By Huw Evans

A new report by Pike Research has found that among advanced-tech vehicle battery suppliers, Johnson Controls and LG Chem are the two companies most likely to take advantage of changes happening in the industry.

Over the past decade, we’ve seen battery technology develop by leaps and bounds for hybrid and electric vehicles, with lithium-ion chemistries largely considered superior and having displaced nickel-metal hydride in many instances.

read more

In its 2012 Car Brand Perception Survey, Consumer Reports added a couple of questions to assess "America’s pulse" on plug-in vehicles. In particular, the magazine asked the general public questions pertaining mainly to plug-in vehicle safety.

Of the surveyed group, 43 percent of respondents believe that plug-in vehicles feel are as safe as gasoline-fueled automobiles and 20 percent deemed them safer. However, 28 percent fell that electrified vehicles are less safe than their gas-fueled counterparts.

While limited range was the most prevalent (77 percent) concern, fire risk during charging was a concern voiced by nearly half (44 percent) of the respondents. Other safety-related concerns included pedestrian safety due to silent operation (40 percent concerned), crash protection (39 percent) and post-crash fire concerns (35 percent), which ties directly to recent Chevy Volt incidents. At the bottom of the listed concerns were electric shock (30 percent) and accident avoidance (29 percent).

In its 2012 survey, Consumer Reports assessed "America’s pulse" on plug-in vehicles and discovered that the general public has numerous concerns in regards to electrified automobiles.

According to Consumer Reports, most of these responses reveal that the general public is misinformed regarding plug-in vehicles. As the magazine so accurately states, "Exposure to such vehicles and more education should help consumers better understand that electrified cars have been proven safe alternatives to traditional cars. It is a shame the Volt incidents likely misguided consumers and potentially impacted the short-term adoption rate for this promising new technology."

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.

The limited-supply BMW ActiveE lease program began in January. BMW is calling the 700 drivers who'll lease the all-electric 1-Series "Electronauts."

January sales always drop significantly from the prior year-ending month and this time around it was no different.

Generally, December sales are very high as year-end sales are in place. This rule of thumb applying to vehicles in general is also true for hybrid, plug-in, and diesel vehicles.

While overall sales in January were at a strong rate (over 14 million at an annual rate based on seasonal adjustment factors), the actual number of sales was down 27 percent from December 2011. Hybrid sales were down a similar rate, at 30 percent and plug in sales were down 48 percent (although the low volume of these sales makes the comparison less meaningful). Diesel sales dropped less, at 22 percent, than the overall market or the hybrids or plug ins.

read more

By Larry E. Hall

How does 41 city mpg/36 highway sound for a midsize luxury sedan that offers a long list of interior bells and whistles? If that grabbed your attention, then test drive the 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. Or, if you can wait until late fall, an all-new 2013 model ups the fuel economy numbers to an expected 47 city/44 highway.

But let’s get back to the 2012 model, a car that gets better fuel economy than anything else in its class.

Last year, Ford officials were quoted as saying it wants as much as 25 percent of its global fleet to be powered by motors and batteries by 2020. The company expects 75 percent of those vehicles to be conventional hybrids – and the rest made up of pure electric cars or plug-in hybrids.

The 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid is a good example of how Ford is scaling up to reach its target—by spreading its best electric-drive technology across common platforms. Instead of dreaming up a brand new purpose-built gas-electric vehicle for its Lincoln luxury nameplate, Ford migrated the technology from its award-winning Ford Fusion Hybrid to the MKZ.

read more

By Jeff Cobb

Toyota has upped its fuel-efficiency projection for its Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHV), according to Bloomberg, which reports the automaker expects to top the Volt in its U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy rating.

Toyota’s U.S. Group Vice President Bob Carter, said the Plug-In Prius (AKA PIP) should manage 50 mpg in hybrid mode for combined city/ highway mileage, and earn 95 MPGe assuming its 4.4-kwh lithium-ion battery is recharged frequently.

read more

By Bertel Schmitt

When I called Toyota’s new Aqua / Prius C affordable compact hybrid first a “gamechanger,” then an “engineering feat,” this attracted the attention of self-styled jargon vigilantes. They demanded equal platitudes to be bestowed on domestic models. In the meantime, the Japanese game changer threatens to change Toyota’s best laid plans: It sells ten times better than expected.

