Ford has entered the market for hybrid vehicles with the 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid, the first of its kind to reach the gas-guzzling SUV market. So equipped, the Escape is estimated to achieve 35 miles per gallon of gasoline consumption at a pretty reasonable base list price of just more than $26,000.
With the advent of the Honda Accord Hybrid as well, these vehicles are moving into the mainstream.
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A decade ago, a GM exec said there would be one million hydrogen fuel cells on roads around the world by 2010. At best, there are 5,000 such eco-friendly cars, and these are all fleet trial vehicles or prototypes. So when – if at all – will the one million mark be achieved? Five industry experts voice their opinions
Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, global product development, Ford
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Audi won’t have a hybrid or electric vehicle of any sort in its range until the Q5 Hybrid goes on sale at the end of 2011, but the company has invested heavily since 2007 in the infrastructure necessary to develop EVs and HEVs. The company will, of course, tap in to work done elsewhere within the VW Group, but it also wants to make sure that its vehicles live up to Audi customers’ high expectations. In the words of Frank van Meel, the OEM’s head of electromobility strategy, “The electric car must not be a rolling disclaimer; it is first and foremost a car.”
The Mechanical Units Center (building T23) lies in the technical development zone in the northwest corner of Audi’s Ingolstadt site. The first phase of this building was completed four years ago at a cost of US$81 million, and houses 450 employees. Last year, a new 14,000m2 wing, containing a development and test center for electric drive systems, was added, costing US$87.7 million and bringing a further 390 staff to the facility – 340 of them at workdesks, plus 50 at workstations directly at the testbeds and rigs.
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Would-be American electric and extended-range electric vehicle manufacturer, Aptera, ended the week saying it has ceased operations and will liquidate after failing to raise sufficient capital.
Company CEO Paul Wilbur said Aptera had gotten so far as to receive conditional approval for a U.S. Energy Department loan for $150 million, but additional attempts to gain more fell through.
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One company that has optimized existing technology with a successful range of lithium-ion-manganese-phosphate (LiFeMgPO4) cells is about to break into new fields following extensive R&D. Valence Technology is headquartered in Austin, Texas, but the company’s chief applications engineer, Bob Beckwith, is based at its Europe/Asia-Pacific sales office in Northern Ireland: “We’ve got a great product in our current energy cell, with well-established volumes and a wide customer base across Europe,” he explains. “But we need to get increased power density at the right price in a usable and reliable format.
“Ultimately, that means prismatic cells. But by their very nature, prismatic cells are not as robust as other cells, so you have to concentrate on making prismatic cells, which are more energy-dense, and robust enough for
the automotive sector, which is the most demanding thing. We’re finalizing our R&D on prismatic before we release them because we want to make sure we’ve got it right.”