Toyota officials last week confirmed that the Lexus CT 200h, a premium hybrid hatchback, is coming to the United States, according to a report in Automotive News. The Lexus CT 200h would be Lexus’s first compact car, and the first compact hybrid sold by Toyota in the US.

The car was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show last week, but until recently the company insisted that the compact hybrid would only be sold in Europe. According to Automotive News, Lexus executives pleaded with Japan to bring to the car to the US—partly in hopes that the smaller Lexus would appeal to a younger demographic. “When the all-new Lexus CT 200h enters the market it will be the only hybrid vehicle in the emerging premium compact segment,” said Mark Templin, Lexus Division group vice president and general manager.

The Lexus CT 200h will make its US debut at the 2010 New York Auto Show later this month. Production begins in late 2010. The car could go on sale in the US sometime in 2011.

Small Luxury Compact Hybrid Hatchback

The recipe for the CT 200h is to place a Prius-type hybrid system—featuring a 1.8-liter gas engine with variable valve timing, and energy storage with a nickel-metal hydride battery pack—into small relatively affordable premium compact car. Lexus said the CT 200h will ride on a new front-wheel-drive platform with a MacPherson strut front suspension and double wishbones at the rear.

While fuel economy numbers have not been announced, the CT 200h’s small size and aerodynamics should push its mileage ahead of the 50-mpg 2010 Toyota Prius [1], currently the highest rated car for mpg. It could also mean a more sporty drive compared to the larger Prius. Lexus claims that the CT 200h “does not compromise interior roominess,” despite the compact package.

The CT 200h will be Lexus’s second dedicated hybrid, behind the mid-sized Lexus HS 250h [2]. The smaller CT 200h is likely to be offered with the same luxury appointments and high-tech features [3] found in the HS 250h and other Lexus vehicles.

Commitment to Luxury Hybrids

There are also rumors that the Toyota Auris Hybrid, a small hybrid hatchback built on the Scion xB platform, will head to the US. The Auris Hybrid promised more than 60 miles to the gallon. However, the US launch of the Auris Hybrid could be delayed in Europe, according to the Sunday Telegraph in the UK. Tadashi Arashima, the chief executive of Toyota Motor Europe, said the global recall of Toyota vehicles due to accelerator problems could change the planned timeline. “We are discussing that, if necessary, we will postpone the launch timing. For us there is the hybrid in late May, which is really key,” said Arashima. “We want to make sure that this car is properly launched without any major issues.”

SOURCE: Hybrid Cars

Honda Motor Co.’s new CR-Z sporty hybrid is the car that nearly wasn’t.

The wedge-shaped, two-seat hatchback was almost killed twice because engineers weren’t convinced it was a unique concept and because U.S. bosses originally didn’t want it.

When Norio Tomobe was appointed chief engineer of the project in the summer of 2004, the car was still a blank sheet. And in the early years, the working model had a traditional gasoline engine.

“We had serious doubts about whether this would bring new value,” Tomobe said during a recent interview at Honda’s headquarters here. “I really struggled for a new idea, and we decided to start over from scratch. The hybrid finally gave us the wow factor.”

Yet going hybrid brought its own problems. Today critics assail the CR-Z as neither especially fuel-efficient nor sporty. And Tomobe is quick to admit at least one thing he wishes the CR-Z had: “more horsepower.”

He said he would like a Type R sporty version of the CR-Z someday with a spunkier power-to-weight ratio that lives up to its sporty styling.

Compromise solution

But in the meantime, the CR-Z is an exercise in compromise. It was conceived as a 1.3-liter car for Europe but was given a 1.5-liter engine to appeal to U.S. drivers. It aims to be sporty with a six-speed stick-shift option but also comes in a version with continuously variable transmission to squeeze out extra fuel economy.

The result: a 122-hp package that delivers a 0-to-62-mph time that, at 9.7 seconds, barely edges the Toyota Prius. And fuel economy is only 36/38 mpg, well below the Prius’ 51/48.

The 0-62 time comes from a leaked early edition of the Japanese sales catalog. Honda has dropped all references to it. Indeed, Honda conspicuously omits a 0-60 speed for a car that it touts as sporty.

The CR-Z went on sale in Japan in February and reaches U.S. showrooms this summer.

Honda plans to sell 40,000 to 50,000 CR-Zs a year worldwide, 15,000 in North America. Japan sales are projected at 12,000 a year, and Europe will get the rest.

Tetsuo Iwamura, president of American Honda Motor Co., was skeptical right up until he drove the final prototype.

