BAIC (Beijing Automotive) has unveiled in China its first self-developed electric car, the BE701. The BE701 was built by BAIC’s Beijing New Energy Automotive subsidiary.

Claimed specifications for the car so far looks pretty decent – a 200km range on a full charge, 0 to 100km/h in 15 seconds, and a top speed of 160km/h, which are quite acceptable figures for a car. Maybe not for a car that looks as grand as the BE701 but anyone could live with those sort of specifications.

The 200km range will of course keep it as a city solely for city use, but it will be more than enough for a day’s use before getting to a charge point for an overnight charge.

Beijing Automotive also announced a new clean energy vehicle development and manufacturing facility which it built for 2.28 billion yuan (RM1.13 billion). The facility will be able to churn out 50,000 EVs and 100,000 hybrid models annually.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Renault’s production Zoe Z.E. EV and Kangoo EV will be produced in France (although at two different plants), but the EV version of the Renault Fluence will be produced in Bursa, Turkey in the first half of 2011.

That’s over a whole year to go, but since the Fluence is a relatively affordable Megane sedan, an affordable relatively large C-segment (Civic FD sized) electric sedan is a welcome addition in the product offerings of any country. A Malaysian debut seems quite far off in the distance at this moment though, as the Renault Fluence EV will first be launched in Israel and Denmark, and then continue to make its way to other countries.

Fluence EV buyers will get three battery charge options – your regular charge which will take hours, a rapid charge that requires an external charger, and the Quick Drop battery exchange program. With Quick Drop, you basically cycle between multiple batteries with your EV ownership. Drive it into a Quick Drop garage and the system swaps your EV’s depleted battery with a new fully charged battery in about 3 minutes. It’s a very cool solution but of course Quick Drop will probably only be offered in countries that has Quick Drop centers in place.

There has been no talk of an ASEAN debut so far. Perhaps Tan Chong can try for an electric Fluence to be assembled here in Malaysia for local consumption and export. If they price it at RM150,00.99 or something they qualify for a new manufacturing license, zero local ownership requirement, etc etc various other incentives under the new NAP review. Look after the jump for a gallery of the Fluence EV.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

So far a mix of both regular nameplates in the industry as well as new EV startups (seems like getting into the electric car business is quite easy given the accessibility to ready-made components like motors and batteries) have signed up and a total of 20 different cars will be displayed. Will we see Detroit Electric there? You can be sure for Renault to be there with some of their EV cars which use the Nissan Leaf’s EV powertrain.

A JV between Dow Chemical and South Korean company Kokam Engineering recently receiveda US$161 million grant to develop these EV batteries and build them at a $665 million 800,000 square foot facility consisting of an R&D center and production plant in Michigan.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Members of the media all around the world were in Miami a few days ago to drive the new BMW X6 ActiveHybrid, and you should already be seeing the test drive reports pouring in. The X6 ActiveHybrid not only has a 4.4 liter twin-turbocharged V8, but an additional two electric motors to help it blast along, with maximum traction too thanks to all wheels being driven. As per normal practice, BMW has released a batch of new photos of the ActiveHybrid X6 snapped at the media test drive event. Enjoy the photos in high resolution glory after the jump. The old batch of photos are here.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

This is basically a rebadged Mitsubishi i MiEV, due to go on sale in Europe in Q4 2010 under the Citroen brand. It is a expansion of an existing collaboration between Mitsubishi and PSA Peugeot-Citroen, where the French marques badge-engineered the Mitsubishi Outlander as their own SUVs. But with the Outlander they made significant changes to the exterior sheet metal, with the C-Zero the MiEV looks very much unchanged.

Drive is via a permanent magnet synchronous motor making 64 horses between 3,000rpm to 6,000rpm and peak torque of 180Nm from 0 to 2,000rpm. The motor is powered by a 330V lithium-ion battery made of 88 x 50Ah cells. You can recharge the batteries via a regular cord into a 220V socket. Regular charging takes 6 hours, and a 80% can be done in half an hour if you use an external charger which supplies a single-phase current of 125A at 400V.

Citroen will be launching more alternative fuel vehicles such as a full hybrid vehicle called the Citroen DS5 in 2011.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Renault-Nissan has announced that it will work with an Indian company called Bajaj Auto to produce the world’s cheapest car, even cheaper than the Tata Nano. An agreement was signed and the partnership is set to introduce the new low-cost vehicle in 2012.

Under the agreement, Bajaj will handle the design, engineering as well as the manufacturing while Renault-Nissan will focus on marketing, branding and the sale of parts. CEO Carlos Ghosn revealed that the cost of the car will be lower any car made in India today, pointing to a price tag that would be cheaper than the Rs 1 lakh carried by the Nano.

