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Toyota, Honda hybrid sales drop in 2008; 5 FCX Clarity models sold
Filed under: Hybrid, Hydrogen, Honda, Toyota, Green Daily 
Click above for more shots of the Honda FCX Clarity
We've already taken a look at the 2,555 hybrids that GM sold in December and the 14,439 hybrid vehicles it sold in 2008, but what about the other major automakers? Not every automaker reports their sales the same way (most don't break out hybrid numbers, for example), but we can still compare GM's results to Honda's and Toyota's.
Toyota reports that, for all of 2008, it sold 15,200 Lexus RX 400h luxury hybrid SUVs and 19,391 Highlander Hybrid gas-electric mid-size SUVs. For the year, Toyota and Lexus sold 241,405 hybrid vehicles. That includes 158,884 Priuses, compared to 181,221 in 2007. That 12.6 percent drop in hybrid sales is better than the drop in overall sales in the industry.
There is something interesting going on with the Honda numbers. The sales numbers say that 1,036 Civic hybrids were sold in December (31,297 in all of 2008) compared to 3,223 in December 2007 (32,575 in all of 2007). That was expected. The discontinued Accord hybrid managed to sell 198 units in 2008 (vs. 3,405 in 2007). The interesting part comes in the FCX Clarity section. Apparently, Honda sold five of them in 2008. I thought the only way to get an FCX Clarity was to lease one.
[Source: Toyota, Honda]Toyota, Honda hybrid sales drop in 2008; 5 FCX Clarity models sold originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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European Insight brochure leaks out
Filed under: Hybrid, Honda, Detroit Auto Show, European Union, UK 
Click above for a gallery of leaked Honda Insight images
The world can be a leaky place, especially since the internet makes it easy to spread any early information in an extremely rapid manner. Such is life for automakers at the moment. The latest victim (or beneficiary, if you consider a leak to be free advertising) is Honda, which saw a Japanese brochure for its upcoming Insight hybrid hatchback leaked out to the internet just last week. This was followed up by the leak of what appears to be a European brochure that offers us tons of sneak peeks at details such as the new Euro-spec Insight's head lamps, tail lights, grille, wheels and dash. Overall, the car looks pretty similar to the concept that was introduced last year in Paris, gaining cleaner lines overall and losing unnecessary show car bits in the process. As much as we all like to see these early shots, we only have a short wait until January 11th when the car will get its official debut at the Detroit Auto Show. Until then, enjoy these early teasers.
[Source: Carscoop]European Insight brochure leaks out originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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GM sold 2,555 hybrids in December, HUMMER sales cut in half
Filed under: Hybrid, GM, HUMMER, Green Daily 
All things considered, it appears that we think of GM's 2,555 hybrid sales in December a success. GM's press release (posted after the jump) certainly makes it all smell like roses. The 2.5k deliveries are up from the 1,957 hybrids the General sold in September. At that time, GM was averaging about 1,000 hybrids a month for 2008, and the trend has been upward since then, and for all of 2008, GM sold 14,439 hybrid vehicles. Here's how December's hybrid sales broke down:
- 981 Chevrolet Tahoe
- 442 GMC Yukon
- 306 Cadillac Escalade
- 454 Chevrolet Malibu
- 34 Saturn Aura
- 338 Vue
For those of you keeping score against the HUMMER brand, sales in 2008 were down 50.9 percent compared to 2007. The General sold 55,986 H1, H2, and H3 models in 2007 and 27,485 in 2008 (including just 692 units of the new H3T model).
[Source: GM]Continue reading GM sold 2,555 hybrids in December, HUMMER sales cut in half GM sold 2,555 hybrids in December, HUMMER sales cut in half originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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The parking fairy loves hybrid drivers
Filed under: Hybrid, Legislation and Policy, Green Daily 
How cool is it when you pull up to a parking space that's close to where you need to be and you're one of the few people allowed to park there? This privilege is most often reserved for handicapped persons and pregnant women, but the perk has been extended towards hybrid owners in a growing number of cities, communities and offices. Not surprisingly, there are both proponents (those with hybrids, obviously) for the system and opponents, most often people who choose fuel efficient vehicles that don't happen to be hybrids. This clash has led Fresno, California, to rescind its hybrid parking passes and the city of Ferndale, Michigan, to create its own special parking privileges to drivers of any car that get at least 30 miles per gallon in EPA testing.
The more reasons people have to choose a fuel efficient car, the better. Now that fuel prices have fallen so far, the ability to use HOV lanes and park in designated spots may help move the fuel-efficient metal.
[Source: USA Today - Photo: rscottjones CC 2.0]The parking fairy loves hybrid drivers originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Plug In America will host West Coast Inauguration parade with 30+ EVs
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Hybrid, Green Daily 
The AltCar crowd around the EV1 and the Chevy Volt. Photo to Amy Williams
Many of the people in Plug in America were excited by Barack Obama's win in the US presidential election. So excited, in fact, that they applied to be part of the Presidential Inaugural Parade that will take place later this month. Well, with 1,300 other groups having the same idea, PIA's electric and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) contingent was not selected to take part in the Washington, DC event. Undeterred, PIA has announced their own "Inaugural Parade West: Plug In, America!" which will cruise through Santa Monica, CA on January 17. So far, PIA expects over thirty "EVs and PHEVs, including Teslas, numerous RAV4s (with tens of thousands of miles on each), Vectrix bikes, Chevy S10s and conversions." Chris Paine and his film crew will be on hand as part of their work on the sequel to "Who Killed The Electric Car?" As for major automaker participation, PIA said that, "We've invited GM to bring a vehicle. That will be the next news update. Or miracle? Hey, they brought a Volt to AltCarExpo...." (see above).