“He kept saying they don’t need a hybrid,” recalled Tomobe.

“In the American market, people equate hybrids with the Prius,” he said of Iwamura’s cool response. “If the hybrid is sporty, it’s going to confuse the customers and dealers.”

The CR-Z’s fate was put before Takanobu Ito, now president of Honda Motor but then head of r&d. “He said, ‘Don’t worry about the States, just keep developing it,’ ” Tomobe said.

While driving early prototypes, Iwamura relentlessly derided the car, Tomobe said. But when he got behind the wheel of the final version, his reaction changed.

Suddenly, the project was a go.

“It’s ironic that the United States was the most vocal in saying they didn’t want the car, but the CR-Z still made its world debut at the Detroit motor show,” Tomobe said.

Tomobe, who cut his teeth as chief engineer on Japanese market projects such as the Mobilio Spike and Elysion minivans, is unapologetic about the CR-Z’s compromises.

“I’m satisfied,” he said. “This is what the future of sports cars will be for Honda. We are not pursuing absolute maximum speed. What we aim for is a car that is exhilarating to drive.”

On paper, the CR-Z’s power may seem lackluster. But sporty handling makes up for it, Tomobe said. The three-mode drive system helps by delivering extra throttle responsiveness.

Drivers can select normal, economy or sporty driving modes. In sporty mode, drivers of the CVT can simulate stepped shifting manually by flipping paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

The CR-Z borrows liberally from its hybrid forerunner, the Insight, which came out last year. It has the same engine room, front flooring, fuel tank and hybrid system. The motor, battery and inverter essentially are the same as the Insight’s, Tomobe said.

Room for improvement

Not only is its engine larger than the Insight’s 1.3-liter, but the CR-Z’s engine has 16 valves instead of the Insight’s eight. This is to help increase power at higher rpm and improve efficiency at lower speeds.

Up to 2,300 rpm, one intake valve per cylinder is closed to limit fuel consumption. Above that, all four valves are working to optimize power.

The CR-Z is also the first Honda hybrid to get a six-speed manual transmission.

Honda already is eyeing improvements. By boosting the storage capacity of the battery and making the motor and inverter smaller and lighter, future generations of the CR-Z should deliver better performance.

Said Tomobe: “There is room for further evolution.”

Critics say Honda could score by offering a gasoline-only CR-Z. But Tomobe said the company has ruled that out. The car’s identity is too closely linked to being a hybrid, he said.

But a Type R racing incarnation is another story. “If that appeals to people and contributes to Honda’s sporty image, we need to consider all options,” Tomobe said, adding that he would like to see an R.

That would require reworking the power-to-weight ratio and boosting the maximum speed. Tomobe said that is still a tall order for the current CR-Z and its eco-friendly mission.

Said Tomobe: “The CR-Z is supposed to be an intelligent sports car.”

SOURCE: Autoweek

Fisker Automotive CEO Henrik Fisker gave a presentation at the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner Monday night about his compnay’s plans to build plug-in vehicles (PHEVs) in Delaware. Over 450 people from the community where Fisker’s new plant (and General Motors’ old plant) is located heard Fisker speak about the Karma and the upcoming Project Nina vehicle. Nina, of course, is the lower-cost ($50,000?) plug-in hybrid that Fisker wants to build in and export from Delaware.

Based on local news reports, work on the plant is progressing smoothly, with “no major problems” discovered during an environmental assessment. Prototypes could be made there as early as next year, with full production – an estimated 100,000 cars a year – scheduled for 2014. As for vehicle sales, Fisker said that Europe and China could be big markets for the PHEVs, and he reminded the crowd that Fisker has announced 45 dealerships in the U.S., including Union Park in Wilmington, DE.

One bonus bit of information Fisker said during his speech: the prototype Karma that ran around the track at Laguna Seca cost $1.5 million.

SOURCE: Green AutoBlog

Despite recent excitement about a type of electric car called a plug-in hybrid, such vehicles are unlikely to arrive in meaningful numbers for a few more decades, according to new analysis by the National Research Council.

The study, released on Monday, also found that the next generation of plug-in hybrids could require hundreds of billions of dollars in government subsidies to take off.

Even then, plug-in hybrids would not have a significant impact on the nation’s oil consumption or carbon emissions before 2030, the report estimated. Savings in oil imports would also be modest, according to the report, which was financed by the Energy Department.

Several carmakers, including Toyota and General Motors, are developing plug-in hybrid models, which will appear in showrooms next year. Toyota just announced on Monday that it planned to begin selling “tens of thousands” of plug-in hybrid Priuses in two years.

