Green Car Advisor
Total Sales of Toyota Hybrids in Japan Top 1 Million; Global Sales Pass 2.68 Million
Toyota Motor Corp. announced today that cumulative sales in Japan of its hybrid vehicles have topped the 1-million mark, while more than 2.68 million of the fuel-efficient vehicles have been sold globally as of July 31.
As you may recall, Toyota launched its first hybrid vehicle in August 1997 in Japan, but it's not the model you're likely thinking of (the Prius, the world's first mass-produced hybrid vehicle, wasn't launched until December of that year).
No, the first of Toyota's hybrids was the Coaster Hybrid EV minibus (pictured).
The use of the Toyota hybrid system was subsequently expanded to such vehicles as minivans, SUVs and rear-wheel-drive sedans.
In 2009, the Japanese automaker broadened its range of hybrid vehicles further with the launch of the third-generation Prius, as well as two other dedicated hybrid vehicles, the Lexus HS 250h and the Toyota Sai. Currently, nine Toyota-produced hybrid passenger vehicle models and three hybrid commercial vehicle models are sold in Japan.
Outside Japan, eight hybrid passenger vehicle models are sold in approximately 80 countries and regions, with cumulative overseas sales having topped 1.68 million units.
In a statement issued today, Toyota said it is committed to augmenting this lineup even further and increasing the number of countries and regions in which it sells hybrid vehicles.
As of July 31, the company calculates that Toyota hybrid vehicles, since 1997, have led to approximately 4 million fewer tons of CO2 emissions in Japan, and approximately 15 million fewer tons globally, than would have been emitted by gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size and driving performance.
Toyota said it aims to sell 1 million hybrid vehicles a year as early as possible in the 2010s, and introduce hybrid models in all vehicle series in its lineup as early as possible in the 2020s.
SF Bay Area Gets $5 Million for Home and Commercial EV Chargers
San Francisco Bay Area EV owners - mostly Tesla drivers right now but the region is to be one of the first to get allocations of Nissan Leaf BEVs and Chevy Volt extended range plug-ins late this year - are going to benefit from an agressive government effort to provide them with affordable battery charging stations.
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San Francisco has installed a row of EV chargers near City Hall, and the Bay Area region expects to have thousands more in place withing a year.
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Mayors in the region endorsed a public-private plan in late 2008 to install billions of dollars worth of charging stations for electric-drive vehicles, and scores of chargers funded with federal, state and local grants already have been installed by individual cities in the region in preparation for the debut of rechargeable electric cars.
Now the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has approved a $5 million grant program helppay for installation of 3,000 residential EV chargers (for single family and multi-family dwelliongs); 2,000 public electric vehicle chargers to be installed at businesses and in public parking lots; and 50 fast chargers, capable of providing battery charges in 30 minutes or less, to be installed at locations with easy access from the region's freeway system.
The grants will be made in support of the district's Spare the Air program and is designed to help make electric vehicles viable private transportation options for Bay Area residents, said district CEO Jack P. Broadbent.
The transportation sector accounts for more than half the air pollution in the nine-county region and the district is charged with controlling and reducing that pollution.
China's BYD Lowers Its 2010 Sales Target by 25 Percent, Cites Capacity Constraints
Only 24 hours after we reported that BYD Auto is experiencing a serious sales slump, the Chinese automaker announced today that it had cut its sales target by 25 percent to 600,000 autos this year due to capacity constraints.
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Right, a BYD Auto F3 taxi in Xian, China.
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Analysts had expected BYD to revise down its target after the Chinese company's auto sales in June fell 21 percent from May.
Sales of the F3 model, BYD's most popular car last year, slumped 30 percent during the first half of this year. At the halfway point, BYD had made only 36 percent of its vehicle-sales target of 800,000 for this year.
"China's car market is still good in the second half, although growth will probably not be as strong as the first half," BYD spokesman Henry Li told Reuters news service.
China's car market, which had been red-hot last year, started to lose some of its steam in the second quarter.