With India to become the primary market and exports to emerging markets to be made later, the new vehicle is expected to feature a mileage that is better than 20 kilometers per liter. The car will be built in India and will target India’s emerging middle class. Both companies actually announced a partnership last year but apparently there were some disagreements, which have now been resolved. Pictured above is the Bajaj Lite concept that was shown in 2008.

Source

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This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Now that most of the regional automotive manufacturing and assembly has gone to Thailand, the biggest buzzword that had been uttered repeatedly during the period where the NAP review was being formulated was hybrid cars and green technology.

So we had to shift focus. The government was quite bent on trying to get a piece of the green pie instead. Or so it seemed, there was plenty of talk in the papers. And you know what they say, supposedly in ASEAN you build your pick-ups in Thailand, your MPVs and vans in Indonesia and your passenger cars in Malaysia. That’s supposedly what kept Volkswagen interested despite flip-flop partnership decisions in the first place.

The new National Automotive Policy review offers a cocktail of R&D grants, duty exemptions, fiscal incentives to whoever invests in the assembly or manufacturing of hybrid and electric vehicles. For automakers, you’ll get 100% Pioneer Status/Investment Tax Allowance for 10 years, training and R&D grants in addition to existing grants, 50% exemption on excise duty on CKD/manufactured vehicles from the IAF.

For hybrid parts suppliers such as electric motors, batteries, Battery Management System, inverters, electric-powered air conditioning, and air compressors, you will get 100% Pioneer Status for 10 years and 100% Investment Tax Allowance for 5 years.

Even before the NAP review was announced, there was one measure that was announced leading up to these new hybrid/EV car incentives announced during the Budget 2009 last year. Imports of CBU hybrid vehicles were given an exemption on import duty and a 50% excise duty exemption. These exemptions will end on the 31st of December 2010 and the NAP review mentions no intention to extend this deadline. If you want to grab a Prius or a Civic Hybrid, you’d better do so before the end of next year, as prices on these cars are sure to go up.

The biggest blow to the government’s green dreams was the announcement that Toyota was going to setup a hybrid manufacturing facility in Thailand. One of the cars that were to be assembled is the Toyota Camry Hybrid. Toyota sells the most hybrid vehicles among all automakers and they are probably the first to setup a hybrid plant outside of their ‘home ground’. Because of their best-seller status, they are able to get the volumes to justify new investments not only in Thailand, but in Australia and soon the UK.

Even with the new lower price of RM129,980 (RM1,180 higher than the Civic 2.0S), Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd only managed to register a total of 100 units of the new Honda Civic Hybrid in Malaysia as of July 2009, and this is the total amount registered since its introduction in our market. The numbers for the much more expensive Toyota Prius certainly will not do any better.

It looks like hybrid cars remain a niche product here despite reduced pricing and there is simply no volume for any car manufacturer to even think of setting up Malaysian assembly facilities, let alone manufacturing facilities. Unless of course you are talking about the ‘SKD’ trickery that some car companies are successfully pulling off. All Honda hybrids are so far assembled at its Suzuka plant.

The government has failed to understand that the production of hybrid vehicles cannot be simply placed anywhere a car company likes – there has to be an ecosystem of hybrid component suppliers as well. It’s a completely different chicken and egg scenario than the one the government thought was most important – pricing and acceptance of hybrid cars which they attempted to solve with the CBU hybrid car incentives that managed to bring the prices of the Civic Hybrid and the Prius down in Malaysia.

And now that Toyota – the largest seller of hybrid vehicles in the world – has placed a hybrid production center in Thailand, guess where the hybrid supplier eco-system is going to be?

The only thing we can do now is sit and wait for hybrid vehicles to take off in terms of acceptance and sales internationally. Then maybe some will come here. But that’s a big maybe. We can look at companies like Ford and GM. GM has a big base in Thailand but they’ve shown some interest in facilities here in the past. We’ve already covered how the Chevrolet Volt is simply too expensive a vehicle to make for what it is, but perhaps the next generation of GM hybrids.

Ford has also shown some improvement in its hybrid car sales – it’s hot on Honda’s heels to take the position of the #2 hybrid seller in the US from the Japanese company. But still, all of these hybrid cars from non-Japanese manufacturers are very US-centric – all medium to large SUVs pretending to be green by adding a motor-assist system in order to comply with weird CAFE systems. They won’t sell in any kind of decent numbers here, not in Malaysia, not in this region, so no reason to assemble them here. Ford Europe is relying more on diesel but the Ford Kuga will be the first European hybrid for the company.

But seriously, for any of that to happen, there will be a gap of years and years in between the end of the CBU import incentives and the introduction of the first locally assembled/produced hybrid car. Prices will shoot up skywards all over again. Hybrid cars will once again become unaffordable. When the cars are not on the road, people will be less exposed to them. Whatever low level of acceptance that hybrid cars currently have will once again go down the drain. And then the first CKD hybrid car will roll out with a decent price, with everyone being afraid to actually buy it.