Plug-in hybrids are cars that would be built to run primarily on an electric battery, but if extra power were needed for a long drive, a gasoline engine would kick in. Users would recharge the cars by hooking them to electric power outlets at home or work, meaning they could cover most or all of a daily commute on battery power, not gasoline.

The report found that plug-in electric vehicles could number 40 million by 2030 — provided that rapid progress was made in battery technology, and that the government provided large subsidies and incentives. However, the study suggested that a “more realistic” number would be closer to 13 million vehicles. That would represent 4 percent of the 300 million vehicles projected to be on the road by then.

The main reason for the slow rollout is the potential cost of batteries. Manufacturers are betting on lithium-ion battery technology similar to that in laptops and cellphones. While the technology has evolved rapidly, the report noted that declines in cost would not be steep enough over the next few decades to crowd out other types of cars.

Under the report’s most optimistic assumptions, 6.5 million plug-in hybrids could be sold annually in the United States by 2030, out of total sales of 19.4 million vehicles. Under the more realistic assumptions, 1.8 million plug-in hybrids would be sold that year.

Michael P. Ramage, who headed the study, said that its assumptions — and results — were more conservative than other studies. “Over the next 20 years, we felt that a 50 percent reduction in battery costs would take place,” he said in a telephone interview. “Other people have assumed a lot greater battery cost reductions.”

Building a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that could run for 40 miles on electricity would cost $18,000 more than for a similar conventional car, including a $14,000 battery pack, according to the report. While each mile driven on electricity costs less than a mile powered by gasoline, “it is likely to be several decades before lifetime fuel savings start to balance the higher first cost of the vehicles,” the report stated.

More recharging outlets, as well as other infrastructure improvements, must also be in place for plug-in hybrids to reach large numbers of American households, the report said.

The National Research Council, in Washington, provides scientific and technical advice to the federal government under a Congressional charter.

SOURCE: New York Times

Volvo has now released more details of the all-electric C30 concept car it will launch at next week’s 2010 Detroit Auto Show. We covered early details a couple of weeks ago; here’s the rest of the story on the little electric hatchback with no tailpipe.

The electric C30 concept car will let the Swedish automaker assess the viability of a limited-range all-electric vehicle, and how it’s used under real-world driving conditions.

Volvo expects to release 50 of the cars to consumers around the world, starting late this year. Its plan follows the pattern used by BMW for its Mini E, which it plans to replicate with the ActiveE concept, an electric model of the 1-Series sedan it will show in Detroit as well.

90-mile range

Volvo quotes an eight-hour recharging time for its 24-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery, assuming standard European 230-Volt power. (That time could double using U.S. 110-Volt current; U.S. drivers will likely have to install a 240-Volt circuit, like those used for electric stoves and clothes driers.)

The pack is located in the tunnel between the seats and in the space formerly occupied by the gasoline tank. It powers an electric motor under the hood that drives the front wheels, just as on the standard 2010 Volvo C30.

Volvo quotes acceleration of “less than 11 seconds” from 0 to 62 mph. Top speed is limited to roughly 80 mph, and the range is approximately 90 miles–a distance that fewer than 10 percent of vehicles in Europe and the U.S. travel each day.

Plug-in hybrids to be “main track”

Lennart Stegland, Director of Volvo Cars Special Vehicles, says, the company expects electric cars “primarily to be used in and around cities and for daily commuting.”

Volvo also plans to introduce diesel and hybrid models that will be sold starting in 2012, although likely in small numbers at first. But it calls plug-in hybrids its “main electrification track” rather than battery electric vehicles.

From its point of view, plug-in hybrids offer long range and good environmental performance, but lower battery cost. The pack in the plug-in hybrid, says Volvo, will be just 12 kilowatt-hours.

SOURCE: Green Car Reports

Toyota will introduce a new hybrid next month that is smaller and more affordable than the Prius, reports the Detroit News. The hybrid-only subcompact is expected to go into production in 2011 and be in US showrooms by early 2012.

Toyota, which will offer a peek Jan. 11 at the North American International Auto Show, expects it to be a big seller. Prius currently rules the market: With a starting price of $22,400, about 417,000 had been sold through October.

“It’ll be interesting to see what they name it,” said an analyst at Edmunds.com. “The Prius name has such cachet in the marketplace.”

Ford Motor Co. said today that it is on track to sell more hybrid vehicles in 2009 than it ever has before.

