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

Renault will be unveiling a new all-electric car at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show scheduled for September this year. The concept has been developed to go into production in less than 3 years, so we could see it on the road as early as 2011. This new electric car will have a 5-door hatchback body, and will join other Renault EV concepts based on existing models – the Megane EV and the Kangoo EV.

The new electric 5-door hatchback production-destined concept car is said to be built on the Renault-Nissan Alliance B platform, which also underpins cars such as the Renault Clio and the Nissan March. A smaller car such as this would make more sense for now as battery technology isn’t all that mature yet and decent EV range is easier to be achieved with a lighter (and smaller) body.

Renault will also be exhibiting a new system they’ve devised called the Quick Drop system. You essentially cycle between multiple batteries with your electric car ownership. Drive it into a garage, and the system swaps your car’s depleted battery and puts in a new fully charged one in just 3 minutes.

No further details but we can probably assume the system then proceeds to charge the depleted battery to swap back into the car the next night. Initial implementations will most likely be in public areas (due to high cost of implementing a Quick Drop station?), with Quick Drop points functioning the same as petrol stations.

Full details on all of Renault’s forays into the electric vehicle arena to be revealed closer to the Frankfurt show date.

A 160km range on the Japanese 10-15 urban mode driving pattern, a 7 hour 200V charge time, 30 minutes on a 200V 3-phase quick charger, and LED headlamps and tail lamps to add a finishing touch. You’ve just read the spec sheet of the new production Mitsubishi i-MiEV EV, a production electric car that has just gone on lease by Mitsubishi for nearly 4.6 million Yen inclusive of consumption tax.

That’s nearly RM165k, and with the taxes you have here in Malaysia it could end up pretty darn pricey. But it does have a lithium ion battery, which is more advanced than the nickel-base ones that go into most hybrid and EVs these days.

The battery which consists of 88 li-ion cells connected in series is installed under the floor, and the 64 PS 180Nm electric motor which is mated to a single-gear transmission is installed under the luggage compartment. Yes, like the regular combustion engine Mitsubishi i, it uses a rear midship layout.

Mitsubishi will be preparing 1,400 cars for leasing this year, mainly to corporations and local authorities. Individual leases are expected to begin in April 2010, but order-taking will begin in July 2010. Look after the jump for a video of the i-MiEV’s test run through the Tateyama Kurobe alpine route surrounded by 3,000-meter-high mountains.

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Volvo and Swedish energy company Vattenfall will be cooperating on producing plug-in diesel-electric hybrid Volvos that combine electric motors with high capacity lithium ion batteries and turbodiesel powertrains by 2012. Volvo will manufacture the cars and Vattenfall will develop the charging systems as well as supply the cars with electricity for plug-in charging.

Three Volvo V70 demonstrator cars will be presented in summer this year by the joint venture. These demo cars will be used to gather information about the wishes and demands that drivers may have on the new technology, to determine their driving habits and to establish how they want to charge their cars.

Vattenfall will be using these demo cars to test various concepts for high-speed home charging and also for charging stations in public places, where owners pay to charge up the car with electricity instead of refueling it with fossil fuels.

Determining charging behaviour patterns are very important in order to plan and deploy a charging infrastructure that works. Conducting focus groups and verbally finding out what potential drivers may think they want is one thing but real life requirements may change once someone is actually driving a plug-in car, thus these demo cars are actually quite important.

Look after the jump for some shots of the V70 demo car.

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Toyota have previewed the Toyota Camry Hybrid that will be assembled in Thailand. The Thai-assembled Camry Hybrid will be the first Camry Hybrid to be based on the Aurion-based Camry body. Currently the Camry Hybrid sold in countries such as the US are based on the JDM Camry, which to me looks more funky and sporty, somewhat like an overgrown Altis.

As the Camry sold in Thailand and the rest of the ASEAN region are based on the Australian Toyota Aurion, it only makes sense that Toyota bases the Thai Camry Hybrid on the Aurion body. The Thai assembled Toyota Camry Hybrid features its own front grille and rear tail lamp design as well as a front bumper that looks similiar to the one found on the facelifted Toyota Camry, but with some differences in the fog lamp area.

