BOSTON--Ford Motor expects to manufacture as many as 2 million all-electric and gas-electric vehicles in the next 10 years, betting that rising oil prices and consumer interest will sustain a long-term transition to new technologies.
The company has set a goal of making 10 percent to 25 percent of its fleet "electrified" by 2020, which represents somewhere between 800,000 and 2 million cars, said Nancy Gioia at a media event here on Wednesday. Ford announced on Wednesday that Gioia will hold a newly created position of director of global electrification, which covers hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and battery-electric vehicles.
Plug-in electric vehicles promise to offer a much lower cost-per-mile than gasoline cars and deliver substantial environmental benefits. But in the near term, hybrids will likely represent the largest volume in the mix of technologies, said Gioia at the event.
"We've finally demonstrated the technology, the life, the durability, the safety (of hybrids)--all of that has reached a comfort zone to make it viable. Now it's going to be affordability that will drive mass market adoption," she said.
A demo of a Ford Focus, done with Magna, that runs on batteries alone. Ford plans to introduce the car in 2011.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)
The Fisker Karma at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in August.
(Credit: Fisker Automotive)American start-up Fisker Automotive may be about to unveil the first truly affordable plug-in hybrid for the U.S. market.
Ray Lane, managing partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, told an audience at the Always On Going Green conference in Sausalito, Calif., on Tuesday that there could be a big announcement within the next week about a $39,000 plug-in hybrid. Though he would not say who, he mentioned that it was a car for the U.S. market and that it was not strictly electric, according to a report from Cleantech Group.
While Kleiner Perkins has investments in several transportation start-ups such as Think Global and EEStor, the likely company from its repertoire to make such an announcement would be Fisker Automotive.
Fisker has already unveiled the Karma, a four-door luxury plug-in car that can go from 0-62 mph in 6 seconds, and has a maximum speed of 125 mph. But Fisker has set the tentative price for the car at $87,900, making it not much cheaper than Tesla's Roadster sports car.
Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker also told CNET in an exclusive May 2008 interview that advances in battery and software technology would allow his company to offer a $40,000 plug-in car in about four or five years.
Perhaps that day has come sooner than the founder was willing to let on at the time.
But it may not be as soon as others have speculated. Fisker's European press office sent out an e-mail on Monday informing journalists the company has canceled a press conference originally scheduled for this week at the 2009 Frankfurt auto show.
WASHINGTON D.C.--Google is developing "smart charging" software to ensure that plug-in electric vehicles don't cause traffic jams on the power grid.
The search giant is researching a number of energy-related technologies, including car charging software, where IT and "ET," or energy technology, meet, said Dan Reicher, director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google.org.
One of its projects, still in the experimental phase, is writing software to better manage when plug-in electric cars are charged, Reicher said at the Kema Utility of the Future conference here Thursday.
Google co-founders Sergey Brin (left) and Larry Page plug in a RechargeIT car in 2007.
(Credit: Google)There is some concern that millions of plug-in electric vehicles charging at the peak times, such as around 5:30 p.m. when people return from work, could cause power disruptions or require construction of new power plants.
To address this, Google has written software with "vehicle dispatch algorithms" that can decide how to best charge cars, Reicher said. In addition to smoothing out the load on the grid, smart charging makes it easier to take advantage of solar and wind power, which are variable sources of electricity.
The software is also designed to simplify matters for grid operators. To maintain a steady frequency on transmission wires, utilities typically call on power generators to increase or decrease the flow of electricity to match the demand, Reicher explained after his talk.
With Google's smart-charging software, the plug-in electric vehicles could effectively fill that "grid regulation" role, Reicher said.
"You can tell the power generators to power up or you can tell 250 cars to stop charging. It's exactly the same difference," he said. "It could be that the car charges for two minutes and then goes off--whatever is most effective."
Google now operates a fleet of plug-in hybrid cars--converted Toyota Priuses and Ford Escapes--at its corporate headquarters, where it gathers data on their mileage performance.
Like other companies, it has looked into vehicle-to-grid technology through which electric vehicles' batteries would feed stored electricity to utilities during peak times. That technology remains experimental.
By contrast, Reicher said, smart charging is a simple, one-way grid-to-car connection, rather than a two-way communication link between the car and grid. And smart-charging software can be implemented in the near and medium term, he said.
"This is just good software meets good hardware. This doesn't have to be rocket science, and we can do it without having to put the grid at risk or change a lot of things," he said.
One of the people taking part in the project is renewable-energy engineer Alec Brooks, who worked on Tesla Motors' grid-to-vehicle strategy before joining Google about a year ago.
Energy R&D at Google
Smart charging is seen as an important conduit to widespread use of plug-in electric vehicles. Although there aren't yet large numbers of mass-produced plug-in electric cars, the auto industry is expecting to start releasing mainstream electric vehicles in the next year.