Through November, Ford said has sold nearly 31,000 hybrid vehicles, or 67% more than it sold last year in the United States while total industry sales have declined 11%.

Ford’s hybrid sales increase is primarily driven by the spring introduction Ford Fusion Hybrid midsize car.

Through November, Ford sold 13,998 Fusion hybrids, according to Autodata Corp.

However, Ford still has a long way to go before it catches hybrid market leader Toyota Motor Corp. Through November, Toyota has sold 127,907 Priuses, according to Autodata Corp.

Ford also introduced the Mercury Milan hybrid midsize car earlier this year and sells hybrid versions of its Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner SUVs.

SOURCE: FreeP.com

A fuel-efficient gas-electric hybrid luxury car: Not so long ago, that was an automotive oxymoron. Now, it’s a market segment.

The concept of selling high fuel efficiency as a high-end feature is gaining currency in the auto industry, thanks in part to regulatory pressure and to the buzz in certain circles around the Tesla electric roadster and other electric-powered cars.

Mainstream luxury brands are getting on the green bandwagon, betting that a growing slice of wealthy car buyers defines an “advanced” or “premium” car as more than just a potent engine. The latest arrival in the growing flock of hybrid luxury cars is the Lexus HS 250h. I took a weekend test drive in one to see how Toyota Motor Corp. is attacking the challenge of designing a high-technology car that is both ultra-frugal and indulgent at the same time.

It’s not an easy balance to strike.

Other mainstream luxury hybrids on sale in the U.S. are variations on existing models. That approach helps with costs, but it doesn’t yield eye-popping miles-per-gallon figures.

The $87,950 Mercedes-Benz S400 hybrid sedan, for example, is rated at 21 mpg in combined city and highway driving, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The 295-horsepower car uses a six-cylinder engine and a “mild hybrid” system to average three miles per gallon better, on the government’s tests, than the eight-cylinder, 382-horsepower Mercedes S550 sedan.

Then there’s the $43,000 Lexus RX450h, a crossover wagon that uses a more-robust hybrid system than the big Benz to achieve an average 29 mpg, compared to 20 mpg for the standard RX 350. Good, but still not enough if you want a very small carbon footprint.
Not Like Any Other Lexus

The HS 250h, however, isn’t like any other Lexus. Toyota says it isn’t just a rebadged Prius, either. Its body architecture is adapted from a European Toyota model called the Avensis. It has a 2.4-liter gasoline engine, larger than the Prius’s 1.8-liter motor. Combined with the boost from its batteries, the car is rated at 187 horsepower, compared to 134 horsepower for the Prius.

Lexus’ strategy for the HS 250h—which starts at $37,845—is to position it as the car of the future, available today. You can buy one with a cruise-control system that uses radar to slow your car when others get in the way, and an optional navigation system you can talk to.

“And on top of all that, it’s a hybrid,” says Brian Bolain, Lexus’ national manager of marketing and lifecycle strategy.

That said, the most impressive feature of the HS 250h’s list of specifications is its 35 miles per gallon EPA rating for combined city and highway driving.

I drove a Lexus HS 250h (and yes, all those H’s seem redundant) that I borrowed from Toyota from Washington, D.C., through eastern Pennsylvania and into the hilly country of New York state. From my first encounter with this car until I sent it back to the Lexus press fleet, I struggled with mixed feelings.

The HS 250h’s exterior styling plays it very safe, especially in contrast to the wedgy, angular profile of the new 2010 Prius. The interior is dominated by a prominent peninsula that pushes from the center of the dashboard into the space between the driver and passenger seats.

My test car had the optional navigation-system package, priced at $2,125, which also includes satellite radio. The center console was dominated by a joystick-style controller that operated the map functions. I never quite got the hang of the joystick, and a real buyer would expect—and should demand—a tutorial in how to get the most from the system.

The map did come in handy, however, when it alerted us to a huge traffic jam on our route home, and allowed us to bushwhack around the trouble. (Models without the navigation system don’t have the joystick.)

The Lexus HS has some features and behaviors that take a bit of getting used to if you aren’t already a hybrid driver. The car starts with the push of a large button on the dashboard, and can move out of a parking space on electric power. You might hear the gasoline engine come to life right away, or you might not.

The car has a continuously variable transmission, so there’s no gear shifting. “The transmission may feel different,” cautions the owner’s manual. The transmission does offer settings that will help slow the car when descending a steep hill.