Do you see what’s wrong with the picture?

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Autonews.com has a very interesting story they managed to squeeze out of Honda’s management at the 2009 Tokyo show centering around one of Honda’s most vital platforms – the Civic platform.

The Civic platform forms the basis of other vehicles like the Stream, the CR-V, and even other Hondas not found in our market such as the Honda Element. The interview revealed that Honda’s original intentions was for the next generation Honda Civic to be even larger and more plush than the current Civic, which has already grown to last decade Accord-ish proportions in terms of length and wheelbase.

The Civic hatchback platform differs from the sedan’s and is smaller.

But that plan has been scrapped. Honda engineers have instead been told to make the Civic smaller and lighter. It’s not 100% clear what this means – the Civic may not necessarily become smaller than the current generation. It could probably mean smaller and lighter than originally intended to be, which would hopefully put it around the same size as the current generation. Honda wants to try creating an increased perception of interior space but keep the exterior dimensions within control.

Another rumour that surfaced a few months ago was that Honda could be splitting the Civic into two lines like Toyota’s Corolla and Corolla Altis, a smaller one for Japanese tax regulations and a larger one for markets that like more metal for their money.

Stream is based on the Civic platform

But such a mid-way change has caused the project to be somewhat delayed. The current Civic has just been facelifted and a new one is supposed to arrive in 2011, a 5 year cycle after its introduction in 2006. But Honda is putting in more manpower to try to meet the target. If that doesn’t happen, the Civic could be delayed for a year or so. Honda president Takanobu Ito admitted the team was struggling.

This is not unprecedented, the previous generation Corolla Altis was also delayed and we still ended up with an all-new Altis that was pretty much a reskinned previous gen.

Other new upcoming Honda products include the implementation of the hybrid IMA system across more models. Right now it is only available in small to medium cars – the Insight, the Civic Hybrid, and pretty soon the CR-Z. A hybrid minivan is coming – this could mean a few things such as an USDM Odyssey Hybrid or even a Stream Hybrid. Not much else was revealed about which minivan model. There used to be an Accord Hybrid but that was scrapped due to discouraging sales. But larger hybrid vehicles like the Accord Hyrbid is going to make a comeback soon.

Honda revealed that a dual-motor IMA system is currently under development. The dual motor system will be configured in a way that it is able to function as an e-CVT in full electric mode, much like the series-parallel system in the Toyota Prius.

This means Honda will have a two-prong hybrid strategy – a motor assist parallel mode hybrid system for smaller cars and a full hybrid series-parallel system that can be used in larger cars. A series-parallel hybrid is of course more costly and complicated to implement thus more suitable for larger vehicles that are able to carry higher price tags.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

The Honda CR-Z Concept you see here is very, very near to production. In fact, the production car probably already exists somewhere in Honda R&D, since it’s supposed to go into production in February 2010. That’s just a few months away. Honda has been talking about this car for a few years now, and a design concept study was already shown at the motorshow back in 2007.

Since then it has evolved and the result is this concept, with even a proper close-to-production interior. I don’t particularly like its gaping mouthed looks (another manufacturer to go Audi-ized?) but things start to get better towards the rear. I hope they don’t settle on this front end for its next generation of cars – that would ruin the next generation Civic.

Under the hood is a 1.5 liter version of Honda’s IMA system (currently available as a 1.3 liter in the Civic Hybrid and Insight), so we don’t really have any power output numbers yet. What’s interesting is that it will be paired to a 6-speed manual transmission. I can’t recall any other hybrid car with a manual. The motor assist will probably kick in according to road incline, etc as well as a data feed from the throttle position sensor.

Look after the jump for live photos and live videos of the CR-Z.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Apart from unveiling the highly anticipated FT-86 concept, Toyota also revealed the FT-EV II concept at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show. The all-electric concept features a lithium-ion battery that enables the concept to deliver over 90 kilometers with a full charge. It also has a top speed of 100 km/h. The zero emissions vehicle has no steering wheel or foot pedals, instead it has only two control levers which are used to control the car.

There is also an enhanced communications system that enables the linking of the driver’s information to a network, that can allow the vehicle to connect with services beyond car navigation such as recommending information tailored to the driver’s preferences and downloading music and movie content.

The concept can also connect to home networks to help store energy and save large volumes of data. According to the auto maker, “The FT-EV II is not simply an electric vehicle designed for a post-fossil fuel era, but is a sustainable concept car that focuses on the relationship between cars, people and society of the future.” Look for more live images of the FT-EV II after the jump.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Nissan has unveiled the new Fuga sedan at the motor event in Tokyo. The Fuga will be available in Japan with two engine options including a VQ25HR 2.5 liter V6 and the VQ37VHR 3.7 liter V6 that can crank out 325hp. The Fuga that is also sold in the US as the Infiniti M comes with features like Double Piston Shock Absorbers, a Lane Departure Prevention system, Intelligent Cruise Control, Cornering Stability Assist and more. It also features a four-wheel steering mechanism.

