The North American International Auto Show is underway in Detroit, and the push for the greenest, most fuel-efficient vehicles continues.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) won the car of the year award for it’s 2010 Fusion Hybrid. The vehicle is said to be the most fuel-efficient midsize sedan with an EPA-estimated 41 mpg rating in the city and 36 mpg on the highway.
Ford also said it will invest another $450 million in Michigan as part of the company’s aggressive electric vehicle plan. The company plans to build a "next-generation" hybrid vehicle and plug-in hybrid vehicle at Michigan Assembly Plant beginning in 2012–in addition to producing the new Ford Focus and Focus Electric at Michigan Assembly in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
Ford also will design advanced lithium-ion battery systems for the next-generation hybrid in Michigan and move production of battery packs from Mexico to Michigan.
South Korea’s Hyundai (005380.KS) unveiled its Blue-Will plug-in hybrid car concept. LG Chem (LGCLF.PK) will supply lithium polymer battery systems for the vehicles, which captures waste heat from the engine to produce electricity (in addition to regenerative braking).
Honda (NYSE: HMC) debuted its CR-Z sport hybrid coupe, which is set to go on sale in the US this summer. The two-seater introduces a new three-mode drive system that allows the driver to select between Sport, Economy and Normal driving modes.
The Economy mode will also be an otpion in Honda’s Insight hybrid, which was redesigned for 2010. The vehicle gives real-time feedback to assist drivers in achieving better fuel efficiency. The Insight’s U.S. EPA city/highway fuel-economy rating is 40/43 miles per gallon, and Honda said new cost-efficient production methods will bring the price tag down in 2010.
Toyota (NYSE: TM) unveiled the FT-CH dedicated hybrid concept vehicle. The FT-CH is meant to address Toyota’s stated strategy to offer a wider variety of conventional hybrid choices to its customers, as it begins to introduce plug-in hybrids (PHVs) and battery electrics (BEVs) in model year 2012, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCHVs) in 2015 in global markets.
The CH stands for compact hybrid, and the four-door vehicle is 22 inches shorter than the popular Prius hybrid and has sportier styling. Toyota hasn’t said whether or not the vehicle will be put into produciton.
Volkswagen (VOW.DE) introduced the New Compact Coupe–a small hybrid vehicle that boasts high performance and 45 mpg fuel efficiency.
The
German automaker plans to begin selling its first hybrid production
vehicle in the US later this year. That vehicle, called the Touareg, is
a small SUV.
Nissan North America (NNA) today announced its selection of AeroVironment (Nasdaq: AVAV) (AV) to supply electric vehicle home-charging stations and installation services supporting the introduction of the zero-emission, all-electric Nissan LEAF later this year.
AV’s Nissan-branded charging stations will be available at the sale of each Nissan LEAF as part of the vehicle’s total driving system. The home-charging stations are designed to be installed with a connection to a 220-volt line. It will take eight hours to fully charge the Nissan LEAF from a fully discharged state. Nissan says the vehicle is capable of travelling 100 miles on a single charge.
On Tuesday, January 19th, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) will announce this year’s "Greenest" and "Meanest" vehicles, along with environmental scorings of all model year 2010 cars and trucks. The vehicle scores are part of ACEEE’s Green Book® Online, the thirteenth annual edition of ACEEE’s environmental guide to cars and trucks. It will be available at the link below.
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