The car’s performance in normal highway driving is conventional, except when you slow down and brake. That’s when I heard the whirring and whooshing sounds associated with the car’s technology, which captures braking energy and uses it to recharge the battery pack. Most luxury cars strive for silence. The Lexus HS makes noises.

My test car also had a $3,900 “technology” package that included a feature I used a lot during my trip: a radar-enabled cruise-control system that allowed me to set a speed, and then turn over to the car the chore of adjusting speed to the traffic. If I got stuck behind a slowpoke, the Lexus slowed down to prevent me from tailgating.

The Lexus HS 250h is a pleasant cruiser on freeways, but it’s not much fun on twisting, hilly roads. The car labored up steep grades in the hilly country around the Delaware River in Pennsylvania and New York. It’s not a cornering machine.

We traveled relatively light—a good thing, because thanks to the battery pack, the Lexus HS has just 12.1 cubic feet of trunk space, compared to 14.7 cubic feet for the Lexus ES 350 sedan and 13 cubic feet for the Lexus IS sedan.

The Lexus HS did deliver on mileage. I averaged 34.8 miles per gallon over 293 miles of driving, and boosted my mileage close to 40 mpg during stretches of the drive, according to the trip computer.
A Steep Sticker Price

The question some prospective Lexus HS buyers may ask is this: If you want a high-mileage hybrid, why buy a car that isn’t as fuel-efficient as a Toyota Prius, and costs $14,000 to $15,000 more? My loaded test car had a sticker price of $44,967, although most HS 250h cars will go out the door for under $40,000, Mr. Bolain says. The Prius starts at $23,370 and gets 50 mpg in city and highway driving.

Gas-electric hybrids account for just under 2% of the total car market, and luxury-brand hybrids are a sliver of that. The Lexus HS offers more of what environmentally conscious consumers want from an advanced-technology vehicle, and Mr. Bolain says there will likely be more Lexus models that offer the HS 250h’s brand of technology.

But more than once while winding up hill and down dale in the Lexus HS, I wished I had one of those peppy, high-mileage four-cylinder diesel BMWs or Audis that Europeans get, and we don’t. Does that make me a bad guy?

SOURCE: Wall Street Journal

The world’s cheapest car is about to get greener and sportier.

A hybrid version of the tiny Tata Nano has been confirmed by Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Motors, according to South Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper.

The current gasoline-powered Nano — on sale in India since April — is hardly a gas guzzler. Powered by a tiny, 35-horsepower 2-cylinder gas engine, the Nano is capable of approximately 50 miles per gallon. A greener variant of this engine (or the larger 3-cylinder motor planned for export markets) could make the Nano the world’s cheapest hybrid.

Mr. Tata did not elaborate as to when a Nano hybrid might go on sale, or offer specifics regarding the powertrain.

More likely to appear first is a hot-rod version of the Nano — or something close to it. D.C. Design, a car customizer based in Pune, India, is planning to release its modified Nano in early 2010, reports the Business Standard. The transformation comes complete with massive front grill, blistered fenders, alloy wheels and over-sized air intakes. Not since Wayne and Garth cruised Aurora, Ill., in a flamed powder-blue AMC Pacer has there been a more ironic custom car.

“The world’s cheapest car has thrown up a few interesting scenarios,” said Dilip Chhabria, founder of D.C. Design. “Firstly, we think the world’s cheapest car does have a lot of sex appeal – in fact its silhouette of one sweeping arc is quite unparalleled and lends itself to customization.”

During my drive of the Nano earlier this year, I praised the cute tortoise shell-like exterior. In comparison, the D.C. Design model appears to have taken inspiration from Darth Vader’s helmet. The outrageous exterior screams high performance, but the engine offers only a mechanical whimper. Accelerating from 0-60 miles an hour takes approximately 30 seconds — making the Nano 15 seconds slower than the Smart Fortwo, presently the slowest accelerating car sold in the United States.

But according to Mr. Chhabria, Nano customers are looking for design exclusivity on a tight budget. “Because it is so cheap, it has spawned, we think, a whole new segment,” explained Mr. Chhabria. “For a customer spending 80 percent value as a D.C. addition, it still is cheaper than other entry level car — albeit a highly differentiated and exclusive one.”

SOURCE: NY Times

Ford Motor Co. has outlined plans to invest as much as $500 million in Michigan to engineer and assemble battery packs for a new generation of electric vehicles and manufacture a new hybrid and plug-in hybrid here — if state lawmakers approve a request for tax credits it is submitting today in Lansing.

These moves would consolidate much of Ford’s electric vehicle research, development, engineering and manufacturing in the state, creating approximately 1,000 new jobs at the company.