Other companies are already working on smart-charging tools. Smart-grid company GridPoint last year acquired V2Green and tested its grid-to-vehicle software with General Motors' Chevy Volt. The software can speed up or slow down car battery charge times and provide information to utilities to help manage fluctuations in load.
Solar panels on carport roofs at Google's headquarters.
(Credit: Google)For its part, GM said it expects to have smart charging available with the Chevy Volt when that car is released in late 2010. In conjunction with GM's online OnStar service, the smart charging is designed to allow consumers to take advantage of the best electricity rates, executives said.
In his talk, Reicher said that Google engineers are working on a number of other energy-related research and development projects in an effort to make renewable energy less expensive.
One project involves working on heliostats, the mirrors used to concentrate light on solar thermal systems. Google engineers are working on control systems--heliostats need to follow the light during the course of the day--and on making heliostats less expensive to manufacture.
Google has invested $45 million in outside companies, including start-ups in concentrating solar power, capturing energy from high-altitude wind, and enhanced geothermal systems.
Reicher added that Google is planning to announce deals with European utilities around its PowerMeter home energy-monitoring software.
By getting information from a smart meter or another device, PowerMeter can display a home's energy usage in real time and provide details on how much big appliances consume, which should allow people to find ways to reduce electricity usage.
Last month, Google said that eight utilities in the U.S. and Canada are using PowerMeter with their smart-grid trials. PowerMeter is a Google gadget that can be embedded into a Web page.
This photo, taken at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show, shows Volvo's ReCharge it concept, which is a flex-fuel plug-in hybrid that uses in-wheel motors and is based on the C30 coupe platform.
(Credit: CNET)The maker of some of the world's safest vehicles will soon be the maker of one of the world's most fuel-efficient vehicles. Volvo announced today plans to produce a plug-in hybrid vehicle that will be available in 2012.
"Most car journeys are short trips, for instance to and from work. We will be able to offer a product that fulfills this transportation need. In order to cover longer distances as well, the car will also be equipped with one of Volvo's fuel-efficient diesel engines," Volvo President and CEO Stephen Odell said in a press statement.
The new development will be a joint venture between Volvo and Swedish energy company Vattenfall. Volvo plans to create a plug-in version of an existing model rather than create a new one, and its charging systems will be developed and supplied by Vattenfall.
Volvo has previously stated its plans for a fleet of 10 plug-in hybrids. The Swedish car company did not name which of its existing cars will be the first to go plug-in, but last year Volvo road-tested the ReCharge Plug-in Hybrid, which is based on the C30 coupe platform and uses a diesel engine to power the lithium ion batteries.
... Read more
The ChargeBar has illuminated sockets to take the guesswork out of plug location.
(Credit: Greenlight)Washington based start-up Greenlight is launching a new charger aimed at electric cars and plug-in hybrids, but it's not exactly cheap.
The ChargeBar can charge both 120-volt (the standard U.S. household socket) and 240-volt batteries, and the company says it will work with virtually any electric car or plug-in hybrid, including the upcoming GM Volt.
The exception is electric cars that use 480-volt charging, which according to the company is not yet an established standard for upcoming electric cars.
A number of electric sedans are planned for market introduction in the next two years. But automakers say that establishing a charging infrastructure in public places is critical for their acceptance with consumers.
The charging time for the ChargeBar will be about seven to eight hours for 110-volt cars, and about four hours for 240-volt cars. The charger will cost $3,200 including installation--not exactly cheap. That is the equivalent of 1,300 gallons of gas in California today.
The product is aimed at the consumer market: indoor garages, family houses, businesses, and institutions such as museums.
However, the charger has no billing mechanism.
"In our first release, there is no point-of-charge mechanism," said Max Brown, partner and co-founder of Greenlight. "Right now it is only about a dollar a day to charge a car."
Instead, Greenlight hopes companies and institutions see the charger as an amenity to attract customers, tenants, and employees.
Unlike the DOE lab smart controller, the charger doesn't have a function that allows car owners to customize their electric charging based on demand and price profiles.
Recharging at peak hours could not only be more costly for the user, but German World Wildlife Foundation said in a recent study that it could cause grid overload at peak hours. Greenlight says this concern is exaggerated.
"There is plenty of grid capacity for the number of cars we are talking about, certainly the first couple of years," Brown said.
Currently, the ChargeBar is in its final testing phase.
Manufacturing is expected to start in three months, and no orders have been placed yet. Greenlight will primarily market to the East Coast, with deliveries expected in the first quarter of 2010.
The ChargeBar, shown in a prototype rendering, will comply with electrical safety standards for electric-vehicle recharging units to make sure that recharging an electric car is safe, according to the manufacturer.
