Hybrids

The 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid has officially been revealed at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Click here for all the details and images. Toyota is looking to take advantage of the green image its Prius petrol-electric hybrid vehicle enjoys by building upon the ‘Prius’ name and launching a...

With no end in sight to rising fuel prices, Americans more than ever are switching from fuel-heavy SUVs and sporty V8s to economical four-cylinder sedans and compacts. Fuel economy has quickly become the top priority for new car buyers and according to a new survey nearly eight in ten Americans...

Mercedes-Benz is confident it will have the first volume hybrid model powered by lithium-ion batteries, when it launches the S400 BlueHYBRID next year. The new car will feature a 15kW electric motor mated to 3.5L petrol V6 for a combined output of 220kW and 375Nm of torque – enough to propel...

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler yesterday revealed a production electric vehicle from Audi was still at least five to ten years away, but that doesn’t mean the Ingolstadt-based carmaker isn’t investing in the technology. According to latest reports Audi and Japanese electronics giant Sanyo are...

Pininfarina first confirmed back in December it was planning to build a new electric vehicle in a joint-venture with France’s Bollore group. The coachbuilder has now revealed that it will be moving production of the Alfa Romeo Brera (pictured) out of its San Giorgio plant to make room for the...

Industry giants Toyota and GM are racing to become the first carmaker with a production plug-in hybrid in its fleet and even BMW and Mercedes-Benz have confirmed plans to launch electric and alternative fuel vehicles towards the end of the decade. Audi however, sees its development of...

Although the first batch of Tesla Roadsters is already on sale - to the tune of 1,000 pre-orders - only four production cars have been built. But that hasn't stopped Tesla from opening its first dealership in one of the busiest sections of Los Angeles. Built at a cost of $2 million, the dealership...

Earlier this week Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn revealed there were plans to launch a new family of electric-vehicles for both Renault and Nissan and the first of these are expected to be on the market by 2010. Before their launch, Nissan will conduct extensive testing of its new electric...

Magna International is a global auto parts supplier and independent vehicle manufacturer and now the company is considering launching its own branded car. Magna is planning to develop and launch its own plug-in hybrid vehicle and is predicting a prototype will be on the roads and testing as early...

Hybrid, fuel-cell and all-electric vehicles are viewed by many as the future of the motoring world but there is a growing fear that the flow of electrical current from the motors that power such vehicles produces harmful magnetic fields, which some scientists associate with a number of health risks...

Bentley has shown off its green credentials with a win in the Greenpower Corporate Challenge that took place at a race circuit in Goodwood over the weekend. Bentley’s entry in the challenge was the Continental DC (Direct Current), a small single-seater vehicle built out of carbon fiber and...

Soaring fuel costs have thrust the electric car industry into the limelight, with new offerings from Tesla, Fisker and Venturi all heating up the electric sports car market. Based around the lightweight chassis of a Lotus Super 7 and a 272hp Siemens electric motor, the new Evisol Thorr roadster...

The U.S. Secretary of Transportation couched the new CAFE plan as saving billions of gallons of fuel, but the industry sees it as one that will costs billions in research, development and manufacturing costs over the next five years. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters noted in the announcement...

Renault has already hinted at building electric cars in Israel towards the end of the decade in a deal with Shai Agassi’s Project Better Place – an initiative designed to make electric vehicles a practical reality. However, according to new reports Renault will also build its own range...

Are more consumers basing their car buying decisions on their environmental awareness? Or are they merely seeking to save their pocketbooks from the rapidly rising price of fuel? Whatever the cause, more and more motorists are opting for hybrid drivetrains in their new vehicles, with sales of the...

The idea of an electric Pony car or Shelby Cobra may not sit well with some but California-based HST International and design firm Tjaarda have developed a pair of electric vehicles ready for sale based on the aforementioned muscle cars. Dubbed the Tjaarda EVX Mustang and HST Shelby Cobra EVX, the...

Carmakers are faced with a number of options for alternative fuel motoring but at this stage it’s still anyone’s guess as to what will be the dominant fuel source of the future. That’s why most of them are hedging their bets, developing a number of different technologies in the...

It seems electric car manufacturer Tesla is having trouble keeping its nose clean these days - just a day after our report on Tesla suing Fisker Automotive for deliberately stealing designs, the electric-sports-car startup is now embroiled in another lawsuit and this time ‘round it’s...

While Japanese and U.S. carmakers have laid the ground-work for the sale of petrol-electric hybrid vehicles, European carmakers are taking a slightly different route by developing diesel-electric powertrains. BMW, PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Mercedes-Benz have all unveiled diesel-electric hybrid...

Mercedes-Benz is committed to delivering advanced diesel, hybrid, Diesotto and fuel-cell powertrains in the near future no matter the cost, revealed Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche. This is in contrast to statements from rival carmakers like GM, who predict such alternative powertrains can only be...