The Fuga also has an Intelligent Transport System that is integrated into the navigation system. The system supports safe driving by providing information to alert the driver at blind intersections for example, based on information on nearby vehicles and traffic environment which is transmitted to the Fuga from optical beacons installed all across the country.

Along with an eco-driving indicator integrated into the instrument panel, there is also something called an ECO-pedal. Basically, each time the driver steps on the accelerator (when the system is activated), a counter push-back control mechanism is activated if the system detects overly zealous throttle work, helping to inform the driver that they could be using more fuel than required.

The new Fuga will hit showrooms in Japan later this year. The automaker also announced the hybrid variant of the Fuga will hit the Japanese market by autumn 2010. It will feature a 3.5-liter V6, high-power Li-ion batteries and a highly efficient one-motor-two-clutch parallel hybrid. Look for more images of the Fuga after the jump.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

The Hybrid Tourer concept vehicle from Subaru with its twin gullwing doors is currently being presented at the Tokyo Motor Show. The new concept that is rumored to spawn a successor to the SVX mid-sized coupe is powered by a hybrid drivetrain that is made up by a 2.0 liter turbocharged boxer engine and two electric motors (one for each axle).

The rear motor can be used at start-up or at extremely low speeds. It will also kick in during acceleration. The front motor normally acts a power generator and it will also assist the entire drivetrain during uphill acceleration. The all wheel drive concept also features Subarus’s Lineartronic automatic transmission. Continue reading for more images.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Honda has confirmed that the production version of the CR-Z will be introduced in February 2010. Japan will receive the CR-Z first followed by the North American and European markets. The production version will also be shown at next year’s Detroit Motor Show in the United States.

The CR-Z Concept 2009 features a 1.5 liter i-VTEC engine that is part of the auto maker’s IMA hybrid system. The system also includes a 6-speed manual transmission which is the world’s first for a hybrid vehicle. Since the 2009 version of the concept looks very much production ready, expect only minor changes for the actual production model.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Infiniti will have its own all-electric, zero emissions vehicle. That is what CEO of Nissan Carlos Ghosn announced at the Tokyo Motor Show. According to the short statement, the brand which is under Nissan is developing a “stylish, compact, high performance, four-seat luxury Infiniti with zero emissions” concept. Unfortunately no other information was released but there is a possibility that Ghosn is talking about the Nissan LEAF electric vehicle that may be given a more luxurious treatment and sold with the Infiniti badge. Same old formula that Lexus used with turning the Auris into the LF-Ch.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Just hours after showing you a leaked brochure of the Lexus HS250h-based Toyota SAI Hybrid, we now have official information about new hybrid sedan as Toyota has just officially unveiled it. Compared its Lexus counterpart, the SAI has a slightly different front end with restyled headlights, hood, front bumper as well as a reworked grille.

At the rear, the only difference is the reworked tailights. On the side profile, the side windows on the rear doors have been reshaped. Inside, the Sai looks a little different thanks to a new instrument panel, revised air vents on the dashboard as well as a different steering wheel.

As expected, the front wheels are motivated by the same drivetrain found in the HS250h. The THS II system is primarily made up by a 2AZ-FXE 2.4 liter Atkinson-cycle VVTi 4-cylinder petrol unit that is good for 150 PS at 6,000 rpm and 187Nm of torque 4,400 rpm. The engine is coupled with an electric motor that develops 143 PS and 270Nm of torque. The drivetrain produces 190 PS of combined power. Energy is stored in a nickel-metal hydride battery pack and the system also features a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

Unfortunately the auto maker did not disclose any information pertaining to fuel consumption and performance. The Toyota SAI is available in four trim levels in Japan and is priced between 3,380,000 yen (about RM 126,000) and 4,260,000 yen (about RM 159,000). As reported earlier, Toyota has also made available TRD and Modellista packages for the SAI for those that want their car to look a little different.

For those of you wondering what’s with the name, the name SAI is based on the Japanese word sai—which means “talent” when written as “” and “coloration” when written as ““. Toyota intends for it to “combine advanced talent and multi-color sophistication”.

Continue reading to view an image gallery.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

What you see above is the Toyota SAI Hybrid sedan that is based on the Lexus HS250h. The SAI Hybrid is treated to a slightly different exterior styling while the interior features a different dashboard and steering wheel compared to the Lexus variant that was unveiled at this year’s Detroit Motor Show.

The new hybrid sedan is scheduled to be unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show but before that can happen a leaked brochure found its way into the Internet. Under the hood, it is safe to expect the Japanese auto maker to feature the same drivetrain used in the HS250h.