BYD was not alone in seeing its sales growth slow in July compared with previous months. Ford's China car venture saw its July auto sales fall 6.3 percent to 18,255 units. Toyota said its China car sales climbed merely 1.0 percent last month.
BYD began selling the world's first mass-produced, plug-in hybrid vehicle - the BYD F3DM - in December 2008. During the same month, legendary U.S. investor Warren Buffet spent $230 million buying up a 10% stake in BYD for his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate holding company.
The automaker is hoping to start selling its e6 all-electric vehicle in the U.S. later this year. The model is currently being field-tested in China.
South Korea's Hyundai Sets 50 MPG U.S. Fleetwide Fuel Economy Goal for 2025
Hyundai Motor America plans to boost its fleetwide fuel economy for its cars and light-duty trucks to 50 miles per gallon by 2025, marking a 43 percent increase from Hyundai's goal for 2015 and signaling the domestic unit of the South Korean automaker's efforts to boost sales by highlighting its commitment to making more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Hyundai had already disclosed a plan for its fleet to reach a 35-mpg average in 2015, one year ahead of the 2016 deadline the U.S. government has set for automakers to get a 35.5-mpg rating.
The company, in a statement today, highlighted its mid-sized Sonata sedan, which earlier this year debuted a four-cylinder engine that gets 35 mpg highway and which will include a hybrid version this fall with even better fuel economy.
"We're committed to setting the pace in this industry on fuel economy," John Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America president and CEO, said in today's statement. "Getting to 50 mpg and beyond seems like a huge leap, but by making this commitment and aligning our R&D initiatives now, we know we can get there."
During a speech at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in Michigan today, Krafcik wasn't afraid to admit that despite the gains Hyundai has made with the Blue Drive hybrid and other efficiency-pumping advances, the company doesn't know for sure how to deliver on the 50-mpg promise.
"Is it a classic Hyundai stretch target," Krafcik asked rhetorically. But he said it is the company's nature to first set goals and then determine how to make it happen. "Getting to 50 mpg and beyond seems like a huge leap, but by making this commitment and aligning our R&D initiatives now, we know we can get there."
Krafcik said Hyundai will show a concept car at November's Los Angeles auto show that will be "an important piece of this fuel-economy puzzle."
Hyundai is looking to use its fuel-economy efforts and the announcement of its lofty gas-mileage goals to boost sales in the U.S. The company Tuesday said this year's U.S. unit sales through July jumped 24 percent to about 310,000 vehicles, with the Sonata accounting for more than a third of that total.
Hyundai in March unveiled the 2011 Sonata Hybrid (pictured) to the public and said at the time that the vehicle would have a lithium-polymer battery pack that would help make the car about 260 pounds lighter than the competing Ford Fusion Hybrid.
In June, Krafcik said the Sonata Hybrid, which will have 209 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque, may have an EPA-rated highway fuel economy of as much as 40 miles per gallon, which best among mid-sized competitors. Its combined city and highway fuel economy isn't available yet, but it seems likely it would be ahead close to the Ford Fusion Hybrid's 39 mpg and better than than the Toyota Camry Hybrid's 33 mpg combined ratings.
Danny King is a regular contributor to Green Car Advisor. Bill Visnic is a senior editor for AutoObserver.
GreenBriefs: GM Says Gen-2 Mild Hybrids Coming, Panelists Insist ICE Will Dominate, DuPont Does Li-Ion Battery Separators, GM Wants Volt MPG Label
General Motors executive director of hybrid and electric powertrain engineering Larry Nitz says GM palms to bring back mild hybrids.
GM discontinued mild hybrids - which unlike full hybrids cannot propel a vehicle on electric power alone, but rather typically rely on an automatic engine stop-start system, electric-motor assist and regenerative braking- last year.
Nitz said GM will offer at least one mid-sized sedan in North America and one in China beginning in the fall of 2011, and that they will feature a second-generation mild-hybrid system that will provide better fuel savings.
He wouldn't discuss the vehicles in greater detail, except to remind that the first-generation mild-hybrid system was available in China on the Buick LaCrosse.
