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Volkswagen CEO Dr. Martin Winterkorn delivered a speech in Münich on Friday where he announced that the German giant would release its first electric car in 2013. Among the points that Winterkorn emphasized was the race to electrification would be a marathon not a sprint. He also acknowledged that electrics alone won't be enough to meet all needs so VW is following a number of different technology paths. Winterkorn also warns against "electro-hype" which could raise unreasonably high expectations among consumers. Even in Germany, where consumers are considered to be better informed than in the U.S., surveys indicate that one in eight buyers think EVs are already here.

Winterkorn says that current battery technology is inadequate for the task. Referring to the 150 lb, 1.7 kWh NiMH battery for the upcoming Touareg hybrid, it has the energy equivalent of just 1.86 fl.oz of gasoline. Even lithium batteries still need work to get the cost and weight to a production viable point.

The first VW EV that arrives in 2013 will be based on the "New Small Family" derived from the up! concepts of 2007. As the decade wears on, VW plans to have a range of affordable EVs in its lineup. In addition to the EVs, Volkswagen will be introducing hybrids with and without plugs and Winterkorn expects gas and diesel engines to continue to be developed for another 15-20 years. Read Winterkorn's Google-translated speech after the jump.


[Source: Volkswagen]

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The popularity of BMW's MINI E test program in the United States has evidently prompted the company to expand production beyond the original 500 cars and add a smaller test fleet in Europe. The original plan, as announced last fall, was for 500 of the battery-powered MINIs to be made available in the U.S. and split between Southern California and the New York/New Jersey area. According to MINI USA spokeswoman Nathalie Bauters, there will be 450 of the cars in the U.S. with an additional 105 cars in Europe. Of the European fleet, 50 will go to the German capitol of Berlin, 40 to the British capitol in London and the last 15 will be used in and around Münich, hometown to BMW. That makes a total of 555 electric MINIs in a year-long (and controversial) field test. In all likelihood we will be hearing something about the next phase of BMW's electrification plans within the next 12 months, possibly at the LA Auto Show this fall where we first saw the MINI E last year.


[Source: BMW, Bigblogg.Motoring]

If an engine is not being fed any fuel and the crankshaft is not rotating, is it running? Of course not. But would you say it is stopped or paused? Both, it makes no difference. It's simply a semantic distinction with no difference in real meaning. Mazda has introduced a new kind of automatic start-stop system on the 2010 Mazda3 called i-Stop. Until now, such systems primarily consisted of using either a beefed up starter motor or an alternator integrated with starter motor functionality to restart the engine. These units have to be more robust in order to withstand the greater number of engine start cycles that are required compared to traditional engines.

Mazda's system takes advantage of direct injection and a crank position sensor to re-start the engine without a stronger starter. The engine is stopped/paused with one of the pistons in the middle of its power stroke. During re-start, fuel is sprayed directly into the cylinder and then ignited. The force of the expanding and combusting fuel pushes the piston down, taking the load off the starter. Thus, the engine can re-start more quickly and smoothly.
Gizmag calls this pausing the engine rather than stopping it, but Mazda never uses that term in any of its press materials. Currently the i-Stop system is not available on the U.S. market 3, but it will likely arrive eventually.


[Sources: Gizmag, Mazda]

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The Goodwood Festival of Speed is taking place this weekend in the UK and electric vehicles will again be represented. Last year, a Tesla Roadster made its debut in the hillclimb race and this year there will be 13 electrics on hand. Elektromotive will be trying to ensure that they stay in running order by supplying four of its Elektrobay charging stations. The Elektrobays are the most commonly used public charging stations in the UK.

The chargers will be set up near the Elektromotive display along with the booths for the EVs. Among the battery-powered vehicles at Goodwood will be the Brabus Tesla Roadster, the Frazer Nash Namir and the eRuf Greenster. The ElektroBay provides a 13 amp, 240V charge to help keep the batteries juiced. Many more Elektrobays are expected to be installed over the next year as part of a new EV test program announced by the Technology Strategy Board last week.


[Source: Elektromotive]

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The low price Czech-based division of the Volkswagen group, Skoda, has started producing a revised version of its 1.2-liter three cylinder engine. The powerplant is debuting in the Fabia but will soon spread to its platform-mates within the group, the VW Polo, Seat Ibiza and possibly even the upcoming Audi A1.

Changes to the engine include refinements like a cogged belt to drive the camshafts in place of the old timing chain and a lighter crankshaft. The reduced weight will help the triple run smoother and reduce fuel consumption. The three cylinder is built at the Škoda plant in Mladá Boleslav in the Czech Republic. The factory produced over 270,000 of the engines in 2008. The revised engine will be applied to other VW Group models over the next year.

