According to Ed LaRocque, Toyota’s U.S. marketing manager for advanced technology vehicles, Toyota’s new family sized Prius will be hitting the U.S. market this fall after delays due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The Prius V is being targeted to young families offering versatility and more interior room than most small sport utility vehicles on the market. The company sees the Prius V competing against vehicles such as the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape and the Volkswagen Jetta wagon. Toyota will also be offering a plug in version of the current Prius model early next year followed by a smaller version, known as the Prius C. Toyota has dominated the gasoline electric hybrid market since the Prius went on sale in the U.S. in 2000. The company hopes that Prius sales will eventually rival the sales of Toyota’s popular models like the Camry and Corolla sedans.
Tag Archives: Electric Cars
Car Makers Reject California Emission Proposal
California regulators are pushing a mandate that could have zero emission vehicles making up 5.5% of new car sales by 2018, increasing to 14% by 2025. The proposal is being rejected by auto makers who feel the plan is the first step into establishing new national fuel efficiency standards that could end up costing them $5,000 for every vehicle that does not meet the standard. According to the Association of Global Automakers (AGA) the requirement of electric vehicles would interfere with auto makers ability to meet the new fuel economy and emissions standards being proposed by the Obama administration. They feel that auto makers will be forced into building vehicles that are not in demand, into an infrastructure that can not meet their refueling needs. It is expected the plan would hit smaller auto companies the worst, because they have fewer resources and development advances for electric vehicles.
Chevy Volt Tax Incentives Not Guaranteed
With the price of fuel on a steady rise, consumers have turned to environmentally friendly hybrid and electric vehicles. The demand for these vehicles is leading to shortages throughout the United States and have resulted in dealership markups, some over $20,000 above the suggested retail price. Government incentives allow a $7,500 tax credit on these vehicles, but consumers may be surprised to find that some Chevrolet Volts found on dealership lots are being sold as “used” and no longer qualify..
A report in the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), say that some Chevrolet dealers are selling hybrid cars to other dealerships who are claiming the tax credits for themselves. Mark Modica, and investigator for the watchdog group, claimed that one Chicago Chevrolet dealer was selling a used Volt with only 10 miles on it. GM spokesman, Robert Peterson, says that while they do not encourage these transactions between dealerships, there is nothing GM or regulators can do about it. He does not believe that these transactions are done for the sole purpose of claiming the government tax credit, but are dealerships who are ineligible to sell the new Volts, trying to get these cars for their showrooms. He encourages dealers’ to have patience as the Chevy Volt rolls out nationwide. GM expects to produce only about 10,000 Volts this year, but hopes to increase production to 45,000 in 2012.
Tesla Releases 5.3 Million Additional Shares
Tesla Motors Inc. has announced that they will be releasing another 5.3 million shares in a secondary public stock offering of $28.76 per share. These shares will be in addition to a private sale of 1.4 million to Elon Musk, CEO and co-founder of Tesla, plus an additional 637,475 shares to Blackstar Investco LLC, an affiliate of Daimler AG. The company hopes to raise about $211 million which will go towards developing their new SUV like vehicle, the Model X.
In June of 2010 when Tesla first went public, the sale was a big success. The stocks were estimated to sell at about $15 a share but ended going up to as high as $19. Just two days after the release, the stock shot up to almost double the first offering. Despite the huge success, the Tesla IPO soon lost it’s momentum.
Tesla is not expected to make a profit for another two years. They currently sell just one vehicle, the Roadster, a sporty electric car popular with the rich and famous. The first public stock offering has allowed them to develop a more affordable model, the Model S, which will be released to the public next year. The company is currently developing battery packs and chargers for Daimler and Toyota, and have been working with Toyota to develop an electric version to the RAV 4. Tesla shares currently remain steady around $27.00.
Fewer Cylinders Now Offer More Power
In April of 2010, when the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came out with their national greenhouse gas emission standards, there were concerns about how the new requirements would be received. It was expected that automobile manufacturers would turn to more efficient conventional technologies, while others would go one step further and pursue more advanced fuel saving technologies like diesel, hybrid and electric vehicles. Today, with gasoline prices on a steady rise, Americans are demanding that their new cars not only meet, but exceed the standards set by the government. Because some consumers are still skeptical of the new hybrid and electric technologies, many have chosen to trade in their V-6’s for more fuel efficient four cylinder engines.