A panel of powertrain executives say conventional internal-combustion gasoline engines will continue to dominate the market for the next 20 years despite the buzz surrounding alternative vehicles.
Speaking at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI, Ford's vice president of global powertrain engineering Barb Samardzich said she's been telling the automaker's young engineers that improving gasoline engines "will be a great career going forward."
Johannes-Joerg Rueger, senior V.P. of diesel engineering for global parts supplier Robert Bosch, said internal-combustion engines will hold 80 percent of the market at least through 2020.
GM's Nitz, agreeing with Samardzich and Rueger, said "the conventional technologies we have today are a clear path through 2016." That said, GM, Ford and Bosch are pursuing alternative power technologies.
Report: China Preparing to Spend $14.7 Billion on Alt Energy Vehicles Through 2020
The Chinese government has said repeatedly that it intends the country to become the world leader in development, production and use of electric cars and other alternative energy vehicles.
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China already is designating highway lanes for electric cars, now it plans to start filling them.
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Now comes a report that it is preparing to put its money behind that promise.
The Shanghai Securities News says China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has prepared a new 10-year plan, slated for approval by the State Council later this month, that sets aside 100 billion yuan (U.S. $14,7 billion) for development and adoption of alternative energy vehicles.
The unattributed news report says that China hopes to produce 500,000 alt-energy vehicles annually starting in 2011.
Analysts at IHS Global Insight say this proposed expenditure is in addition to about $3 billion in already-approved hybrid and plug-in electric vehicle subsidies for private and commercial purchases and that China also is increasing its focus on development of a national EV charging network.
Finding a way to being down the premium cost of alternative energy vehicles remains a challenge, though - a situation that bedevils Detroit and Tokyo as much as it does Beijing.
China's got lots of obstacles to overcome in its drive to dominate the EV industry - not the least of which is improving the quality and fit-and-finish of domestically built cars and trucks. but we hope our own automakers, and government policy makers, are paying attention.
If China realizes its ambitious plans while we play politics and marginalize alternative energy vehicles - EVs, PHEVS and, yes, fuel-cell electric vehicles - as too pricey and too complicated, the next big threat to the U.S. auto industry will be coming from the Middle Kingdom.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Parking Pad Promises Plugless Charging Convenience for Electric Vehicles
Evatran Is Aiming Its Hands-Free System At Home and Commercial Markets
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Rebecca Hough sees the day when no one plugs in an EV - at least not at home.
The co-founder and marketing director of Evatran isn't banking on the demise of the rechargeable electric-drive vehicle, indeed, she'd like to see everyone driving EVs and what we now call plug-in hybrids.
She just hopes that her company's plugless charger - Evatran claims it is the world's first for automotive applications - catches on and that every garage with a rechargeable electric car also has an Evatran Plugless Power parking pad.
The system, which Hough and other members of her Virginia-based company were displaying at the recent Plug In 2010 conference in San Jose, Calif., is an induction charger that lets you "fill" your batteries without having to plug the car into anything.
Like an Electric Toothbrush Charger
Just park with the appropriate part of the car (the nose in this case) over the charging pad and left electromagnetic induction work its magic - just as it does with your electric toothbrush, but with a lot more power.
There are still a few bugs to be worked out - including shielding against heat incidents that could occur if stray metal got trapped between the car and the charging pad (it would be like metal in a microwave oven, but without the sparks) and - more importantly- how to get automakers to agree to install on their rechargeable vehicles the software and hardware required to make the Evatran system work.
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Plugless Power system uses tower or wall-mount unit and wireless parking pad that automatically aligns energy source with receiver mounted on vehicle.
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The company also still is working on optimizing the system to reduce the power loss that has always been an issue with induction charging. The old Magne Charge system used with the General Motors EV1 in California from 1996 to 2002 ran with a 14 percent power loss between the power source and the battery.
Evatran says it is now seeing a 20 percent loss but expects to get that down to 10 percent by the time the units are ready for market.
But Hough says the company isn't worried about the bugs - solutions are in sight - and is taking things in steps.