To be more specific, the drivetrain we are talking about is a 150 PS 2.4 liter Atkinson-cycle 4-cylinder engine with VVTi that is paired with a 143 PS electric motor. The brochure also reveals TRD and Modellista packages for the SAI.

Look for more images after the jump.

Source

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Suzuki recently unveiled the 2010 Kizashi but along with the announcement, the auto maker did not reveal power figures of the new Japanese sedan. The Kizashi is initially offered with a 2.4 liter 4-cylinder powerplant that can output 185HP at 6,500 revs and 230Nm of torque at 4,000 revs. The engine has 16 valves and features a DOHC setup. The power unit is mated to a 6 speed manual transmission that allows the vehicle to hit 100 km/h in 7.5 seconds.

Fuel consumption is rated at 23 miles to the gallon (US, city) or 31 miles to the gallon (US, highway). Furthermore, apart from a front wheel drive setup there is also an all wheel drive configuration. Buyers can also opt for a CVT tranny, but horsepower will be reduced to 178HP at 6,000 revs.

Suzuki will add a range-toppng V6 petrol unit later on and as reported earlier, a hybrid variant will join the line-up as well. Both these additions will be offered in about two years. In the US, the 2010 Kizashi is offered with four trim levels including S, SE, GTS and SLS.

The basic S model comes with features like sport front seats, automatic dual-zone climate control, up to eight airbags, push button start and more. Pricing for this model starts from US$20,000. The range topping SLS model fitted with the all wheel drive system costs US$24,000.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Pininfarina is a name that has been heavily associated with Ferrari, but it’s going to have its own car soon. They are scheduled to introduce their new all-electric Bluecar in 2011.

The production Bluecar that was unveiled at this year’s Geneva Motor Show is a 5-door 4-seater compact MPV powered by a Lithium Polymer battery pack, which along with a supercapacity energy storage system can enable the car to deliver 250km of driving range. It would take a few hours to recharge the batteries (via a 230V power outlet) and Pininfarina revealed the batteries will have a life-span of 200,000 km. For once, a car manufacturer that’s honest about the lifespan of the battery they’re putting into their cars!

The Bluecar EV also has solar panels on the roof which can help recharge the batteries. The vehicle will be produced as part of a joint venture with French industrialist Vincent Bollore. Bollore may be interested in manufacturing his own batteries for the Bluecar in France. Regarding the matter, Pininfarina’s CEO, Silvio Pietro Agnori told Italian press, “Bollore is probably interested in providing the battery to the world, and we are interested in designing electric cars for other manufacturers.”

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

They are n the early stages of looking at ways to write software that would fully integrate plug-in hybrid vehicles to the power grid in order to minimize the strain on the grid. Right now of course usage is maximum during the day, especially working hours. Things get much more easy at night when the lights are off and everybody is in bed.

“We are doing some preliminary work. We have begun some work on smart charging of electric vehicles and how you would integrate large number of electric vehicles into the grid successfully. We have done a little bit of work on the software side looking at how you would write a computer code to manage this sort of charging infrastructure,” said Dan Reicher, Google’s director of Climate Change and Energy Initiatives.

Managing power requirements of the grid has become very important. A scenario that the Google rep gave was a hot day in July when 5 million Californians come home. You don’t want all of them plugging in their Teslas at the same time! The grid management technology that Google is developing will allow power companies to allow the owners to opt into a system where the power company can turn off a certain number of vehicles to charge, and turn them on later. This is so the number of vehicles that can charge at any one time can be manageable. In return, the vehicle owner could get some kind of credit or discount from the power company, as turning on backup power sources for the grid can be cost inefficient for the power company.

RechargeIT.org includes a controlled Driving Experiment where plug-in hybrid vehicles owned by Google were used by its employees in a free car-share program. Usage patterns were monitored (using an embedded Linux and GPS system) and the average economy reported was over 93 mpg on average and 115 mpg during city trips.

In the process of building its large datacenters, managing electricity has become somewhat of an acquired expertise for the search company. To handle the massive volume of Google search queries daily, Google needs many many servers and these servers need to be powered. They’ve put alot of work into ensuring their servers are as efficient as possible, even down to minimizing the losses of converting AC to DC.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Some UK police departments will begin trialling Mitsubishi i-MiEV police cars, starting with the West Midlands police department in December 2009. A small zero emissions city car like this will be perfect as a patrol vehicle, zooming around quietly and cleanly through neighbourhoods watching out for any baddies. The i-MiEV has a 160km radius with decent driving behaviours, and a 120km/h top speed. Over here in Malaysia I think we used to use Kancils as these short distance patrol cars but I rarely see them in my area anymore – all the cops use Wajas here in Cheras.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

When the first Toyota FT-EV concept car was displayed at the Detroit show earlier this year, It looked much closer to a production electric Toyota iQ than this new concept car called the Toyota FT-EV II.

