Archive for Hybrids, Electric vehicles, fuel cells, alternative fuel

After two months of sales in Japan with about 4,000 units each month, Honda Insight sales suddenly jumped up to 10,481 units in April 2009, making it the 1st in a monthly ranking of all new vehicle registrations in Japan! Yes, the new Insight is Japan’s best-selling car in April 2009, and the first time in history for any hybrid car to take that spot for a monthly sales period.

The Insight took the throne from March 2009’s sales leader, another car from the Honda stable – the Honda Fit (known as the Honda Jazz here in Malaysia). It sold 9,443 units in March and was also the best-selling car in the entire of 2008, the fiscal year ending March 2009, and also monthly sales for 4 months since December 2008.

I wonder why the sudden registration (a sale/booking is not a registration) jump – it could be that Honda suffered production issues in the first two months?

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This is the new Hyundai Nuvis, likely a preview of what’s coming up in the compact MPV segment for Hyundai. Perhaps we are looking at an early preview of the next generation Hyundai Matrix, or whatever they decide to call it.

Hyundai says its styling mimics the interplay of natural, fluid elements with more rigid surfaces and structures to create the illusion of constant motion. Hyundai’s designers studied the way water splits across and flows around the hull and sides of a boat, creating a wake, or the way wind shapes a snowdrift or flurries through trees.

And of course with it being a concept car you just have to top it off with outrageously large wheels – 22 inches in this case. To me somehow it reminded me of a scaled down Toyota Venza.

Under the hood is Hyundai’s Hybrid Blue Drive system, which combines its 2.4 liter Theta II engine with a 30kW and 205Nm electric motor, mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. There is also a start-stop ignition system, and regenerative braking, features that are pretty much standard on any hybrid these days. The 270V batteries for the hybrid motor are of the compact lithium polymer type.

Interestingly Hyundai aims to be the number 1 brand in the US in terms of fuel economy by the year 2015, which is only 6 years from now. This means some fantastically efficient engines combined with lightweight construction.

Will Hyundai be able to pull it off?

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai Nuvis Concept unveiled at NYIAS 2009

Here’s more electric sedan news! While Detroit Electric is still preparing for its first E-Persona to roll off Proton production lines in Q1 or Q2 2010 (though prototypes already exist and we’ve tried them out), Tesla let its first buyer Steve Jurvetson have a ride in a pre-production Tesla Model S that actually looks pretty good and ready to go, from the outside at least. Check out the video after the jump recorded by Mr Jurvetson – that huge touch screen in the interior is definitely very impressive looking to anyone who gets into the car. Jurvetson also already owns a Tesla Roadster. Lucky guy!

Click here to read the rest of VIDEO: Tesla Model S first customer checks it out

Nissan is bringing forward its electric vehicle debut for the US market by 2 years, which means the first Nissan EVs could hit American streets by 2010. Its original plan was to start utility and commercial sales of EVs in 2010 and begin consumer retail sales in 2012, but according to Nissan director of product planning and strategy Mark Perry, some consumer US markets could be ready for the EVs sooner than 2012. Nissan says as long as the market is ready, they will go in earlier. And by ready, this includes charging infrastructure.

Nissan’s electric vehicles will be powered by NEC lithium ion batteries. It will have a range of about 100 miles or 160km between charges. Nissan and NEC are planning to build an EV battery plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, and have requested to take out a low-interest loan from the feds to do so.

Detroit Electric issued this FAQ at the signing ceremony today aimed at clearing some doubts about the feasibility of electric cars, or at the very least why they think electric cars are feasible. Their product and marketing roadmap is also unveiled.

Sales will begin with the e46 GEN2 and e63 Persona in the first year with 40,000 units. By the third year they hope to hit 210,000 cars with 3 models, but of course this third model might not be a Proton. They are flexible to source vehicle platforms from any manufacturer and prefer working with that model but it so happens that their first two cars are Protons. By the 5th year of sales operation, they hope to be selling 315,000 vehicles from a total of 5 models.

Look after the jump for the FAQ document.

Click here to read the rest of Detroit Electric FAQ: a background on electric cars

Detroit Electric and Proton Holdings Berhad signed an agreement today for a supply and manufacturing agreement related to Detroit Electric’s upcoming range of electric vehicles. Detroit Electric is manned by ex-Lotus Engineering CEO Albert Lam and used to have a joint venture with ZAP and Youngman which didn’t happen.

Interestingly Detroit Electric’s ex-partner Youngman is Proton’s customer in China, where it buys the Proton Persona and GEN2 to rebadge as its own cars. Detroit Electric’s deal with Proton is similiar. It will buy the Proton Persona and Proton GEN2 from Proton to fit with an electric motor instead of the CamPro engine, and rebadge them as the Detroit Electric e63 and the Detroit Electric e46 respectively.

The deal is expected to take in RM 2 billion of revenue for Proton over the next 4 to 5 years, with expected volume to be 40,000 cars a year, potentially to grow up to 100,000 cars a year, if Detroit Electric does well in marketing its EVs. They will work with Proton engineers and assemblers to optimise the assembly line. The cars will be built alongside the regular Persona and GEN2 at Proton’s Tanjung Malim plant. The installation of the electric motor and battery and etc will be done off line.

Detroit Electric said it picked Proton as its partner after discussing with a few others because it allowed Proton an easy entry into the market. Given that Lotus Engineering, the company that Albert used to work for, had a part to play in the development of the GEN2 and Persona should clear up any doubts that Detroit has with the capability of the car’s chassis.

More details on the cars to come in a post following this, but the specifications for the cars seem impressive at first sight but because of an extended teh tarik session between the VIPs there, the press conference was extremely delayed and we ended up having less than half an hour to ask questions, so we’re not sure if these specs are finalised or not. If they are finalised, looks good.