The Australian-assembled Camry Hybrid will likely continue to be based on the JDM Camry body, as indicated by the Toyota HC-CV Hybrid Camry Concept displayed at the 2009 Melbourne Auto Show.

Toyota Motor Thailand president Mitsuhiro Sonoda says the Camry Hybrid will be priced quite closely to exiting petrol-powered Camry models in Thailand, predicting a premium of not more than 100,000 Thai baht. This is because the Camry Hybrid is subject to an excise duty of only 10% instead of 35% in Thailand.

Since a top of the line Camry 2.4 can go for over 1.7 million Thai baht (it starts from about 1.5 million for the cheaper 2.4G), the Camry Hybrid would likely be priced at about 1.8 million Thai baht. I don’t think he was referring to the 3.5Q which retails for nearly 3 million Thai Baht.

The warranty for the Toyota Camry Hybrid will also be extended to 5 years or 150,000km, which is longer than the regular 3 year warranty that you get with Toyota cars there. This is to help ease public acceptance of the relatively new technology which many fear will be expensive to maintain once the warranty period ends. Toyota has also partnered with insurance firms there to offer the same premiums as the regular models despite the Camry hybrid having more expensive parts.

I am not sure whether the Thai Camry Hybrid will share the same hybrid powertrain as the US market Camry with different styling, but under the US car’s hood is the 2.4 liter Atkinson cycle 2AZ-FXE engine producing 147 horsepower at 6,000rpm and 187Nm of torque at 4,400rpm, paired to a 30kW (40 horses) electric motor with 270Nm of torque. These two are combined and send power to the front wheels via an E-CVT transmission. The Thai Camry Hybrid should use something similiar.

Look after the jump for more photos of the Camry Hybrid.

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Japan’s Nikkei business daily reports that the Honda Fit Hybrid (Honda Jazz Hybrid) will be launched a full 18 months ahead of schedule in autumn 2010, which is about 5 quarters from now. Nikkei further added that Honda has set a target price tag of 1.5 million Japanese Yen, which translates to only about just over RM55k, and target sales of over 50,000 units annually.

That would make it Honda’s cheapest hybrid so far, with the Honda Insight starting from 1.89 million Japanese Yen while the competing Prius starts at 2.05 million Japanese Yen all the way up to 3.27 million Japanese Yen for higher spec versions. The old 2nd generation Prius is still on sale in Japan as the Prius EX, with a price tag that intentionally matches the Insight at 1.89 million Japanese Yen.

Honda’s most expensive hybrid in Japan is the Honda Civic Hybrid, which has a price tag starting from over 2.2 million Japanese Yen. As of end January 2009, Honda has sold over 300,000 Hybrid cars worldwide, with the bulk being the Civic Hybrid at over 255,000 units. Asia-Oceania (the region ASEAN and Malaysia is in) represented just 5,514 units out of that, with the most Civic Hybrids sold in US – over 191,000.

There was also an Accord Hybrid in the previous generation Accord family in the US which sold 28,471 units in the US, using a 3.0 V6 engine with variable cylinder management mated to a 14kW electric motor.

Daimler AG has taken up a 10% stake worth US$50 million in electric car maker Tesla Motors, a move that depends their already pre-existing relationship where Tesla would equip 1,000 Smart cars with their electric motor and battery technology. According to Daimler chairman and Mercedes-Benz head Dieter Zetsche, Daimler wanted more than a supplier-customer relationship with Tesla.

“We are in a time of change. This industry is going through a kind of paradigm shift, and has to reinvent itself ultimately to be independent of petroleum and without CO2 emissions. We need fast technology change,” said Zetsche, and it seems that he sees Tesla’s technology as a way to achieve that fast technology change.