Someone at Toyota told The Nikkei yesterday that the company “received about 120,000 orders for its new Aqua compact hybrid between its Dec. 26 release and Jan. 31, 10 times the monthly sales target of 12,000 vehicles.” Toyota markets the car as the Aqua in Japan. In the U.S. and other markets, it will be called Prius c.

read more

By Jeff Cobb

Mitsubishi i (formerly badged MiEV).

In a unanimous ruling Friday, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) called for a steep ramping up of zero- or very low-emission vehicles sold in state from 2018-onward. The goal is for them to comprise 15.4 percent of all vehicles sold by 2025 – up from less than 1 percent today.

At the same time, the ruling called for a slashing of tailpipe emissions from the rest of the passenger vehicle population beginning sooner in 2015 and extending through 2025.

read more

By Bertel Schmitt

2012 Model, JDM Spec, 18,000 horsepower.

So, do you think you a lot about cars? What do you know about the monster car carriers that bring an imported car? As far as I am concerned, I knew nothing when I arrived this morning at Nissan’s dock in Oppama, where Japan’s second largest car company showed off a 2012 model car carrier, the Nichioh Maru. And would you believe that the blue and white monster is green?

read more

Despite multiple delays, Coda Automotive chief executive Phil Murtaugh told the media last week he remains confident that sales of his company's debut vehicle, the electric Coda Sedan, will commence before the end of February. During an interview with The Detroit News, Murtaugh claimed that the $37,250 Coda Sedan is ready to sell as soon as EPA certification is complete. That, according to Murtaugh, should be before March.

However, certifying a vehicle for use on public roads in the US isn't a simple process. The Coda Sedan must obtain official fuel efficiency ratings from the Environmental Protection Agency and will have to successfully complete the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) mandatory crash tests.

Without certification, the Coda Sedan can’t legally be sold for on-road use in the US. Furthermore, the act of certifying a vehicle in the US can be a timely process, with both the EPA and the NHTSA short on the resources necessary to quickly certify all waiting vehicles. It took Fisker nearly nine months after production began to get official federal government approval to sell its plug-in hybrid Karma in the United States. Assurances aside, whether or not Coda meets its current deadline to officially launch sales is now in the hands of the federal government.

Also in the hands of the government is Coda's application for a share of $25 billion in loans for advanced technology vehicles makers. If it gets that loan, Coda it will be able to begin moving production of its vehicle from China to the United States, a move that the carmaker says will create as many as 2,000 jobs. If the request is rejected, Murtaugh told The Detroit News his company still plans to move production here, but it could take 5-8 years of sales to accumulate the money to make that possible.

Once the Coda Sedan does begin sales, the carmaker announced earlier this month that customers would be given the option of buying a version of the car with a smaller battery capacity for $2,650 less than the standard model. Instead of a 36-kilowatt-hour battery pack with a claimed range of 150 miles, the budget model will carry a 31-kWh pack delivering 125 miles of range.

read more

By Larry E. Hall

Ford hit a grand slam two years ago with the introduction of an all-new Ford Fusion Hybrid. It was awarded the North American Car of the Year prize at the 2010 Detroit auto show, named Motor Trend’s Car of the Year, was one of Car and Driver magazine’s “10 Best Cars for 2010” and was given the inaugural Hermance Vehicle Efficiency Award by the publishers of HybridCars.com.

Why did the Fusion Hybrid rack up so many awards? Because the vehicle established a new benchmark in hybrid technology. Marrying a seamless, sophisticated hybrid powertrain to the outstanding Fusion platform – positioned solidly in the middle of the mainstream market – proved to be a winning combination. It’s fun to drive and speaks of refinement all around, from handling and braking through comfort and convenience. And then there was the icing on the cake – class-leading fuel economy of 41 city/36 highway and 39 combined.

But Ford is not resting on its laurels. An all-new 2013 Fusion Hybrid will be in dealer showrooms this fall. It not only ups the fuel economy numbers to an expected 47 city/44 highway, it is blessed with the styling of the gasoline-powered Fusion that auto critics are calling the best-looking midsize car, bar none.

Given that the 2013 Fusion Hybrid arrives later this year, there are no changes for the 2012 Fusion Hybrid.

read more