The interior has gone completely concept car, while the original FT-EV’s interior looked more like a futuristic iQ’s interior. There are no foot pedals or steering wheel, but only two control levers which you use to drive the car.

But get this – you won’t be driving the car most of the time, as the car is designed to run on auto pilot mode on normal commutes. It can travel up to 90km on a full charge of its lithium ion batteries, and its top speed is limited to over 100km/h which should be more than enough in the city.

Look after the jump for an initial set of four photos that Toyota have released.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

The plug-in hybrid system in this modified Suzuki Swift features a combustion engine that’s much smaller than its production Swift counterparts – only 658cc producing 54 horsepower (40kW). But what it does have is a 74 horsepower (55kW) electric motor to run the car at all times, powered by lithium ion batteries. The combustion engine kicks in to recharge the batteries, making this a series hybrid system much like Volt. One full charge can take the car about 20km.

Because there is no need for a conventional geared transmission, the lithium ion batteries are positioned in the center console where a car’s transmission would typically be, between the two front seats. The seats are quite funky though – with a design reminding me of expensive ergo office chairs.

Look after the jump for larger photos of the Suzuki

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

I’m actually pretty amazed. Here is a concept car that’s quite obviously an SUV, but it has not been given the sloping coupe roofline treatment by its designers. They must have not really bought into that whole tall four door coupe with large wheels thing, which I feel is refreshing. What’s wrong with the traditional SUV shape. I mean, some might argue that everything about it is wrong since it’s an SUV to begin with, but hey there are people who still like and buy SUVs.

A wheelbase of 2,630mm and dimensions of 4,510mm by 1,830mm by 1,65mm makes this about the same size as the first generation Outlander/AirTrek actually. It’s smaller than the current second generation OutLander (which is also sold as a Peugeot 4007 and a Citroen C-Crosser).

So this could be a prototype for a new compact SUV slotted beneath the Outlander. The interior is definitely concept for now but the exterior looks pretty much production-ready. But if that’s the case, where does that leave the old Concept-cX that’s supposedly going into production? Is that some kind of new cross-Colt kind of compact hatch?

The PX-MiEV is powered by a new hybrid powertrain called the Mitsubishi Plug-in Hybrid System. The name’s definitely not as cool as Hybrid Synergy Drive but the system consisting of a petrol engine and electric motors can operate in either EV mode, series hybrid mode, parallel hybrid mode, regenerative mode, charging mode, and finally power supply mode. While driving, the various drive modes are selected using the MiEV OS system according to the data it has access to.

The EV mode is probably the most simple to understand – powered by the vehicle’s batteries, the front motor drives the vehicle. The MiEV OS also has all-wheel drive logic in it so if there is front wheel slip, the rear motor also activates to provide traction. Both front and rear motors can produce a combined 60kW and 200Nm on their own. In terms of EV mode range, you can expect to travel over 50km on the Japanese 10-15 drive cycle.

The petrol engine is a 1.6 liter MIVEC unit making 85kW and 125Nm of torque. It has a generating capacity of 70kW. When the battery energy level falls to a predetermined level, the gasoline engine starts and generates electricity to charge the batteries. This is called the series hybrid mode and the MIVEC engine does not drive the vehicle – it just generates electricity for the motors which drive the vehicle.

The other hybrid mode is the parallel hybrid mode. Probably because of gearing and the fact that Mitsubishi says a combustion engine is more efficient at high engine revolutions, the car runs on parallel hybrid mode at higher speeds such as highway speeds. In this mode, the MIVEC engine drives the wheels, and is assisted by the rear motor whenever the additional traction is required such as during sudden lane changes or other maneuvers. If additional power boost is needed, both the front and rear motors activate to provide peak power.

And then there is of course the regenerative mode, charging mode and power supply modes. The regenerative mode is easy to explain – its basically brake energy regeneration when the car is slowing down or coasting along a long descending slope. The charge mode is when the car is plugged in to the wall to charge. You can define your own schedule to begin charging or to run other functions such as use air conditioning to cool down the vehicle at preset times.

The power supply mode is something interesting. Basically it allows the vehicle to be part of a “Smart Grid” concept. The car can store electricity at night (where in some countries the rates are lower as it is off-peak) and then allow you to use that electricity later during the day via regular connectors. The car’s battery can be used as a power source during natural disasters, or in situations such as powering cooking or lighting equipment when you bring the vehicle to a campsite. If the charge level drops below a certain predetermined level, the MIVEC engine will fire up to maintain the power supply.

As if debuting a new plug-in hybrid system is not enough, there are also a few active safety technologies implemented in the car. It’s equipped for the Driving Safety Support System (DSSS (Level II)) currently being promoted by the Japanese National Police Agency. An on-board receiver picks up signals transmitted by roadside optical beacons and the system urges the driver to take extra care when other vehicles or pedestrians have been detected by roadside sensors and cameras at intersections and pedestrian crossings.