The first production cars will hit the road in Q1 or Q2 2010, and target markets are UK, Europe and China. No mention of Malaysia, apparently that is still under study Detroit Electric are targetting markets with incentives for zero emission vehicles or at least fines and taxes for polluting vehicles.

A US market entry is expected towards end-Q3 2010 or beginning Q4 2010 because of the additional work needed to get the Persona and GEN2 homologated in the US. Apparently Detroit Electric will be paying for this, so no expenditure from Proton in that sense.

Detroit Electric is also exploring the possibilities of locating its battery and electric motor plant here. Albert Lam says Malaysia is an attractive place for them because of the availability of engineers as well as the relatively low labour costs.

Coming up next – some specs of the cars. In the meanwhile look after the jump to watch some videos that Detroit Electric gave us.

Click here to read the rest of Detroit Electric to sell electric Persona and GEN2

If immitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Jaguar must be grinning ear to ear now. The above is not a facelifted Jaguar XF but is in fact the eagerly awaited Tesla Model S electric car, which has been unveiled to world press today.

Tesla claims a maximum 300 mile (483 km) range, but the baseline model will come with a battery pack capable of 160 miles and there is also a 230 mile version. These battery storage systems range from 42kWh to 70kWh and greater, made out of 8,000 cells. These batteries are housed in the car’s floor. Power from the batteries are channeled to the road via a 9-inch liquid-cooled electric through a single-speed transaxle gearbox.

The 9 inch motor can take the Tesla Model S from 0 to 100km/h in under 6 seconds, and will have an electronically limited top speed of 210km/h. Stopping power is provided by Brembo Monobloc calipers with 6 pistons and 4 pistons for the front and rear respectively. The front discs are floating slotted 405×34mm 2-piece discs while the rear are 380×28mm slotted discs.

The batteries can be charged via either a 120V, 240V or 480V power outlet, with the 480V taking only 45 minutes to a full charge. There is of course no country in the world with a 480V system, so this requires a special QuickCharger.

Unlike many electric sedan cars which batteries take up the bootspace, because the Tesla Model S was designed ground up to be electric-powered, there is a proper boot space. Tesla claims a 50 inch LCD TV, a mountain bike and a surfboard can fit in the car all at once.

The in-car entertainment system centers around a 17 inch touchscreen in the center dash area which also shows various vehicle information. You can also surf the internet via the built-in 3G data system and access HD and satellite radio.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the Model S is priced at US$49,000 (nearly RM180,000) after a US tax credit of US$7,500 for the baseline model. 160 miles would cost only US$5 in terms of electricity! The company also claims the car’s floor-installed battery packs can be swapped out in less than the time it takes to fill a full tank of petrol, so in the future you could actually go to “battery stations” and swap out your batteries for a freshly fully charged new set instead of stopping and waiting for a full charge.

While now we’ve seen photos and read the details, there is still quite some time to go before the first Model S rolls off the production lines in late 2011. Looking at the gloom and doom in the US, Will Tesla still be around? Their press release says the company “believes” it is close to receiving US$350 million in federal loans to build the Model S assembly plant.

Future production models will come with an all-wheel drive option. One good thing is that right hand drive models will be available, so those with money (and refuse to drive an electric Persona) can start looking at the AP dealers in 2012!

Look after the jump for a full gallery of the Model S.

Click here to read the rest of The Tesla Model S Electric Car unveiled!

It appears that Detroit Electric has finally settled on Proton for its partner in producing its electric cars. According to a release by Detroit Electric, the company is set to sign a RM 1.2 billion (US$331 million) agreement with Proton to produce pure electric cars based on protons, beginning with the Proton Persona.

When we attended Detroit Electric’s press preview back in September 2008, we got to sample some electric cars converted by the company, such as an electric Lotus Elise. There were also various prototype electric cars there such as a Persona and a Savvy.

According to Detroit Electric head Albert Lam, a 100% electric powered Persona could be available in the regions of RM 80,000. Detroit Electric will use a production line at Proton’s Shah Alam manufacturing plant to produce the electric Protons.

Read our previous write-ups on Detroit Electric for more info.

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Hyundai’s BLUE-WILL concept is scheduled to be displayed at the 2009 Seoul Motor Show this year, which will start on the 2nd of April 2009. Looks like Hyundai decided to create some kinda 4-door CRX of sorts.

Under the hood is a hybrid powertrain much like the Kia Forte LPI Hybrid, but much more beefed up, since its a concept. The electric motor alone puts out 100kW, or 134 horsepower, and this is addition to a 1.6 liter engine that has gasoline direct injection, which should be good for another 120 horses or so.

Like the Forte LPI Hybrid, power for the electric motor is stored in a Lithium Ion Polymer battery pack neatly bundled with the fuel tank under the rear seat in order to maximise luggage space. The upcoming Elantra LPI Hybrid will also feature a Li-Po battery.

Hyundai has also incorporated dye-sensitized solar cells in the panoramic glass roof to generate power for the batteries.

More details at the Seoul 2009 show, look after the jump for two more photos of the BLUE-WILL (Blue Whale?!).

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai BLUE-WILL Concept set for Seoul debut

First of all, what’s with the bicycle wheels??? Actually this is more like an extreme example of retro-futurism as all the first few cars including Henry Ford’s had wheels that looked like this. In actual fact its a modern reenactment of the Benz Patent Motorwagen. This is Mercedes-Benz’s F-CELL Roadster Concept.

It’s powered by a fuel cell located at the rear producing just 1.2 kilowatts, or 1.6 horsepower. It has a range of 350km and a top speed of 25km/h. Perfect for navigating golf courses in style? Check out more hi-res shots after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Mercedes-Benz F-CELL Roadster Concept