[Source: Plug In America]
Continue reading Plug In America will host West Coast Inauguration parade with 30+ EVs Plug In America will host West Coast Inauguration parade with 30+ EVs originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Castrosua unveils Tempus, its first hybrid bus
Filed under: Hybrid, Transportation Alternatives, European Union 
Spanish busmaker Castrosúa has unveiled its first hybrid bus. Named Tempus, the new electric-diesel-powered bus will be ready this summer. Developed with a company called Mormendi, the Tempus is the child of a young industrial engineer called Jaime Moreno. Tempus has already won the "Spanish Bus of the Year" award for 2009 - that was fast - and Madrid and Barcelona are among the cities that will get some units for testing. The Tempus has two electric motors that power the rear wheels. The motors get their juice from chloride-sodium batteries placed inside the vehicle's roof. The electric powertrain is mated to Iveco's smallest diesel engine and the bus uses just 80 liters to go 300 km, a 50 percent reduction compared to similar units. The Tempus is designed for very tight routes; it measures 9.5 meters long and 2.55 meters wide, perfect for old city centers.
[Source: El Mundo]Castrosua unveils Tempus, its first hybrid bus originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Tata Motors to offer world's cheapest hybrid?
Filed under: Hybrid, Tata 
Tata Motors made a big splash when it announced the Nano, billed as the world's cheapest automobile. Could the Indian automaker follow that car up with the world's cheapest hybrid? Well, that really depends on your definition of hybrid, as Tata is said to be working on a more eco-friendly version of the Nano microcar that will feature stop/start technology and is referring to the machine as a micro hybrid. Semantics aside, the Bosch-supplied technology is expected to reduce fuel consumption and improve emissions by something like 5 to 10 percent. All that for a few hundred dollars.
Of course, being such an inexpensive machine, even a few hundred bucks is a big percentage of the Nano's $2,500 price tag, and Tata is worried that the new micro hybrid drivetrain will add too much cost to the car. Tata is also expected to launch diesel and electric versions of the Nano, and we're not sure what order each of the models will launch in, and we all know there are many factors that can influence Tata's timeline.
[Source: Hybrid Cars]Tata Motors to offer world's cheapest hybrid? originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Mahindra hopes micro hybrids make a dent in Indian sales
Filed under: Hybrid, India 
Letting engines idle away needlessly while a vehicle is at rest is a practice that's definitely on its way out. Some refer to the technology that ends this behavior automatically as stop/start, while others prefer the term micro hybrid. Whatever the case, the underlining technology is the same. The trick lies in making it all work seamlessly and keeping auxiliary bits like the air conditioning compressor and power steering pump working without the power of the internal combustion engine; a small battery with an electric motor is often the solution. India's Mahindra has big plans for the technology, which is already slated for installation in the firm's Scorpio and Bolero SUVs. Assuming those launches go well, Mahindra CEO Pawan Goenka says that the automaker will roll the new tech to its other models. The Indian company hopes that this lower-cost alternative to full-hybrids such as the Toyota Prius will make better financial sense and therefore sell better than their more expensive siblings.
[Source: Sify via EV World - survey req'd]Mahindra hopes micro hybrids make a dent in Indian sales originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sun, 04 Jan 2009 08:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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EnerDel has applied for $480 million in federal loans to crank up battery production
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid 
Lithium ion battery maker EnerDel wants to tap into some of the $25 billion that Congress set aside to help fund advanced vehicle manufacturing in the 2007 energy bill. EnerDel has applied for low interest loans totaling $480 million to help fund the construction of manufacturing capacity for batteries. Automotive scale battery manufacturing is limited today, particularly in the US. Right now EnerDel is the only US company making automotive lithium batteries at facilities in Indianapolis and Noblesville, Indiana. The money would allow EnerDel to double the size of an existing factory to 600,000 packs a year and build a new factory capable of building another 1.2 million packs annually. The first packs are destined for the troubled Tn!nk company, something that Ener1 Chairman and CEO Charles Gassenheimer told AutoblogGreen is not a problem.
[Source: Ener1]Continue reading EnerDel has applied for $480 million in federal loans to crank up battery production EnerDel has applied for $480 million in federal loans to crank up battery production originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Michigan engineering professor installs HyMotion PHEV kit in his Prius
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Toyota 
Dr. John Patten of Western Michigan University recently installed one of HyMotion's L5 plug-in conversion kits in his Toyota Prius as part of his work in educating people on alternative energy. The HyMotion kit is the first commercially available system that allows Priuses to become plug-in hybrids. Half of the total cost was paid for by the university with the rest coming from a Michigan Community Energy Project grant. Patten will conduct seminars and demonstrations at events around the state to help make people aware that the technology for plug-in hybrids is available. Patten also had a wind turbine installed at the school's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences to be used as part of his research into alternative and renewable energy. A student will also be working with the professor on analyzing energy data with the now pluggable-Prius.
Hopefully, Patten will also explain to people the limitations of such conversions. Unlike the Chevy Volt, say, the electric drive system in the Prius is not designed to provide full range electric operation. Anyone who has tried driving current hybrids in electric mode will be fully aware of the very light foot required to keep the engine from starting. A conversion like this will not yield a car that you can just unplug and driving normally without the engine for 30-40 miles. Nonetheless, this $10,000 kit can yield significant improvements in mileage. Learn more here.
[Source: Kalamazoo Gazette]Michigan engineering professor installs HyMotion PHEV kit in his Prius originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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