Four cylinder engines now account for almost 65% of all vehicles built in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. This is the biggest shift since the 1980’s when consumers traded in their V-8’s for the smaller V-6 engines. It is expected that within the next five years, over half the vehicles in the U.S. will be four cylinder engines. But todays consumers don’t have to give up power to drive the smaller engine vehicles. New technologies have left the underpowered four cylinder engines a thing of the past, and automakers have changed their marketing strategies to focus on the horsepower and fuel economy instead of the number of cylinders a vehicle has.
Ford new generation Explorer will soon offer two liter four cylinder “Eco Boost” engine and are already working on a 1.0-liter, three-cylinder engine.
BMW, who has not built a four cylinder engine in the U.S. for over a decade is now offering their customers the new Z4 sports car scheduled to go on sale this year, and have also been working on a three cylinder engine.
Hyundai has almost abandoned anything bigger than a four-cylinder, which accounts for nearly 90% of its U.S. sales.
And finally, automobile manufacturers like Honda, Toyota and Nissan, who were once criticized for their small powerless vehicles, are now leaders in the new fuel efficient, environmentally friendly technologies.
New Fuel Economy Window Stickers
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) unveiled their new fuel economy window stickers on Wednesday, saying that the new stickers will show the most changes in thirty years. The new labels will allow consumers to compare conventional cars, hybrids and all electric vehicles, giving information on greenhouse gas ratings, emissions, smog ratings, and fuel costs. The new stickers are scheduled to appear on the new 2013 models, but automakers have the option to start using them on on 2012 models as well.
Federal regulators had originally considered using a letter grading system from A to D, comparing fuel economy and air pollution to those of the entire fleet of new cars, but automakers objected, saying that the stickers were too simplistic and potentially misleading to automobile consumer’s. The government instead decided to go with a much busier label with more information and a sliding scale comparing vehicles across classes. According to transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, “These labels will provide consumers with up-front information about a vehicle’s fuel costs and savings so that they can make informed decisions when purchasing a new car.”
The label will also include a Quick Response Code (QR Code) that can be scanned by a smart phone to get information on cost estimates based on a consumer’s driving habits and the price of gasoline and electricity of their area. This information will also be accessible to vehicle shoppers online.
California Hybrid Owners Carpool Privileges
California has always been a leader in environmentally friendly living. In 2004 we were one of the first to pass a law restricting vehicles’ greenhouse gas emissions and since then the legislation has been extended twice. One of the stipulations of the legislation gave almost 85,000 hybrid owner access to drive in the carpool lanes. On July 1, these get out of traffic free cards are about to expire, and this has hybrid owners protesting
Since the inception of the law, the amount of hybrid, and now electric vehicles on the road have significantly increased. This increase is starting to make car pool lanes more congested especially in the state of California where the percentage of hybrid is now well over 24%. According to state senator, Fran Pavley, one of the original sponsors of the legislation, “An extension of the carpool lane privileges in unlikely to bear fruit.” She says that taking away these privileges ranks right up there with taking away someones firstborn. She added that the legislation should be extended for at least one more year since vehicles that qualify for the new green sticker program do not go on sale until next year.
Electric Cars Get Top Crash Test Ratings
When the first mainstream electric cars, the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf, hit the market, they were advertised as being easy on the pocketbook and good for the environment. Because of their size and weight, may consumers had concerns that safety may have been compromised in order to meet the promised fuel efficiency. Recent crash tests done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have shown that this just isn’t true. In fact, both cars have received “Top Safety Ratings” receiving the highest possible ratings for front, side, rear, and rollover crash protection. According to Joe Nolan, the IIHS chief administrative officer, Eco-minded drivers keen on switching to an electric vehicle should not think twice about buying a Leaf or Volt for highway driving. General Motors and Nissan have shown that safety doesn’t have to be sacrificed for fuel economy.
