Hybrids

Carmakers and industry analysts are predicting that it’ll be decades before we’ll see a significant drop in global automotive fuel consumption. Despite the introduction of highly efficient diesel and electric-hybrid technology, the AFP is reporting that consumers are not adopting them...

A recent drop in world oil prices has made motorists in the US less concerned about buying ultra fuel-efficient vehicles. So much so that carmakers have started to offer incentives on some electric-hybrid models, including Toyota’s own Prius, for the first time. Some of the deals are similar...

Toyota unveiled the all-new next-generation Highlander and Highlander Hybrid mid-size SUV at the Chicago Auto Show today. A car that’s significantly larger, roomier and more powerful than the vehicle it replaces, yet fuel consumption will remain much the same. Toyota is heavily promoting the...

Volvo is currently developing a plug-in hybrid prototype based on its funky C30 hatch, which it hopes will be ready in time for November’s Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Shanghai. Unlike conventional hybrids, which use an internal combustion engine to drive the wheels during high-load, the...

Visitors to the Geneva motor show in March will see a new Honda concept car that will preview a production model due to be released in 2008. The new car will be Honda’s second dedicated hybrid model after the Insight, which was released back in 1999, according to UK’s Autocar magazine...

Another electric powered sports car is about to hit the market, this time a full carbon-fiber bodied vehicle capable of reaching speeds in excess of 120mph. The vehicle was developed in a partnership between Hybrid Technologies Inc. and Mullen Motor Company, and is expected to go on sale for...

The managerial shift over at Volkswagen HQ hasn’t managed to impede plans for the introduction of a petrol-electric hybrid vehicle from the German carmaker. However, original plans under former CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder’s rule, which would have seen VW release hybrid versions of its...

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has publicly stated that building fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles “make little sense” due to the high cost of developing the vehicles and the fact that current diesel technology is proven to have better mileage rates. Wheels magazine in Australia has...

Toyota has announced today that it’s aiming to increase sales of electric-hybrid vehicles by 40% this year, roughly equivalent to 430,000 cars. Last year, Toyota's hybrid sales rose 33% and with rising fuel prices set to continue this year, the company famous for building the Prius may just...

General Motors has earned a lot of brownie points with its Volt plug-in hybrid, which showed that the world’s largest carmaker is serious about building electric vehicles again. Ford has now upped the ante by combining the latest trend of plug-in technology with a zero-emissions hydrogen fuel...

Diesel powered cars already rival regular hybrid-electric gasoline cars in the economy stakes, and it’s only a matter of time until manufacturers combine the two fuel-saving technologies to build the ultimate fuel-miser. The limiting factor currently is the high costs involved but that may...

Malcolm Bricklin’s latest venture is a plan to import a low-priced hybrid vehicle manufactured in China for sale in the US. You may remember Bricklin and his company, Visionary Vehicles, and their failed attempt to import cars from China’s Chery automobile. This time ‘round, the...

China’s Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) has completed the development of its fourth generation hydrogen powered fuel cell drivetrain that it has installed into the body of Roewe’s new 750 sedan. The vehicle was developed in a partnership with Tongji University and according to...

General Motors yesterday unveiled its plans for a large-scale test of fuel cell vehicles across the globe, which will include stints in Asia, Europe and North America. The tests are set to be the largest and most comprehensive ever for a car manufacturer and will range anywhere from several dozen...

A body known as the Hydrogen Electric Racing Federation (HERF) is proposing a 500 mile race that’s scheduled for May of 2009 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. AutoWeek reports that the event hasn’t been confirmed, but if successful, the race is tipped to revolutionize motorsport and...

General Motors has announced two new battery technology deals that will enable it to build a sports utility vehicle that could achieve economy ratings in the region of 70mpg. The deals revolve around lithion-ion batteries, which can hold twice as much capacity as the nickel-metal hydride batteries...

A brand new hybrid-only model will join Toyota’s Prius in 2009 to help the Japanese carmaker boost its sales of hybrid vehicles past 1m. The new model will be a midsize sedan and come fitted with a 2.5-3.0L engine, rather than the anemic 1.5L engine currently found in the Prius. The sedan...

Volkswagen is tired of Toyota getting all the glory for its Prius petrol-hybrid vehicles, so will be introducing one of its own in 2009. The first model will be a Jetta and will achieve better economy than the normal TDI versions currently available on the market. The current Jetta gets a fuel...

A senior Nissan executive has stated that hybrids are still not a “viable economic proposition.” Dominique Thormann, Nissan North America's senior vice president for administration and finance, said "for these technologies to work, there has to be a customer benefit. Somewhere there's...

London’s Westminster City Council has unveiled its new scheme of free electric car charging power points in an effort to help reduce pollution in the area. The council hopes more people will take up electric cars if they offer free recharge points in central city areas. Two points have been...