[Source: GermanCarScene]

in an op-ed piece published in the Wall Street Journal, Alan Reynolds of the Cato Institute starts by making a few decent points about fuel taxation and fuel economy rules. Unfortunately, he undermines himself with some blatant errors and misinformation. In discussing how Detroit automakers will deal with new fuel efficiency requirements, he makes the all-too-common mistake of referring to Ford's hybrid system as licensed from Toyota ("Similarly, Ford has the Toyota-licensed hybrid Fusion and will soon produce the European Ford Fiesta in Mexico").

The reality is that Ford independently developed its own hybrid system at the same time Toyota was doing its own. The basic architecture of both systems is the same and both are based on the concepts developed and patented by TRW engineers in the late 1960s. When Ford introduced the Escape Hybrid, Toyota went after the Blue Oval for infringing on its patents. Ford had patents of its own on the technology that Toyota was using. Eventually, the two companies reached a cross-licensing agreement that gives both companies the right to build their own systems. Such cross-licensing agreements are common in these kinds of cases, but Ford did not use the Toyota hybrid system. The only other company that uses Toyota's system is Nissan for its Altima hybrid, and they actually buy hardware from Toyota. We continue deconstructing Reynolds' arguments after the jump



[Source: Wall Street Journal]
Photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

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By fall 2010, Hitachi plans increase its production capacity for lithium ion batteries by 600 percent in the first phase of a major expansion. Hitachi will be supplying the batteries for General Motor's second-generation mild hybrid system that debuts late next year for 2011 model year vehicles. GM has placed an order for enough cells to support 100,000 hybrid vehicles a year. Beyond that, Hitachi is planning to ramp up to build cells for 700,000 hybrids a year by 2015, a 70-fold increase from current levels. The expansion and new production will occur at Hitachi Vehicle Energy Ltd's Tokai factory in Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan. So far most of Hitachi's lithium ion production has been for commercial vehicle applications and the GM batteries will be the first light duty hybrid.

[Source: Reuters]

After weeks of teasing and even letting some European media drive prototypes, the crew over at BMW's Munich headquarters finally released all the goods on its newest and smallest crossover, the X1. The U.S. branch of BMW has also confirmed that the X1 will come to the U.S. market as well. European consumers will be able to buy the new X1 starting this fall, but Americans will have to wait until 2011 to get one.

When the X1 hits the autobahn it will have four engines available, including a normally-aspirated 3.0-liter gasoline inline 6-cylinder and three variants of BMW's outstanding 2.0-liter four cylinder diesel. The X1 is available with both rear and all-wheel-drive. The U.S. will almost certainly get the gas engine, but BMW North America is not ruling out diesels at this point. BMW will be watching the changing U.S. market, regulations and fuel prices and make a final decision on U.S. engine choices closer to the launch date. If we see gas prices above $4 a gallon and sales of Volkswagen diesels maintain their rapid pace, we could well see a diesel X1 here. The diesel powerplants in the X1 range from 143 hp and 45.2 mpg (U.S.) to 204 hp and 37.3 mpg on the EU test cycle.


[Source: BMW]

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In North America, the Cooper represents the entry point to the MINI lineup, but Europeans have always had the option of the MINI One. Until now however, the MINI One has used gasoline engines. That will be changing come September when the MINI One D goes on sale with a 90 hp version of the 1.6-liter four cylinder diesel that is already available in the Cooper D. The Cooper D is rated at 108 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque while the One D drops that to 159 lb-ft. On the EU driving cycle the One D is rated at 60.3 mpg (U.S.) combined with CO₂ emissions of just 104 g/km. When we tested the MINI Cooper D last year, we averaged 47 mpg in brisk driving. The lower output engine gives leisurely acceleration of 11.5 seconds to 62 mph, but that should meet most people's needs. The One D gets brake energy regeneration for reduced parasitic losses and auto start-stop to prevent idling.


[Source: BMW}

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For the third time in recent months, drivers in China are finding themselves shelling out more each time they fill the tank. In China, retail fuel prices are regulated, just as other aspects of life are. As of this week, gasoline is at $3 per gallon in China, bringing it above prices in the United States.

For many years, the Chinese government has held gas prices down to avoid hurting economic growth in the country. The prices are regulated by the National Development and Reform Commission. Prices jumped 6-7 percent a month ago and 3-5 percent in March.

Increasing fuel prices may hurt overall sales of new cars but it may also stimulate demand for more efficient cars. This could help to address some of the severe pollution problems that afflict China's big cities.

[Source: Gasgoo]