Step 1, which launches later this year, will be the sale of home charging units that do have a plug - tower or wall-mount Evatran Level II charging stations (240 volts, 32 amps) equipped with the new North American standard J1772 connector nozzle.
Forbes Claims Finding a Better Value Than Chevy Volt Is One Easy Task
But That's Mainly If Concern Is Cost, Not Efficiency or Environmental Friendliness
Forbes, which recently predicted the Nissan Leaf EV will be a sales failure, has just published a list of what it describes as "20 better values than a Chevy Volt."
The article, with which we have issues, notes that the extended-range plug-in hybrid will carry a U.S. MSRP of $41,000 before tax breaks and for a time will cost $33,500 with the federal incentive. And, really, there's no denying that the Volt is an expensive sedan.
Forbes states "there are plenty of great cars" one can buy for less than $41,000 or even less than $33,500," and then provides the following lists:
"This list doesn't even touch the rich recession market of slightly used cars," Forbes concludes.
Given that Forbes has no idea how well the Volt will hold up, nor does it know what kind of fuel economy it will achieve overall - after traveling the first 40 miles or so on electrons only - we really wonder how the publication came up with this list.
It certainly didn't do it on the basis of fuel economy, which is Volt's key selling point - most analysts expect it to get at least 60 mpg on a full charge and tank - otherwise the first three models listed wouldn't be listed. That's because: The Audi Q5 gets only 20 mpg combined, the BMW 3-Series about 24 mpg, and the Cadillac CTS Sports Wagon also about 24 mpg.
We can go on and on about Forbes' list, which seems to compare apples to oranges to pears, but one thing that must be noted is that most Volt drivers will likely be leasing their vehicles, given the attractive Volt leases Chevrolet will be offering. Forbes made no mention of them.
Scott Doggett, Contributing Editor
Panelists Say Charging Infrastructure Really Isn't Needed for Electric Vehicles
The refrain is growing: the new age of electrified vehicles is a good thing, but all that chicken-or-egg investment in charging infrastructure everyone always assumed would be necessary before people would buy them? Not necessary after all.
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EV charging stations in San Francisco.
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At the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI, today, several panelists in a session titled "Full-scale Deployment: Making the Business Case," reiterated what is becoming the new conventional thinking about EV-charging infrastructure: It's not really needed.
Robert Bienenfeld, American Honda Motor Co. Inc.'s senior manager of environment and energy strategy in the automaker's product regulatory office, said although establishing a large charging infrastructure might be a "badge of honor" for EV proponents who've long fought for a quicker pace, the vast majority of consumers are well-served by the driving range provided by the charging they can do at home.
"Very little charging is needed in the public sector," Bienenfeld said.
He also said that although there are concrete plans in many regions to install reasonably extensive infrastructure, a lot of investment in public charging inevitably will come to be judged as "stranded assets."
The message was similar at a green-car conference earlier this year, where many auto-industry sources indicated that all the early angst about EV range anxiety is beginning to look unnecessary.
Improving battery technology is leading to increased driving range - Nissan claims up to 100 miles for the coming Leaf - while better intelligence about consumer needs and driving habits is leading to the understanding that public charging wouldn't be vital for most EV drivers.
Bill Visnic, AutoObserver Senior Editor
What! Me Worry? GM 's Nitz Says $41,000 Volt Will Have Plenty of Buyers
While many of us out here in news land are wondering about GM's decision to price the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt at a hefty $41,000, the General is displaying carefree nonchalance.
Larry Nitz, GM's executive director of hybrid and electric powertrain engineering, told an audience that the annual Traverse City, Mich., executive briefing session today that the extended-range plug-in hybrid should have "a plentiful supply of customers at that price."
Nitz mentioned the fact that a federal tax subsidy will reduce the four-seat Volt's MSRP by $7,500, but did not address the notion that many GM dealers are likely to expect significant markups for the rechargeable electric-drive car with an on-board generator.car.
Even with a newly announced production increase of 50 percent to 45,000 units in total for the first year, GM's extended-range plug-in hybrid is likely to be in high demand by early adopters and environmentally concerned customers.