“We think it has a great opportunity to help in the economic growth of Michigan,” said Nancy Gioia, director of Ford’s global electrification programs. “It promotes Michigan’s competitiveness.”

Ford’s announcement comes a day after General Motors Co. said it would invest $336 million to upgrade its Hamtramck plant to produce the Chevrolet Volt and the next-generation Malibu.

Ford, which was the first U.S. car maker to manufacture a hybrid, plans to begin production of a battery-powered commercial van next year, to be followed by a battery-powered version of its new Focus compact in 2011. The company also is readying a new generation of gasoline-hybrids.

It currently purchases battery packs for its hybrid vehicles from Delphi Corp., which assembles them in Mexico. But the automaker said battery engineering is a “core competency” that is too important to entrust to a supplier.

If the state does not approve tax credits for Ford, the automaker said it is considering other sites.

The new Ford Focus and other vehicles based on the global compact platform are slated to be produced at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne.

Ford said it has not decided where in Michigan the batteries would be assembled.

SOURCE: Detroit News

Authorities said Tuesday there are currently no plans to levy more fees on hybrid cars as demand on such vehicles has surged recently, a trend attributed to concerns that extra charges are imminent.

According to figures by the Jordan Customs Department (JCD), a total of 4,796 cars have been cleared from the free zone since the beginning of 2009, with 859, or 18 per cent of the total number, entering the market between December 1 and 21.

The value of the environment-friendly cars, which are mostly imported from the US is JD102.5 million, the JCD indicated.

During the past month, people started to speed up clearance procedures for hybrid cars in the free zone, where over 2,850 hybrids were cleared between January and November, said Nabil Abu Rumman, president of the Jordan Free Zone Investors Association.

“There are rumours that the new government plans to impose more custom fees on hybrid cars early next year, but we have not received anything about such plans,” he added.

Current fees on green cars, which use both gasoline and electricity, range between JD1,000 and JD4,000 depending on the size of the engine, according to Abu Rumman.

Earlier this year, the Environment Ministry requested customs fees to be imposed on large-engine vehicles, saying that only hybrid vehicles under 2,000cc should be exempt from taxes and fees because they are more fuel-efficient and environment-friendly. But the Finance Ministry announced then that it had no plans to impose such fees.

JCD Director General Ghaleb Sarayreh told The Jordan Times on Tuesday that there are no plans to introduce more fees or taxes on hybrid cars, saying this issue has not been discussed by the new government.

“Even if a decision in this regard was taken, it will take into consideration the vehicles on display at the free zone,” the official noted.

Nadim Haddad, the marketing and sales manager at the Central Trade and Auto Company, a Toyota agent in Jordan, said that in addition to the availability of maintenance and spare parts for such cars at some dealerships, rumours about new custom fees were the main reason for the increasing demand.

Jordan is the largest importer of fuel-efficient cars in the region due to high fuel prices in addition to the fact that importing vehicles is not exclusive to agents, Haddad said.

According to Luay Shurafa, the regional manager of General Motors (GM) in the Levant area, said Jordan is the region’s first country with demand for hybrid models, expecting hybrid SUV sales to overtake conventional SUV sales in Jordan in the coming few years because buyers want to take advantage of low customs fees on hybrid models in addition to the element of fuel efficiency.

Haddad stated that maintenance and spare parts are available at agencies for hybrid cars, which are made to suit the topography and the climate of the Kingdom.

The battery costs between $4,000 and $5,000 while the price of the electric motor is $7,000, according to Haddad.

Abu Rumman explained that availability of green car maintenance and spare parts will increase in the coming year with more affordable prices because most manufacturing companies will focus on producing such types of cars.

SOURCE: Jordan Times

Toyota will start leasing 150 of its Prius plug-in hybrids in the United States this winter and plans retail sales of tens of thousands in two years.

The North American arrival, scheduled for around February, is part of a global rollout of 600 units.

With a longer electric-only cruise range than the standard Prius, the plug-in is Toyota’s answer to the Chevrolet Volt extended-range hybrid being launched next year by General Motors Co.

The plug-in Prius gets a lithium ion battery and will have an electric-only range of 14.5 miles before the gasoline engine kicks in and the car drives like the standard Prius hybrid.

The Volt also uses a lithium ion battery pack to power an electric motor for about 40 miles. After that a small gasoline engine recharges the battery but never runs the car.

