London Motor Show Goes Green, Green, Green

Published July 28, 2008

Europeans are far ahead of North Americans in eco-awareness, and it’s most evident at auto shows. This year’s British International Motor Show, July 23 to August 3, is a perfect example. Despite the UK’s traditional abundance of small supercar-makers and its luxury brands, the popular market seems now to be all about green cars—specifically those with low carbon emissions, or electric cars with no emissions at all.

Lots of marketing and prominence is assigned to the “EV Village” containing 10 brands of electric vehicles—although once visitors pass the relatively well-known Tesla, Smart, and Th!nk brands, they quickly encounter a scattering of little-known vendors selling low-speed fiberglass electric cars of highly variable quality and design.

Exiled to Birmingham on alternate years, the British International Motor Show has struggled to attract globally significant car launches. Much was made in the local press of the decisions by some German manufacturers to forgo an exhibit in London altogether. And the cars throughout two halls of East London’s ExCeL Center are laid out either spaciously or sparsely, depending on your view.

CO2 Matters

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited the show, very early on the morning of press day. He reportedly stopped at the “Act on CO2” standard for tips on greener driving, although the present leader of Britain’s government does not drive. Brown had previously said all cars sold in the UK should be electric or hybrid by 2010, a suggestion mocked by some of the auto press as deeply out of touch with technical and economic realities.

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Most manufacturers are touting green “sub-brands,” from Ford’s ECOnetic line to the ECOmotive models from Spain’s Seat. And this seems to matter to buyers, at least according to the Clean Green Cars website. UK sales by manufacturers with the highest average CO2 emissions fell faster from January to June than did those for lower-emitting makes. It’s also worth nothing that cars with CO2 levels below 100 g/km are exempt from various annual taxes and from the pricey congestion charge to enter Central London on weekdays.

Small Car Launches

Easily the show’s most important global launch was General Motors’ Insignia—to be sold as a Vauxhall in the UK, an Opel elsewhere in Europe, and possibly the next Saturn Aura in the States. The midsize sedan and hatchback offer a drag coefficient of just 0.26, adaptive all-wheel-drive, adaptive headlights, and a camera system that reads lane markings and road signs too. Just as important in this market was the UK launch of Ford’s new Fiesta, a super-mini that’s been a bestseller in the British Isles for more than 30 years. Ford heavily touted its Fiesta ECOnetic model, calling it the “greenest family car” on the market, with CO2 emissions of just 98 grams per kilometer.

Norway’s 17-year-old Th!nk launched its revised City model, to go on sale in 2009. Unlike the bulk of electric cars now sold in the UK, the City is both crash-tested and highway-certified—a “real car,” in other words. It has a top speed of 65 mph and can travel for 126 miles in urban use when fully charged. The present battery uses Zebra sodium-nickel-hydride cells, but Th!nk has new partnerships with US-based lithium-ion cell makers EnerDel and A123 Systems.

Alternative Concepts

Hydrogen fuel-cell cars are few and far between. Honda is exhibiting its FCX Clarity sedan—now being leased to a few selected drivers in Southern California—deeming it the first fuel cell car built on a standard production line. At a much smaller scale of green, GM offered journalists the use of a dozen laptops powered by small fuel cells (only six remained by the end of the day). But the most startling fuel cell concept came from an unlikely carmaker: the diehard eccentric traditionalist Morgan Motor Company. Its LIFEcar uses a 22-kW QinetiQ hydrogen fuel cell, sized to power the very lightweight car at cruising speeds, plus up to 10 seconds of maximum acceleration from a bank of ultracapacitors rather than a battery.

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Biofuels, much touted at the 2006 London show, are virtually invisible. A lot can change in two years, including studies indicating that many biofuels required more energy to produce than traditional diesel—not to mention indications that they may contribute to soaring grain costs.

On the supercar front, the new Lightning Car Company revealed an all-electric GT car with four wheel motors. Technical director Arthur Wolstenholme confirmed only the barest technical details, and brochures point out “development, testing and manufacture will take place over the next 18 months,” but only “on securing the appropriate investment or partner.” Nonetheless, the company is taking deposits for 2010 deliveries. While the car was a hometown favorite, potential buyers may want to keep their chequebooks closed until more is known.

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