Bill Visnic, AutoObserver Senior Editor
Vote Postponed on Senate Energy Bill With EV Funding Provisions
The Senate Democrats' energy and oil spill liability bill that also contains $3.9 billion in new federal funding to promote development and use of electric vehicles won't get even a test vote before the summer recess.
Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has postponed consideration of the measure and an opposing GOP-based bill until September in the face of bickering over oil spill liability issues.
Reid's mill seeks to abolish the $75 million offshore drilling liability limit on oil companies while the GOP counter-measure would permit the president to establish new, higher liability limits for spills occurring after the bill is passed but appears to keep the $75 million limit in place for BP, whose massive Gulf of Mexico well blowout has caused billions in damages with total still mounting.
Pundits are giving both bills scant chance at passage, but what galls us (yes, we have a limited world-view here) is that one undeserving victim of the fighting over how much BP and other oil companies should be required to pay when their drilling ventures go awry will be the funding for EVs and other alternative fuels that's been stuck into Reid's measure.
John O'Dell, Senior Editor
European Prius' PHEV Fuel Economy Testing 42% Above Conventional Model's
Edmunds.com had a plug-in Prius for a month earlier this year and even with all the hard driving our editors subject test cars to, it was averaging 62 miles per gallon, or 21.5 percent over the conventional Prius' EPA combined mileage rating of 51 mpg.
In Europe, it appears to be doing even better.
Toyota's North American advanced powertrain program manager told an audience in Michigan today that in testing in various European fleet tests, fuel economy in the the plug-in Prius has been running closer to 42 percent above the conventional model.
That'd be 72 miles per gallon.
AutoObserver Senior Editor Bill Visnic, reported Justin Ward's remarks from Traverse City, Mich., where the Toyota Motor engineering and Manufacturing North America executive spoke at the Center for Automotive Research's annual management briefing program.
Ward also told his audience that the Toyota PHEV - which is just starting testing in the U.s. and is slated to go on sale in 2011, should deliver significant fuel efficiency gains even to those who drive it well beyond the 5.2 kilowatt-hour battery pack's capacity to deliver 13 miles of all-electric (and thus, 0 mpg) range.
In Green Car Advisor's own day of driving the plug-in Prius back in April, we found that fuel economy declined as the miles driven between battery charges piled up.
On a 28-mile combined city-freeway test loop in San Diego, we averaged 58.9 miles, just after tallying 99.9 mpg on an 8-mile city loop in which the gas engine never fired up.
Enova Gets Order for 50 More Electric Drive Systems From Smith Electric Vehicles
An Enova electric drive system is lowered into a Newton truck chassis on the Smith Electric Vehicles assembly line.
Enova Systems said today that Kansas City-based Smith Electric Vehicles has just ordered 50 more Enova drive systems for the Smith Newton electric truck. The order is the third this year, for a total of 120 electric drive units, and Enova said Smith plans to buy 250 of its 120 kilowatt-systems by the end of the year.
The Newton is the largest battery-electric truck in production and Smith recently was awarded a $32 million Energy Department grant to help offset future development costs and provide customer incentives to spur purchases of its trucks.
In addition to Smith, Torrance-based Enova supplies electric-drive systems and components to truck makers Freightliner and Navistar - the company is exclusive hybrid systems supplier for Navistar's hybrid bus unit - and to Chinese automaker First Auto Works.
GM Invests in PHEV Maker Bright Automotive, Says Strategic Alliance Next
General Motors Corp. said it has invested $5 milllion in Indiana-based Bright Automotive and intends to begin sharing technology with the start-up company.
Bright, a spinoff from the famed Rocky Mountain Institute, is developing a plug-in hybrid commercial van - the IDEA - that is targeted to deliver 100 mpg fuel economy from a system that uses a four-cylinder gas engine to drive the front wheels and an electric motor to drive the rear wheels.