There is also a system that uses wireless technology to know the position of other vehicles and warn the driver if they are in a dangerous distance to the PX-MiEV. This is part of the Advanced Safety Vehicle 4 (ASV4) project being promoted by the Road Transport Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

A Driving Monitor System uses a camera mounted facing the driver to monitor eye movements to determine their level of alertness. If the system detects a decrease in their concentration it issues not only audible but visual and vibrational warnings and also emits an aroma to alert him or her to the situation.

The Concept PX-MiEV also has an electronically-controlled air suspension which is user-definable at three heights: auto, high or low. Naturally when set in auto the suspension sets its own height to whatever makes sense such as reducing the height for better aerodynamics and less drag during highway travel.

This is all really not bad for a company that’s not really seen as doing very well. If Mitsubishi was in a strong position right now it would not have had to license the latest Lancer platform to Proton for money.

Look after the jump for hi-res photos of the Concept PX-MiEV.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Wanna know what the latest fad in Japan is when it comes to concept cars? Putting really funky doors on what are essentially very stylish people movers.

The Honda Skydeck had scissor doors in addition to its rear sliding doors, and this new Subaru concept called the Subaru Hybrid Tourer has twin gullwing doors! Apparently the designers penned the concept after imagining “wings of freedom” giving its driver and his family a feeling of freedom and confidence in driving the vehicle.

Taking a cue from the 5-Series GT, the Subaru Hybrid Tourer seats only four. With these new ‘tourer’ vehicles the seats are limited but each seat is supposed to do its job really well – we’re talking about the best padding, legroom and entertainment that money can buy (in whatever pricerange the car is in of course). Subaru takes the driver’s comfort one step ahead by letting the top of the dashboard be movable up and down according to the driver’s wants.

I’ve heard of seats being adjustable infinite ways but never of an adjustable dashboard! Or at least that’s what the press release says as Subaru doesn’t exactly have any videos of how it works. Maybe they’ll release more nearer to the motorshow.

Under the hood is naturally a boxer engine – it’s a real Subaru after all isn;t it? There’s also symmetrical all-wheel drive, another Subaru trademark. The boxer engine is turbocharged and of a 2.0 liter displacement. It also has direct fuel injection. The turbo-boxer is mated to a Lineartronic CVT. But that’s not where it stops – the boxer engine is only one part of a hybrid powertrain that complements the combustion engine with another two motors.

One 10kW power/drive motor is at the front together with the engine while there is another 20kW drive motor at the rear. At start-up and slow speeds, the rear drive motor is used primarily to move the vehicle while the combustion engine stays shut off. Under normal driving, the primary power source is the combustion engine. Then when there is extra power needed, the rear motor kicks in. Finally, at maximum power needs, the front motor kicks in.

At other times the front motor functions primarily as a power generator, charging a lithium ion battery that powers the motors. There’s also auto start-stop and brake energy regeneration.

The styling looks pretty appealing actually, though I can see some hints of Audi at the rear. Look after the jump for the initially released photos of the concept.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

The Honda EV-N Concept is surprisingly retro-styled in a sea of very futuristic Honda concepts being released in the past 2 to 3 years. Like you can probably expect from its name, the EV-N Concept is an electric car, though for the moment Honda has not released any details on its motor and battery specifications. It’s probably got a pretty short range though, designed to be used for short commutes in cities like Tokyo.

After you reach your destination and park but you’re feeling a little lazy, you can take out one of the U3-X Segway-like unicycles which is smartly strapped to the passenger door. At first I thought it was some really big and hardcore speaker system or something.

The EV-N Concept is part of a larger display called the “HELLO!” (Honda Electric mobility Loop) display, where Honda will be showcasing a total “ecosystem” of mobility products. You have products that supply electricity, vehicles that run on electricity and products with innovative electronic technologies.

There will be solar panels that supply electricity and battery electric vehicles that emit zero emissions in use. The HELLO showcase is pretty much a preview of the potential of a low-carbon society of the future of course centered around Honda products. In addition, each HELLO! vehicle features communication technologies that showcase fun ways in which mobility devices can interact with people and society.

Look after the jump more shots of the Honda EV-N Concept.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Honda’s new SKYDECK concept can seat 6 people in a three-row passenger configuration (2+2+2). Honda’s last 6-seater was the Honda Edix which has now been phased out, but that MPV had its 6 seats in a two row configuration, similiar to what Fiat did for their Multipla.

The styling cues are quite obviously inspired by the CR-Z, which leads me to believe this kind of look might become quite commonplace on future Hondas. The front doors have a scissor hinge like a Lamborghini while the rear door is of the rearward-sliding variety. The powertrain is of course a hybrid but no further details have been revealed.