Executive Vice President Takeshi Uchiyamada said Toyota plans retail sales of several tens of thousands of units in two years, after leasing them in the United States, Japan and Europe.

In the meantime, Toyota may tweak the technology and the design, especially for overseas markets where drivers may need bigger batteries to travel longer distances.

“We will see what happens in the field,” Uchiyamada said at the launch of leasing in Japan. “We may have to adjust the number of batteries carried on board. So please stay tuned.”

The plug-in Prius is nearly identical to the third-generation Prius launched earlier this year. It has the same electric motor and 1.8-liter gasoline engine as the standard Prius.

But the plug-in gets lithium ion batteries, instead of nickel-metal hydride ones. That allows for higher voltage and more energy storage.

Toyota said the retail plug-in Prius would be “affordable,” but the company didn’t give details on its retail or lease pricing. The leased cars will be used by governments and businesses.

SOURCE: Autoweek.com

Ford will invest up to $500 million for its hybrid vehicle projects and create more than 1,000 new jobs in Michigan if state lawmakers expand an existing incentive program and approve $85 million in tax credits, according to the Detroit News.

If Ford’s needs are met, the company will go ahead with plans to design and assemble battery packs for a new generation of hybrid vehicles in Michigan, and possibly even make a new hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicle based on the Ford Focus platform it plans to launch in Detroit in January, The Detroit News reports.

Last year, Michigan lawmakers authorized tax credits for the assemblage of high-capacity lithium-ion battery packs, but Ford is now requesting them to expand the incentives to include lower-capacity batteries used in hybrid vehicles.

Ford is specifically requesting $85 million in tax credits from the program through 2014, and on top of that, an additional $35 million beyond 2014 if the lithium-ion cells for the battery packs are made in Michigan, the Detroit News reports.

Currently auto-parts supplier Delphi assembles the battery pack for Ford’s current hybrid vehicles in Mexico according to Reuters. Ford says the change it is trying to make is in no way a reflection of Delphi’s performance. Rather, it represents Ford’s desire to set itself apart from competitors through battery development.

Ford is the only large U.S. automaker not to reorganize under a government-funded bankruptcy this year. Ford captured a larger market share in November than a year ago and is getting ready to ramp up its vehicle production in North America by more than a half for the first quarter of 2010.

SOURCE: The Street.com

Sales of fuel-efficient gas-electric hybrids are expected to rise next year, outpacing the U.S. auto market’s overall growth, according to a new forecast.

Automotive research firm Edmunds.com predicted U.S. auto sales would recover modestly next year, to 11.5 million cars and light trucks from an estimated 10.3 million this year.

Its forecasters expect hybrids to outperform the market, even though they cost more, on average, than comparable gas-powered models.

Hybrids are expected to increase their share of the market to 3.2 percent in 2010 from around 2.8 percent this year, according to Edmunds. It expects the market share for hybrids to grow by about half a percentage point a year for the foreseeable future.

The share of diesel-powered light vehicles is expected to dip next year to 2.1 percent, from 2.2 percent this year, reflecting a reduction in the availability of diesel models due to more stringent emission rules coming into force.

The high point in the past decade for diesels was in 2006, when they accounted for 4.1 percent of total sales.

Pure electric vehicles will hit the market next year but will account for less than 1 percent of total sales, Edmunds estimated.

On the basis of past alternative-fuel trends, early adopters will snap up zero-emission electric cars right away, “but it will take some time before significant market share builds for the segment,” said Zhenwei Zhou, Edmunds’ senior statistician.

A poll conducted last month by Kelley Blue Book, the car pricing specialist, found that diesels topped the list of alternative technologies that consumers would consider.

Asked what type of alternative-fuel or alternative-powertrain vehicle they would be most likely to buy, 34 percent of respondents said diesel, 31 percent said hybrid, 21 percent replied electric, and 8 percent said compressed natural gas.

KBB said demand for hybrids and other fuel-efficient models would be underpinned next year by rising gasoline prices.

Consumers have several new hybrids to choose from, including gas-electric versions of the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan, Toyota’s redesigned Prius, a premium Lexus HS 250h and an all-new Insight from Honda Motor Co.

SOURCE: DetNews.com

Not long ago, Henrik Fisker was dashing up Interstate 5 from Los Angeles to San Francisco when a highway patrolman clocked his Aston Martin roadster — a car that Fisker himself designed — going 97 mph.

He protested. (“It was 90 at the most.”). He got a ticket and set the cruise control at 70. For the next four hours, “I was overtaken by every grandmother,” he said. Running late, he pressed down the pedal.