Weight reduction accomplished by strategic use of aluminum and other lightweight body parts is a key part of the formula - enabling the streamlined van to use smaller, lighter, less costly batteries than its size and range would otherwise dictate.
Bright has said it is aiming to deliver up to 40 miles of all-electric range before the gas engine kicked in. The electric motor also could be used to assist the 36 mpg gas engine. Depending on the amount of daily travel, the IDEA could deliver 100 mpg, the company said (fuel economy would decline as mileage between battery charges increased).
Sales of Full-Sized SUVs Once Again Outpace Sales of Small Cars in America
Despite all the attention automakers and politicians have been giving electric vehicles and low-emissions cars for quite some time, U.S. sales of full-sized SUVs outpaced small-car sales the first half of this year.
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Right, a Chevy Suburban full-sized SUV.
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Moreover, not only did sales of full-sized SUVs jump 19 percent compared to a 14-percent increase in small-car sales for the same period, but the entire market jumped 17 percent during that time.
The full-sized SUV category includes not only traditional truck-style SUVs, but also car-based crossover SUVs such as the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT as well as crossovers sold by Chevy, GMC and Buick.
Small cars still outsold big ones 974,000 to 121,000 from January through June, but with nationwide gasoline prices for regular hanging below $3 a gallon and auto loans easier to obtain, Americans are once again of the opinion that bigger is better, at least as relates to automobiles.
As a result, General Motors and Toyota have ramped up SUV production recently. Even Infiniti, Nissan's luxury unit, has boosted production of its lame-duck 2010 Infiniti QX56 full-sized SUV so dealers don't run out of them early.
Will sales of the full-sized SUVs likely continue as they are? Don't bet on it. The truck-style models typically get 15 or 16 miles per gallon in combined driving these days, while the crossovers are just 2 or 3 mpg better. Recent history has shown that $4 gasoline deflates sales of that segment as suddenly as a bayonet thrust to an inflatable raft.
And while hybrids and some small cars were selling at or near MSRP during the first half of this year - and most of the hybrids carried a technology premium - automakers were practically giving away those SUVs to clean out the cupboards. The first half of 2010 may ultimately prove to be the last hurrah for the full-sized, truck-based SUV.
BYD, Famous for Warren Buffet Investment and Its EV Plans, Hits a Sticky Patch
On the face of it, BYD has been doing fine.
The Chinese automaker famous for its substantial investment from legendary American moneyman Warren Buffett and its plans to mass produce electric vehicles, has already placed at least 30 of its e6 battery-electric taxis into service on Shenzhen's roads and may have 560 operating by year's end.
In May, BYD and Daimler AG, maker of Mercedes-Benz and Smart cars, signed a contract creating a 50-50 research and technology joint venture that will develop an electric vehicle for China.
And in April, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and BYD Chairman Chuanfu Wang stood on the steps of Los Angeles' City Hall and announced that BYD will establish its North American headquarters in downtown L.A.
But according to an article in today's Wall Street Journal (subscription required), the automaker has "hit a sticky patch." Sales are stalling, the newspaper said citing data from J.D. Power & Associates, up just 3 percent on-year in June.
In particular, sales of the F3 model, BYD's most popular car last year, slumped 30 percent. The compact car segment it is in has become the most competitive part of China's auto market. Accordingly, halfway through the year, BYD's made only 36 percent of its vehicle-sales target of 800,000 in 2010, the Journal said.
The company is an example of an automaker that "overpromised, and is now under-delivering," Bill Russo, an auto-industry expert at the consultancy Synergistics, told the paper.
That said, if sales per month carry on at June's slower rate, BYD's sales for 2010 will exceed those in 2009 comfortably. But its shares have undergone a justifiable re-rating, falling by 33 percent from a high reached in early April.
The company now trades at 18.9 times forecast earnings for the coming 12 months - way below a historic high of 56 times - but still ahead of its peer average of 15.9 times, the Journal reports, citing data provider Starmine.
Think $41,000 Steep For A Chevy Volt? One Dealer Wants $20,000 Premium!
