According to the 2012 U.S. Automotive Industry Survey and Confidence Index by Booz & Co., alternative vehicle powertrains may take up as much as 10 percent of the total market by 2020, but only if the federal government continues to support development.
Without a helping hand from Uncle Sam, only 30 percent of the researchers, executives and consumers who participated in the survey believe alternative-fuel machines will be able to carve out that small slice of the market. Specifically, federal tax incentives for potential buyers could help push the technology forward in the future.
According to Wards Auto, further development faces a double hurdle. First, additional urban planning is required to demonstrate plug-in hybrids and EVs will be viable options for buyers, but at the same time, government agencies also need to see fuel cell and battery costs come down before being willing to pony up for chargers or incentives.
Even so, 70 percent of those surveyed said they were more confident about future hybrid demand than they were in 2011. Take a look at the full survey results .
The crew at Translogic took the time to stop by and see the the team at ALTe Powertrain Technologies recently. Founded by a group of former Tesla Motors executives, the company focuses on building plug-inhybrid conversions for fleet vehicles. From creations like a with a 2.0-liter gasoline engine and two 60-kilowatt electric motors to full-size delivery trucks, buses and vans, the company is focused on reducing fuel consumption on some of the largest and hardest-working machinery out there. ALTe says the F-150 conversion supplies up to 465 pound-feet of torque, which is more than the old 4.6-liter V8.
Most of the truck conversions come with 22-kWh lithium-ion battery packs, which yield 25-40 miles of all-electric range. From there, the four-cylinder kicks in to keep the batteries charged and the motors spinning.
ALTe says the company has focused on Ford conversions first, since the F-Series is the largest-selling pickup in the country. While E-Series and Panther-based creations are also on the docket, ALTe is also focusing on partnering with OEMs in China. to check out the video for yourself.
The extended-range plug-in vehicle will start production about a year after its previously estimated mid-2013 date, Inside EVs blog reports, citing leaked company documents that were dated “a few weeks ago.”
The Atlantic, formerly known as Project Nina, will compete pricewise against the and sedans, as well as the and , and and . That would put the model in the $50,000 to $60,000 range, according to the publication. The model, which will still be produced at Fisker’s Delaware plant, will have 300 horsepower, a 0-60 time of 6.5 seconds and emissions of 50 grams per kilometer of CO2, Inside EVs reports, citing the documents.
“As these documents are obviously leaked investor documents and highly confidential, I am not prepared to comment any further,” a Fisker representative tells Autoblog sister site, AutoblogGreen.
The status of the Atlantic has since plans for the former plant in Delaware were put on hold once the U.S. Department of Energy froze most of the $529 million in loans earmarked for the California-based company.
Fisker the Atlantic at the last month, saying that the car’s price tag would be “a much lower price point” than Fisker’s sedan.
has officially put the finishing touches on the first prototypes of the company’s 918 Spyder, complete with a black-and-white livery scheme that pays homage to the 917 racers of old. Production is set to commence in a little over a year, and the German sportscar manufacturer says buyers can look forward to taking possession of the first examples by the end of 2013. The plug-inhybrid will command a heady price tag, though. Porsche the company will ask a whopping $845,000 per model, each with a 500 horsepower 4.0-liter V8 engine and two electric motors.
Altogether, the gas-electric drivetrain should be good for a 3.1-second 0-60 sprint and a top speed of 199 mph. Perhaps even more impressive is the news that the 918 will be able to propel itself with electric power at speeds of up to 94 mph. That little fact helps account for the news that the vehicle should be able to return around 78 miles per gallon on the EU cycle. Scroll down for the brief press release, but not before checking out the high-res gallery.
Now that the title of world’s largest maker has become a clear and eager battle, we can expect more regular updates on the progress of the combatants. Bloomberg reports that snagged the #1 crown in Q1, taking it away from with 2.49 million units sold across its five brands compared to 2.28 million for GM. was just another tenth down at 2.19 million units sold.
What all three might appreciate even more than the crown – except for VW, who is monomaniacal about the No. 1 tag – is that sales volumes and profitability are up, at least in America. Toyota’s sales rebound from the catastrophes of last year (and indeed, the last few years) is being underlined by its performance here, where the is against a background of the nation’s . Even with double its usual fleet sales in Q1, Toyota expects this financial year’s .
The year isn’t over yet and it remains close, but for now it looks like there’ll be good news for everyone. Well, until 2016, when Volkswagen is all challengers at the top of the podium, two years ahead of its own ridiculously ambitious schedule.
German car magazine Auto Bild is planning build a sedan that will slot below the and compete directly with the . Citing no sources (so a grain of salt is recommended), the magazine claims the four-door, codenamed Pajun, will cost no less than $84,000 and be ready for production no later than 2017.