This time, the radar gun caught him going 88 mph.

“How long since your last ticket?” the officer asked. Fisker paused, but decided to confess.

“Well, actually, not that long ago,” he replied.

Over the last two decades, Fisker has designed some of the sexiest cars on the road: sleek BMWs and Aston Martins that accelerate from 0 to 60 in the time it takes to count the fingers on one hand.

Now the Danish designer has his own Irvine-based car company and a half-billion-dollar loan from the U.S. government to build gas-electric hybrid cars that plug into a home outlet, go 50 miles without a drop of gas and don’t look a bit eco-friendly.

Oh, and they’ll also be fast.

“People feel very emotional about cars, and I don’t want them to feel bad about driving a fast car,” said Fisker, as he steered his growling roadster through rush-hour traffic in Los Angeles. “We’re building beautiful and fast cars that you can drive without having a bad conscience or ruining the environment.”

Many auto industry analysts are skeptical. History is scattered with the wreckage of car companies started by big dreamers, Preston Tucker and John DeLorean among them. Building eco-friendly cars, even eco-chic cars, is one thing, analysts say. Selling them to a fickle public, with pump prices at less than $3 a gallon, is another.

But Fisker, one of the world’s most highly regarded designers of luxury automobiles, likes his chances. And he’s a focus group of one.

“As a car lover, I ask myself: What am I going to be buying in the future?” he said. “Will it be a boring, underpowered dorky car because the government tells me I shouldn’t pollute? Or do I come up with a cool-looking, sexy dream car that is also part of the future?”

Tall and fit, tanned and blond, Fisker, 46, is a dream front-man for a car maker, with a resume that few designers can match. He is best known for designing the BMW Z8 and the Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage, vehicles with six-figure sticker prices and ageless, eye-catching silhouettes.

The story of how Fisker became a heralded car designer and the head of what he likes to call “a new American car company” began in Denmark, a country with no automobile manufacturing industry. He had his first inkling that he might one day design cars when he was 5, riding in his father’s Saab near their home in suburban Copenhagen. A Maserati raced past.

“I got butterflies in my stomach,” Fisker said. “It was then that I knew I had to do something with the way cars look.”

He began drawing cars for fun and continued long after boys his age outgrew the phase. His teachers discouraged his ambitions; Denmark, after all, had no jobs for car designers.

But Fisker’s father, an electrical engineer who had visited the United States as a teenager, encouraged him.

“America had inspired him to believe that you can do whatever you want in life, and that’s what he always told me,” Fisker said. “That was not a typical thing to say to your kids in Denmark.”

Two years ago, Fisker and Bernhard Koehler, a German car executive who had worked with Fisker at both BMW and Ford, launched Fisker Automotive. The U.S. Department of Energy awarded it a $528.7 million loan in September to build two cars.

The first will be the Karma, an $87,900 plug-in hybrid sedan with solar panels that will run the climate control system, keeping the car cool when the vehicle is shut off. The Karma will be assembled in Finland, with a majority of American parts, and production will start late next year, with a target of 15,000 annually.

The majority of the federal money, though, will go to Fisker’s next-generation vehicle, code-named Project Nina, a “family oriented” plug-in hybrid sedan that will cost $47,400 (less a $7,500 federal tax credit). The Nina will be built beginning in 2012 at a former GM plant in Delaware, with an annual target of 100,000 vehicles a year.

“A lot of cars have a stylish and sexy sculpture,” Fisker said, but the Nina “will definitely be the most radical, sexy family car on the planet.”

The design of Fisker’s Nina remains under wraps at company headquarters, where fingerprint identification is required to access the design rooms. But Fisker executives say it will be as dramatic as the 4-door Karma, which has been on display.

In designing the Karma, Fisker said, he was mostly focused on what it wouldn’t look like: an eco-friendly car.

“We’re not making cars for everyone,” he said. “I want to have some character in the car. I don’t want a design that is a milk doughnut.”

Milk doughnut? “Oh, what’s the word in English? Milquetoast. That’s what I mean.”

Fisker particularly relishes his time behind the wheel, where he keeps the radar detector on and the cell phone off.

“A car is one of the last things in our civilized society where we can still control amazing power,” he said. “If the car were invented today, it wouldn’t be legal.”

He fondly recalls one particular day in Germany when he was driving to work on the Autobahn around 5 a.m. He looked up at the speedometer and was surprised to see that he was going 196 mph.

“That’s why you can’t use cup holders in Germany,” he said.

SOURCE: HeraldTribune.com