Gouging Season Begins as Limited Initial Volume All But Guarantees Supply-Demand Imbalance
We know how the same is played - consumers are always happy to take a car dealer to the cleaners but resent it when the dealer wants a premium for a hot car.
We even understand the dealer's motivation - if customers demand bargains when times are tough and cars just aren't moving, then why not try to make a little back when there's a model that's expected to outsell supplies.
But when the government is urging people to help slash oil use by purchasing the most fuel-efficient vehicles out there, is it wrong to suggest that the idea of charging consumers steep premiums for such cars seems a bit, well, unpatriotic?
We haven't heard a lot about price gouging with the upcoming Chevrolet Volt - or the Nissan Leaf EV for that matter - but we suspect it will start and we've already got one doozy of an example.
A Southern California Chevrolet dealer's internet sales office - no names because we haven't talked to the dealership's management yet - told one of our colleagues that because the Volt would be in high demand and short supply, it wants a $20,000 premium for the $41,000 car!
BMW Rumored to Be Working on Plug-in Hybrid Sports Car Slated to Launch in 2013
BMWBLOG is reporting that the Bavarian maker of "ultimate driving machines" is rumored to be working on a plug-in hybrid sports car that's slated to launch in 2013 and compete with Mercedes-Benz' SLS E-Cell and Audi's E-Tron.
The blog says the BMW i100 Coupe ActiveHybrid (rendered at right) will be capable of traveling 9 to 31 miles on electrons only and, in addition to two 50-horsepower electric motors, will feature a three-cylinder direct-injection engine generating an additional 165-185 hp.
Continuing on the rumor path, the German publication Auto Bild reports that the engine most likely a diesel unit similar to the one found in the Vision Concept. That rear/mid-mounted turbocharged engine is fitted to the 6-speed DCT gearbox.
For the U.S. market, BMW might - might - offer a four-cylinder powerplant as well, BMWBLOG says. Unlike the competition from Audi and Mercedes-Benz, the BMW will offer room for four passengers.
The blog says BMW plans to sell about 35,000 units at about $140,000 apiece, and that it might be presented at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. We'll see. BMW isn't talking.
EcoMotors' Don Runkle Discusses Career, OPOC Engine-Generator and More...
Don Runkle, the former GM and Delphi engineering executive who now heads EcoMotors International as it strives to launch a new small-size, big-power, fuel-efficient combustion engine with potential for use with plug-in hybrids, stationary power generators and small aircraft, is the subject of the first "Power Breakfast" interview and profile series launched today by our colleagues over at Auto Observer.
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EcoMotors CEO Don Runkle displays briefcase-sized OPOC motor capable of generating 10 kilowatts of electricity - sufficient to power a home.
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The piece, by former Wall Street Journal and New York Times writer Doron Levin, examines Runkle's fascinating career track - he helped develop the EV1 as well as a number of conventional gasoline engines while at General Motors; looks at the OPOC (opposed piston, opposed cylinder) engine EcoMotors is developing - warts and all; and explains how Runkle plans to hide his new iPhone 4G when meeting with EcoMotors' investor Bill Gates so as not to get caught up in the enmity between Apple and Gate's Microsoft.
It's an enlightening, and fun, read and we recommend it.
You might also want to check our piece on Ecomotors if you missed it first time around.
Nissan Begins Taking Reservations for Leaf BEV in Portugal and Republic of Ireland
Nissan began taking European reservations for the Leaf battery-electric vehicle starting last Friday, with pre-order books opening in Portugal and the Republic of Ireland.
The U.K. will be the next European country where reservations for the BEV will be taken, Nissan announced recently.
The ordering process is a first step in securing a place on the list to receive the plug-in, emissions-free model that will go on sale in Europe starting early next year.
Leaf deliveries are slated to begin in Portugal in January, Ireland in February and the U.K. in March.
The Leaf will be priced at just under 30,000 euros ($39,519 at today's exchange rate) after incentives in most of its European launch markets.
This means the Leaf will cost almost $13,173 more than the U.S. price, which is set at $32,780 - and that's before a U.S. tax credit of $7,500 is applied.