In September 2011, the Pajun could spawn coupe, convertible and even a shooting brake variant. Back then, rumors swirled about powertrain options that included a 550-horsepower V6, 600-hp V8, plug-inhybrid and an -sourced diesel.
Hopefully, Porsche is also working expeditiously to find a better name than Pajun, which in Korea is a , in Finnish it means willow, and, according to , in Welsh it means – wait for it – Cajun. That’s the name Porsche was using to refer to its smaller-than-Cayenne SUV before to Macan in February. Clever coincidence.
The good people at Cars.com have slogged their way through sales data from April and found something interesting. The managed to walk away as the third quickest-selling car in the U.S., spending just five days on dealer lots. That figure was good enough to land it behind the and , both of which take four days to find a new homes. The plug-inhybrid has only been on sale for two months, and took the honor of being the second-quickest selling vehicle in March, according to Cars.com.
The report also took the time to look at the slowest-selling models around. Surprisingly, the sits at the top of that list, taking a whopping 250 days to turn. The isn’t doing much better. The 650i Convertible took fourth place with an average of 128 days on the lot while the 640i Coupe rounds out the top 10 with 111 days. Perhaps even more shocking is the news that there are four vehicles selling slower than the at 120 days on dealer lots. Head over to Cars.com for the full report.
Toyota Supra successor, Nissan Juke-R, Cadillac ATS pricing, GM Europe restructuring, Prius PHEV sales
Episode #281 of the is here, and this week, Chris, Dan, and Zach chat about the fresh rumors of a new Toyota Supra, the Nissan Juke-R heading for (very) limited production, Cadillac ATS pricing, GM Europe headed for another restructuring, and sales of the Toyota Prius PHEV. Your questions and comments power the end of the ‘cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our , thanks for taking the time. We’ve embedded our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
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All the Justin Bieber in the world doesn’t seem like enough for to catch a break. First it was a 2012 spectacularly . Now a Texas fire investigator has said that a house fire originated with the plug-inhybrid, according to AutoWeek.
The fire consumed the car while doing “substantial damage” to the garage and spreading to the suburban Houston home, but nobody was injured in the blaze. According to the report, two other vehicles parked in the garage, an Acura NSX and SUV, were also damaged. Estimates of the extent of the destruction were said to be $100,000, not including the damage to the other cars – and we’re assuming not including the Karma either, given that the was a complete loss, according to the report.
The fire started within three minutes of the Karma being parked in the garage, after the owner said he smelled burning rubber. According to the report, the car had not yet been plugged in to charge. The Karma is said to be new enough that it was built after the , and the report indicates that the battery pack survived the fire intact.
Though the Fort Bend County chief fire investigator told AW that “the Karma was the origin of the fire,” and that it resembled a golf cart fire, something that happens roughly 50 times a year in the area, the incident is still being investigated.
When contacted for comment, Fisker’s response was to tell AutoWeek not to jump to any conclusions: “There are conflicting reports and uncertainty surrounding this particular incident. The cause of the fire is not yet known and is being investigated.”
The automaker then went on to speculate about “fraud or malicious intent,” stating that “fireworks were found in the garage” and that “an electrical panel located in the garage… is also being examined,” according to the report. Fisker also told AW that it believes the car’s battery pack “does not appear to have been a contributing factor in this incident.”
Get ready. The hype machine is revving up for the . And it’s not going to slow down in the coming months, as Ford prepares to launch it’s most important midsize entry in 30 years.
Even with no pricing available, Ford has launched its website. The configurator will walk a curious customer through all of the variations of the new Fusion from a base S model to the fully loaded Titanium to the gas-electric Hybrid. (The only model missing is the plug-in hybrid Fusion Energi.)
The configurator, which Ford says on the website is for “survey purposes only,” will allow you to see the Fusion S in eight different colors (the Titanium model comes in nine – click through to see them all), list out each model’s engine choices, features and options, as well continue the buzz the Fusion created at the .
After building the Fusion of your dreams, you can also sign up for email updates, which, over the summer, will be many.
We’re almost ready to record Episode #281 of the Autoblog Podcast, and you can check out the topics below, add your own to the and join us live via , as well, and we’ve embedded our UStream player Thanks for listening!
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BMW, , and are among the eight U.S. and German automakers that will demonstrate a single-port fast-charging system for electric vehicles at the Electric Vehicle Symposium 26 (EV26) in Los Angeles starting next week.
, , parent and will also show off the so-called DC-fast system, which will be able to recharge most battery-electric vehicles in as little as 15 minutes.
With a combination AC and DC charging capabilities, the DC-fast system is supposed to start sales by the end of the year and will enable U.S. and German plug-ins to be able to be recharged at most public charging stations while also accommodating high-powered fast-charging stations. The International Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has officially tapped the system as the standard for fast-charging.