Of course this is a big score for the electric car camp. Any big manufacturers who votes yes for electric cars will steer the industry more towards electric motors and batteries instead of fuel cell cars or extended range hybrids as the defacto method of car propulsion in the future. Daimler has also invested in German battery company Li-Tec, and founded a battery production JV with Evonik Industries. These might end up supplying batteries for both Tesla and Daimler electric cars.

This could also mean Mercedes-Benz platforms could be used for future Tesla like a replacement for the Model S (shown above) in the future, but then again with the versatility in packaging with an electric car, a platform designed for a combustion engine might not be the completely optimal solution.

Click here to read the rest of Daimler AG takes up 10% stake in Tesla Motors

A total of 50 second generation Toyota Prius (not the latest one that’s just launched) will be joining the service in the UK this year! It’s not going to be in the battlefield of course, but will join the British Army’s White Fleet’s fleet of 6,600 admin cars in efforts to meet a government target that all cars procured between 2007 and 2011 produce less than 130 g/km of CO2.

The 50 units of the Prius which puts out 104g/km of CO2 will replace 50 units of the Vauxhall Vectra, which produces nearly 50% more of the emissions at 154g/km.

“Our vehicles are constantly being changed over because they have reached a certain mileage or a certain life. When we change our vehicles we are looking for value for money but also having in mind those targets the Government has set us on sustainable operations. Taking delivery of this fleet of hybrid vehicles, whose carbon emissions are below the 2011 targets set to us at HQ Land Forces by the Government, means we are ahead of schedule in terms of what the White Fleet produces,” said White Fleet’s Director of Infrastructure Mark Armstrong.

It’s quite interesting looking at a government walking the talk. When they hike up emissions taxes and this and that to force their citizens and residents to be less damaging to the environment, they do the same to set an example.

One main issue with electric cars is charging on the go, where can you charge your vehicle and be properly billed for it if you want to charge it away from your home? This problem also applies to people who live in condos. A British company called Elektromotive hopes to solve this with their EBConnect system, together with their Elektrobay prototype.

The Elektrobay is a fully operational charging station that is said to be compatible with all plug-in electric and hybrid cars. The Elektrobay’s power sockets are located under a secure weatherproof door. While charging is in progress the door is locked shut with only a small hole for the power cord to hang out of it, to prevent interference. It puts out 240V and 13A in the UK or 230V and 16A in Europe, but tere is also a 3-phase “fast charge” prototype in the works which supplies 32A in effort to reduce charging times.

The charging bay then communicates with a billing server with EBConnect, which manages 2-way data exchange of electricity usage and billing data via GSM networks. The system allows the user to pay via various methods such as a prepaid Elektrobay keyfob, or automatically added to the user’s household electricity bill, or even via SMS messaging, and automatic registration number recognition.

The first Elektrobay was installed back in 2006 in London, and the total amount of Elektrobay stations now stands at 100 around the city. Another 40 will be added in cities and shopping malls around UK. Elektromotive also supplies the Elektrobay to Holland, Sweden, Germany and Ireland.

Tesla Motors has revealed that it has garnered a total of 1,000 bookings for its second model, the Tesla Model S. Tesla calls it a 4-door electric sedan with 5+2 seating – that’s something new! 3 rows in a sedan, with the +2 referring to child seats hidden somewhere way at the rear somehow I guess.

To make a booking you have to place a US$5,000 booking fee that is refundable but that means US$5 million in Tesla’s hands right now. The base model will cost US$49,900 after a tax credit because of the car’s zero emissions. The tax credit is quite substantial at US$7,500.

Tesla claims a 300 mile (480km) range (160 miles for the baseline model and another 230 mile model) and a recharge time of 45 minutes from a special external 480V QuickCharger line, or several hours (overnight) with a regular electrical outlet between 120V to 240V.

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.

0 to 100km/h takes only 5.6 seconds which is pretty rapid for a sedan, and power goes to the rear wheels via a single speed transmission, but there are plans for the future for all-wheel drive models. For the US market the cars will naturally be left hand drive but right hand drive models will also be available later.

Look after the jump for a video and photo gallery!

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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