Infiniti G37 May be Hybrid Essence

Motor Trend is reporting a source inside Nissan may take the Essence concept vehicle and use it as the basis for the new G37 due out in 2012.

The G coupe may also get a hybrid powertrain option, inherited from the M35 that develops around 360 total horsepower. At the same time, another source is claiming the partnership with Daimler may lead to a hybrid diesel, which would likely go on sale outside of the US.

I'll file this under rumors for now.

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Suzuki Swift Plug-in Hybrid

Suzuki Swift Plug-in Hybrid

Suzuki is testing 60 Swift plug-in hybrids in Japan this autumn. The Swift plug-in was first seen at the the Tokyo Motor show in October. The small K-car may not have the range of the Volt, but the price should make it an attractive option if it gets to production.

The hybrid engine combines a 600cc ICE with an electric motor.  The car runs off the battery pack exclusively (like the Chevy Volt), while the gas engine is used to recharge the battery pack after it runs low. The battery pack runs down the center center of the car and the electric motor can produce 55kW, while the gas engine can produce 40 kW.

The plug-in hybrid (really, it's an Extended Range Electric Vehicle or E-REV) can run 9 miles (15 km) on a fully charged battery (I've seen some reports saying 12 miles or 20 km).  After that, it relies on the gas engine to recharge the battery pack.  Sanyo announced they will be providing the lithium-ion battery pack for the Swift.

Compared to the Chevy Volt, that's a low range (the Volt is expected to run 40 miles on a full charge before it needs the gas engine to kick in).  But for a mini city based car, 9 miles may be enough.  It should also keep the costs way down, as the lithium-ion battery pack may end up being the most expensive part in the car.

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Hawaii One of the First to See the Nissan Leaf

Nissan has decided to start selling the Leaf, an all electric vehicle in Hawaii, as part of their initial launch in the U.S. beginning in early 2011. Nissan and Hawaii have been working towards a partnership to promote the development of an electric vehicle network. As part of the collaboration, Nissan has committed to make the highly anticipated all-electric Nissan LEAF available to Hawaii consumers.

"We appreciate Nissan's recognition of Hawaii as a global model for electric vehicles and a leader in clean energy," said Governor Linda Lingle. "The introduction of the Nissan LEAF electric vehicle will build on Hawaii's progress to end our state's over-reliance on imported fossil fuels and increase our energy security."

"Nissan is looking forward to bringing the all-electric Nissan LEAF to the people of Hawaii," said Brian Carolin, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Nissan North America. "Through its work in fostering zero-emissions mobility throughout the state, Hawaii is demonstrating that it is EV-ready. These efforts, along with strong consumer interest, led us to name Hawaii as an early launch market for the Nissan LEAF."

"In response to strong consumer demand and our commitment to electric vehicle networks, we are pleased that Hawaii was selected as one of the first launch states," said Theodore Liu, Director, State Dept. of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. "As part of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative's goal of moving towards 70 percent clean energy by 2030, we believe that the introduction and expansion of electric vehicles will give consumers more choices and reduce our state's overdependence on fossil fuels."

At $3.50 per gallon, a car that gets 25 miles per gallon has a fuel cost of 14 cents per mile.
At $0.23 per kilowatt-hour, the Nissan LEAF has a fuel cost of 5 cents per mile.

"I'm looking forward to these vehicles being available," said Ted Peck, Energy Program Administrator, Hawaii State Energy Office. "We've been transforming our buildings to be cleaner, more efficient, and renewable. Now we can transform our cars. This is good for consumers and good for our environment."

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Ford Hybrids in Europe by 2013

Ford and the Spanish government say it may cost $36 million to develop, but the end result will be a hybrid electric vehicle for Europe by 2013. The C-Max compact minivan will begin selling in Europe late in 2010, but the hybrid version is three years away.

Ford says the C-Max hybrid will be built at the Valencia Plant in Spain. Ford will spend almost $410 million to develop the C-Max vehicle line-up, including a seven seater to be exported to the US next year.

"These new advanced technology models are key to Ford's commitment to delivering a portfolio of alternative powertrain vehicles globally and to European customers in the next few years," Ford of Europe CEO John Fleming said in the statement.

Overseas, Ford will have five battery-electric or hybrid-electric vehicles ready for the European public by 2013. The company next year will start selling a battery-electric version of its Transit Connect van in Europe, while a Ford Focus EV will debut in Europe the following year. Ford will also introduce an additional hybrid-electric model in Europe by 2013, but hasn't disclosed details.

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Toyota Continues to Work on Recalls

To date, Toyota has performed more than three million remedies on their three recent recalls:

• 1.6 million to address the potential for sticking accelerator pedals,
• 1.5 million to address the potential for floor mat pedal entrapment, and
• 115,000 program updates to the anti-lock brake systems (ABS) in certain 2010 Prius and Lexus models.

More than 732,000 vehicles have received the modification to the pedals and floor mats. That brings the total number of serviced vehicles to about 2.4 million. That means they've coverd about 70 percent of the recalled vehicles at a rate of 120,000 remedies per week.

“Toyota and Lexus dealers continue to make significant progress in servicing customers’ recalled vehicles as quickly and conveniently as possible, and we appreciate their extraordinary efforts,” said Steve St. Angelo in a press release, Toyota Chief Quality Officer for North America. “Over the past three months, Toyota has delivered on its commitment to listen to the voices of customers more intently and respond more swiftly and effectively to their needs. Above all, we want to thank our customers for their patience as we implement the recall remedies, and we won’t let them down.”

Approximately 27 percent of the floor mat entrapment modifications have been completed on the 5.4 million vehicles that were recalled for this issue, and more than 75 percent of the ABS program updates have been performed on the 147,500 Prius and Lexus models that were recalled.

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Lexus HS 250h is Under Target

Sales of the HS 250h, the first dedicated luxury hybrid from Lexus, is well below what Toyota had targeted (source: Ward). Initially, Lexus thought they could sell 25,000-30,000 HS annually. But after the rush of sales in Japan, Lexus started keeping more units in Japan, rather than shipping them to the US.  Lexus subsequently downgraded their target to 20,000-22,000 units annually.

"Right now, there’s so much demand for that product in Japan…maybe 20,000-22,000 might be more realistic," Mark Templin, Lexus Div. group vice president and general manager-Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., told Ward’s in November.

But now the feeling is that target may have been a stretch.

"I think we underestimated the power of the Prius brand," he says, referring to the Toyota brand’s purpose-built hybrid. "And we overestimated what the market would look like based on gas prices. But if we can do over 1,000 units a month, 1,000-1,500 units a month, we feel really good about what we’re doing in the marketplace."

Since August, when the HS 250h first went on sale, Lexus has sold just over 11,000 units. So far in 2010, they are on target to sell under 14,000 units.

The HS 250h has been affected by more than just the Prius. The Toyota recalls have affected Lexus sales, and the soft market in auto sales has been lingering.

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Volkswagen Thinking in All Electric Terms by 2013

Last time Volkswagen updated their sustainability plans, their plan was to build a hybrid Golf and Passat after starting with a Jetta in 2012. All three models are exciting options for those interested in hybrid technology.

But it seems that VW is now upping their game. In their latest sustainable driving plan, VW is expanding on the possibilities. VW will be selling an electric Golf and Jetta soon after the electric Up! comes in 2013.

According to Car and Driver, Volkswagen will have a fleet of 500 electric Golfs for testing.

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