Electric-vehicle proponents consider the establishment of a fast-charging standard to be an important key to plug-in vehicle adoption because the availability of publicly accessible fast chargers that can recharge a vehicle in minutes instead of hours makes range anxiety a moot point. Pike Research said last year that annual revenue generated by makers of electric-vehicle charging equipment will increase more than tenfold between 2011 and 2017 to about $4.3 billion.
Still, the fast-charging issue is far from settled because a separate fast-charging standard – – has been proposed by the Japanese automotive industry. , , and parent Fuji Heavy Industries are all partners in the CHAdeMO Association.
The , the most popular hybrid in the world, was also the most popular plug-in vehicle in U.S. last month.
Compared to sales of the and the , which , respectively, the quietly sold 1,654 copies in April, reports PluginCars. With such strong name recognition and pent-up demand for a Prius with a cord, this shouldn’t really have been a surprise. But it still kind of is.
sold more Prius models in the U.S. last month than ever before in April (March 2012 was ), even though . The four members of the “Prius family” sold a combined 25,168 units, an increase of 126.9 percent compared to April 2011 (which was right after the Japanese tsunami). Overall, Toyota and sold 32,593 hybrids last month, 30,126 of them wearing the Toyota badge, 2,467 of them the upper-class Lexus models.
Last year, Toyota said it . Since Toyota doesn’t break out model numbers, we’re not sure what the total is for the year thus far, but 1,654 plug-ins a month is enough for the company hit that target. Scroll down for Toyota’s official sales results.
If you want a top-of-the-line SUV with serious performance capabilities, look no further than the Group. Its unit has had tremendous success with the , a vehicle that has doubled its sales all on its own – and that’s not even accounting for the or that share some of its underpinnings. Keen to capitalize on that success, the German auto giant is overseeing the application of the same formula to two of its other divisions: , which just unveiled its new Urus concept, and , which is working on an SUV of its own.
The British marque has been showcasing the EXP 9 F concept to preview what it has in store. It only hinted at powertrain possibilities upon its unveiling at the , but at the , it got ever so slightly more specific. Like the range, the production version of the Bentley sport-ute would pack a 600-horsepower, 6.0-liter twin-turbo W12, but offer the (relatively) more sensible 500hp, 4.0L twin-turbo V8 as well. The bigger news, however, is the V6 plug-in hybrid option which Bentley is planning for its SUV, enabling it to travel up to 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) on electric-only mode, while rocketing to 100 km/h (62 mph) in less than five seconds.
Bentley projects the variety of powertrain options will help it sell 3,000 units of the vehicle once it enters production in 2015 – the same figures sister-company Lamborghini is projecting for the Urus. To put that into context, consider that Bentley sold just over 7,000 vehicles (from its current and lines) around the world last year. That’s still a far cry from the number of Cayennes that Porsche churns out – it delivered nearly 13,000 of them in the United States alone last year – but then the EXP 9 F is expected to carry a price tag north of $200,000 (double the price of even the most expensive Cayenne Turbo) while sharing common components to make its first entrance into SUV market a lucrative one for the Flying B brand.
Scope out the fresh high-resolution images we’ve added to the gallery above for another look at the EXP 9 F (which is still expected to look different by the time it comes to production), and for the press release containing powertrain information.
has finally spread its plug-inhybrid technology to the . The German automaker unveiled the A6 L e-Tron technology study on Monday at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show, complete with an all-electric driving range of nearly 50 miles at 37 mph. Liquid-cooled lithium-ion batteries power the 95-horsepower electric motor, though a 211-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder can step in at any time for more acceleration or additional range. The A6 L e-tron can operate in fully-electric, hybrid or gasoline mode as needed. While the A6 L e-tron concept is technically an engineering study at the moment, Audi does admit the sedan could indicate what a Chinese-built A6 hybrid could look like in the future.
The cabin offers buyers the same level of space and comfort as the internal-combustion A6 L, though a new instrument panel and vehicle information display conveys data on battery charge status, range and available drive system power. Audi’s engineers have have also specifically calibrated the sedan’s MMI touch system to recognize 29,000 Chinese characters, which we can only imagine was no mean feat. for the full press release.
has created the BMW i sub-brand for its upcoming production plug-in models, which currently include three concepts: the and the i8 Spyder. After keeping that third model away from our eager cameras at the New York Auto Show, BMW finally showed off the i8 Spyder Concept in the metal at the today.
The car itself we’ve already , but seeing it on stage shows once again that BMW is serious about putting cars like these on the road (toned down from the concept’s style, of course, perhaps with ). We’re more than ready for the through-the-road, plug-in hybrid that packs a 96-kW (131-horsepower) electric motor in front and a turbocharged three-cylinder gas engine offering 223 hp in back. 0-62 in five seconds and maybe 78 MPGe? Yes, please.
