Volvo’s V60 Plug-in Hybrid, the world’s first diesel plug-in hybrid, is proving successful sales-wise. Volvo Car Group (Volvo) is now ramping up production by 90 percent. It is doing so earlier than anticipated to keep up with the demand. The increased demand, especially in Holland, Belgium and Italy, means that the Plug-in Hybrid production at
+ Read More
Who says “urban transportation solutions” have to be boring? The all-electric i3 next year will weigh as little as 2,756 pounds comparing very favorably to other electrified cars weighing somewhere midway between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds. Last week writer Greg Kable of Autoweek caught up with BMW product developers in Sweden who were testing near-production
+ Read More
Audi Sport extended its winning sequence at Sebring International Raceway on Saturday by placing its two hybrid-powered cars in the top two positions. Marcel Fassler, Benoit Treluyer and Oliver Jarvis won the 61st Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida in their No. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro – the first
+ Read More
The German environmental research institute “ÖkoTrend” has revealed its yearly ranking of the greenest vehicles available in Europe. The institute has certified that the VW Eco up, Toyota Yaris Hybrid, Lexus CT 200h, Toyota Prius Liftback, VW Passat 1.4 TSI EcoFuel, BMW 730d Blue Performance, Mercedes-Benz B 200 Natural Gas Drive, Opel Zafira Tourer 1.6
+ Read More
The HybridCars.com monthly sales dashboard is a collaboration of HybridCars.com and Baum & Associates, a Michigan-based market research firm focusing on automotive issues including the hybrid and electric vehicle market. It was another good month for hybrids, which saw a “take rate” or percentage of total North American sales at 3.38 percent, which follows last
+ Read More
Canada is boosting automotive battery research through more government-industry-universities partnerships. Gary Goodyear, Canada’s Minister of State (Science and Technology) announced this morning that six new projects will be funded with support from the Automotive Partnership Canada initiative and the automotive industry. These projects will allow the automotive sector to significantly enhance the efficiency of vehicles.
+ Read More
A Chevrolet Volt that was side-impact tested for the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and caught fire three weeks later has prompted the same agency to begin investigating lithium-ion batteries from all makers. The second Volt now known to have been involved in a fire in early June after the 20-mph impact did not make
+ Read More
Last week BMW announced it would launch an optional range-extending engine to its carbon-fiber-reinforced-plastic bodied, i3 electric city car, due in Germany by 2013. This news comes just around three months after Volt lead engineer Frank Weber was hired away by BMW, and talk then was they were thinking of creating more range-extended vehicles. At
+ Read More
An open-wheeled electric race car set a new EV record this weekend at the 89th annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Driven by Japan’s Ikuo Hanawa and built by Summit Motorsports, the rear-wheel drive machine was powered by an AC Propulsion drive system to finish in 12:20.084. This time beat all other electric cars and
+ Read More
In recent weeks, it appeared that major auto companies had finally stopped fighting higher fuel economy standards—and were ready to make it happen. But backsliding and heel dragging is back in season. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. and Toyota President Akio Toyoda in Washington in February. “Whatever goal [the Obama administration] establishes, Toyota will be prepared
+ Read More