossover is a completely resolved design that has successfully achieved its own distinctive style.

“Kia Soul is all about creating a car that demonstrates our passion for automotive design, gets Kia talked about, and generates an irresistible customer appeal that will translate into strong sales,” added Schreyer.

“First impressions will make a big impact and there will be several unique aspects to the experience of sitting in the Soul,” enthused Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer, Kia Motors Europe. “The tall doors and high-mounted seats make for easy access, whilst the ‘laid back’ dashboard, triple dial instrument cluster and thick-rimmed steering wheel create an unusual combination of spaciousness for passengers and cosiness for the driver to generate a very special ambience inside this new Kia.”

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