BMW is also making official the “eDrive” name, which is the new catch-all name for all of the electric drivetrain components: motor, battery and motor management system. First , the eDrive designation will be used “for the drive technology of all future electric and plug-in hybrid cars,” so get used to seeing it a lot.
Former Chairman and current investor Ray Lane is blaming Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for the delays in procuring federal loans that have been earmarked for the maker of the extended-range plug-in and the upcoming Atlantic, according to Delaware Online.
In an e-mail, Lane said Romney is mistakenly grouping the Fisker loan from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) with money given to failed companies like solar-panel producer Solyndra. Lane, managing director at venture-capital company Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, said in the alleged e-mail that he’s planning to contact Romney, whose father George Romney was once president of American Motors Corp.
The Fisker issue is particularly acute in Delaware, where the automaker had planned to expand employment and build a production version of the (a.k.a. Project Nina) shown above at a former General Motors factory. Those plans have been as Fisker sorts out its financial situation. Delaware Online reported late last week that Fisker had at the factory, which was characterized as “absolutely empty.”
The company was set to receive $529 million in federal loans but has only received a fraction of that and hasn’t received funding since last year.
It may come as a shock, but diesel cars are doing well outside of their traditional European home. The just-released shows that , but the real story is that we might be seeing the start of a golden era for diesel-powered cars in the U.S. In fact, clean diesel sales were up 35 percent in the first quarter of 2012 over Q1 2011, a trend – and it is a trend, since diesel sales were up 27 percent in 2011 – that the Diesel Technology Forum (DTF) says is due to higher fuel prices pushing people into the efficient oil-burners.
Allen Schaeffer, DTF’s executive director, said in a statement that, “I expect clean diesel auto sales to increase further as several new diesel cars are introduced in the U.S. market in the next year.”
Right now, it’s pretty much all Jetta TDI, all the time.
Once those other vehicles arrive, we’ll see how the market shakes out. Right now, it’s pretty much all , all the time. A while back, we spoke with Lars Ullrich, the director of marketing and business excellence, diesel systems North America, for Robert Bosch LLC. He told us that diesel Jettas made up 44 percent of all diesels sold in the U.S. last year, which makes the Jetta sort of the Prius of diesels in America. Last year, had 58 percent of all diesel sales in the U.S.
Does this mean the Jetta TDI is “the” diesel in the U.S.? Ullrich said it depends on how you look at the numbers. About 60 percent of all s sold in the U.S. in 2011, for example, were diesel, but the A3 sells in smaller numbers overall than the Jetta. When you have diesels available in high-volume models, he said, you end up selling a lot of diesels.
Diesel-powered passenger cars and medium-duty pick-ups had around three percent market share in the U.S. in 2011.
What does the big picture look like? Overall, diesel-powered passenger cars and medium-duty pick-ups had around three percent market share in the U.S. in 2011. That may not sound like a lot, but compare it to the hybrid market share, which has gone from 2.7 to 2.4 to 2.1 percent over the last three years, Ullrich said. Today, there are 25 clean diesel models available in the U.S. By 2014, that number will double, he said, which gives us an indication of where the market is moving. Echoing Schaeffer, Bosch’s prediction is that the U.S. will see diesels grab 10 percent of the market by 2015.
While increasingly popular, diesels are not perfect. There are issues like the , for example, and a fossil fuel is a fossil fuel. But it’s clear that Americans are considering diesel more than they used to. The question is what happens when the and arrive? Or more of ’s -D models? And, further down the line, when we see more merging of electric and diesel powertrains, where the diesel – perhaps – is burned in an efficient generator to generate electricity. That’s when things get even more exciting.
High gas prices are helping and do quite well in the U.S., too. The Diesel Technology Forum says hybrid sales increased 37.2 percent while plug-in electrics jumped 323 percent. Overall, vehicle sales were up 13.4 percent. For more number-crunching details, see our monthly green car sales charts for , and of 2012. The DTF has compiled a list of all the diesel-powered vehicles available in the U.S. .
Last week, a battery research lab in Warren, Michigan. General Motors has since said the fire was caused by a battery that was being tested under “extreme stress.” Engineers were trying to get the pack to fail, which it did, but not to ignite, which it also did when gases leaked out and somehow caught fire.
There’s one detail we have not heard yet, and that’s how much the fire could end up costing GM: up to $5 million, the The Detroit News reports, based on information that the automaker’s representatives submitted in a police report. The local fire department has estimated that the damage could be closer to $3 million, with one million of that due to property loss – at least two labs were damaged – and $2 million worth of damage to the labs’ contents. An investigation into the cause and extent of the fire continues.
The battery pack involved was not the same as the one used in the and GM says that the incident . Media reports have suggested the battery is be intended for the and that the prototype battery pack was made by A123 (which has had recently). Multiple people were injured in the fire but only one remains in the hospital because of “an estimated four-inch gash to the back of his head.”