More will probably be disclosed at the Tokyo show next month, so stay tuned, but for now you can look after the jump for hi-res images.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Honda will be showing various automobiles at the Tokyo Motorshow next month. Being their home turf and an Asian country, I must say the concept, near-production and production cars to be shown are definitely more interesting to us as an ASEAN country as they would be the most relevant to production cars that we’ll receive in the future.

The most exciting is probably the new Honda CR-Z Concept 2009, which is the most close-to-production concept version of the upcoming CR-Z sports car so far. No technical details have been revealed on the car so far, but I do have some nice high-resolution photos for you showing a very production-ready exterior and interior.

Word is that the CR-Z will get a 1.5 liter version of Honda’s IMA Hybrid system (the Civic and Insight use 1.3 IMA hybrid systems) and high on the wishlist of speculators so far is a 6-speed manual transmission, which is rare in a typical hybrid car where you usually see CVT and e-CVT transmissions.

Look after the jump for a nice hi-res gallery of the new CR-Z!

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

When the Lexus brand was finally introduced back in its homeland of Japan, it marked the end of the Toyota-badged Lexus products such as the Toyota Harrier, which was essentially a Lexus RX. The Land Cruiser and Lexus LX twins are still on though.

Or so we thought, because the new Lexus HS250h will be launched in Japan as a Toyota called the Toyota SAI, alongside the original HS250h which has already been launched in Japan, which isn’t really completely original at all, being a restyled Euro-market Toyota Avensis (platform also used for the Scion tC) with the Camry Hybrid’s gaso-electric powertrain. Boy, that was confusing!

Toyota will be positioning the Toyota SAI as a larger hybrid-only car compared to the Prius, though since they share the same 2,700mm wheelbase I don’t expect the interior space to be all that different, though rear headroom should be better.

In the HS250h, the chassis had to handle the naturally larger 2.4 liter Hybrid Synergy Drive hybrid system but some are saying that the Toyota SAI will use the 1.8 liter version thats in the Prius. There are of course also news that it will use the same 2.4 liter HSD engine as the HS250h. What it will have is a proper boot, while the Prius is a hatchback.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Lexus has facelifted the GS 450h. No, it’s not yet another update to the GS line as we’ve already seen that early last year but more of a cosmetic update to further differentiate the hybrid version from the “regular” GS. There’s a new front grille with thicker horizontal bars instead of the regular GS’s horizontal bars, and new rear tail lamps.

There have also been some changes to the Pre-Crash Safety system, so I guess it is safer to crash your 2010 GS450h compared to the 2009 model, in case you’re wondering. The new features are the pre-crash seatbelt and brake assist functions with pre-crash brake technology. Both front seats are fitted with new, inflator-operated active headrests, activated by a signal from the ECU in the event of a rear-end impact. The inflator slides a piston into the headrest, unlocks the mechanism and projects the headrest forwards and upwards to support the occupant’s head and reduce the risk of whiplash injury.

With the new Euro 2M diesel implemented here in Malaysia, I can tell you that there will be a barrage of eco-marketing (i.e. – good for nature and pocket) from the two main German luxury marques here in Malaysia. Lexus has its hybrid models positioned for the same purpose internationally.

There has yet to be any hybrid Lexus introduced in Malaysia yet, but with the introduction of the Prius out of the way, you would think there could be the possibility of a hybrid Lexus sometime in the future. But that remains to be seen as the hybrid Lexus cars all have their combustion engine sizes over 2.0 liters, which disqualify them from any kinds of incentives currently offered by the government.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.

Four motors – two on each axle – take the Audi e-tron from 0 to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds. Collectively, the motors put out 313 horsepower but check out the torque figures – 4,500Nm! That looks like a seriously insane number but remember that the concept of gearing for an electric car is totally different (most only have one gear) so you don’t exactly have multipliers like the first few low gears on a regular stepped transmission.

The torque that each electric motor produces can vary as required to create a torque vectoring effect. Perhaps you can call this e-quattro or something, but Audi doesn’t have a name for it. The car’s water-cooled lithium ion battery pack will allow a maximum range of about 248km but don’t expect that kind of range if you’re really gunning it on the B-roads. The rated range is for the NECD driving cycle.

Yes, it’s an electric R8 and all, that is very interesting. But I feel the most interesting part about this e-tron concept is the car-to-x communications system. It’s basically a wireless communication system where the Audi and various other data feed providers (traffic lights, other cars, etc) around the car are able to help the car make intelligent decisions on various systems. For this to really work, such a system really needs a standardised protocol but it’s very very interesting to hear what can be achieved.

For example – a car has spun out on a slippery road in a blind curve. Other vehicles are approaching quickly. The stuck vehicle uses car-to-x to send out a warning signal reporting the precise location of the hazard (itself). A corresponding warning then appears on the navigation system display of the approaching cars.

Look after the jump for a full press release with full details on the e-tron as well as some very hi-res images which you can use as wallpapers etc.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 07:57:29 +0800.