(Credit: Greenlight)
The Idea is a light-use plug-in electric hybrid intended for commercial fleets.
(Credit: Bright Automotive)Start-up Bright Automotive unveiled a light-use vehicle on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that gets 100 mpg for its first 50 miles.
The Idea, as the plug-in hybrid utility vehicle is called, uses battery power almost exclusively for the first 30 miles when starting with a fully charged battery. It then moves to the electric with gas supplement system found on any typical hybrid vehicle.
Because of this 30-mile electric start, Bright Automotive estimates that in a 50-mile drive the Idea consumes half a gallon of gas, getting it roughly the equivalent of 100 mpg. On a total drive of 70 miles, the Idea uses about one gallon of gas, giving the car "a mileage equivalent of 70 mpg."
Bright Automotive openly clarifies that their mileage count includes that 30-mile electric head start. Given the vehicle's target audience, the odd assessment of what would otherwise amount to a 40 mpg plug-in hybrid might be fair.
The Idea uses low-rolling resistance tires and is built from lightweight materials consisting of a high-tech aluminum from Alcoa and advanced composites to contribute to the vehicle's fuel efficiency. It has a one-ton cargo capacity and a passenger seat that can convert into a mobile office.
In other words, the Idea is not a highway car intended for the masses, but a light-use truck for commercial and military utility fleets. Utility trucks don't typically travel long distances and are often returned to a garage where the vehicle could be fully charged.
The Indiana-based company has applied for $450 million in federal loans from the Department of Energy to mass-produce the plug-in vehicle.
The U.S. government itself is not just a potential lender, but also a potential customer. Last January, the Army announced plans to replace up to 28,000 gas-powered vehicles with light-use EVs in the coming years. Global Electric Motorcar, a division of Chrysler, was the first manufacturer to win a contract for the U.S. Army initiative, and would be an obvious competitor for Bright Automotive if it gets up and running.
Granted the federal loan money, Bright Automotive says it could be in production by 2012 and could be mass-producing 50,000 vehicles a year starting in 2013. Including suppliers, the company would create more than 5,000 U.S. jobs, according to CEO John E. Waters.
In addition to the unveiling in Washington, D.C., Waters held a telephone press conference.
While he was asked several times to elaborate, he would not give any hint at how much the Idea costs.
"If I give you a number, consumers will then look at it like a consumer vehicle and that's not the impression we want to give. Our commercial customers will lease them usually on a monthly basis," said Waters.
Waters did hint that Bright Automotive is looking into an adaptation for a highway legal version for consumers.
"We have designed the vehicle platform to be extremely flexible. We are analyzing it for markets that would include a common power train, and a common chassis for both domestic and international markets," he said.
While Bright Automotive's business plan is based on private capital, the requested loan money from the federal government would ramp up production, giving the company a better chance to survive against the automotive legacy companies, according to Waters.
"We are impatient. We know every day we wait is a day less we have the Idea on the roads, cleaning up American skies, and providing people with green transportation as we see the titans of the world advancing in the world of transportation," he said.
While the company may have only started in 2008, it's not exactly an outsider. Its partners, many of whom have said they are also interested in being fleet customers, include Alcoa, Cox Communications, and Frito Lay.
The Piaggio MP3 500 scooter is a three-wheeler with two wheels at the front.
(Credit: Piaggio)Piaggio Group Americas, a subsidiary of the Italian manufacturer known for the Vespa, has a highway legal plug-in hybrid scooter in the works that could be available in the U.S. for early 2010.
While Paolo Timoni, the president and CEO of Piaggio Group Americas, has made mention of this plan in interviews, the company has made no formal announcement so it's been hard to gauge whether you can hold it to the timeline.
The plug-in hybrid version in the works is a modified version of Piaggio's MP3 500 (the Gilera Fuoco in Europe). The MP3 500 scooter in plug-in hybrid version will get about 140 mpg, have a range of 40 miles per charge when running on electric power alone, and be priced between $8,000 and $9,000, according to Timoni.
For those unfamiliar with the MP3 500, it's a scooter/motorcycle hybrid that attempts to get rid of the girlie, Audrey Hepburn image of the Vespa. It offers a little more speed and heft, but with two front wheels maintains the stability of a scooter. There is even a switch so drivers don't have to balance themselves at stoplights.
Timoni acknowledged in one interview that one obstacle his company has had to overcome is that U.S. cities are not yet scooter-friendly. Rather than offering preferred parking spaces, most U.S. drivers are faced with the same parking options as car drivers.
But the company was encouraged by its 2008 U.S. success, according to Timoni. While sales were down in the last quarter, Piaggio Group Americas saw a 61 percent increase in the sales of scooters and 15 percent increase in motorcycles overall for 2008. The company attributed the good year to the gas price increase, convenience, and the lower cost of scooters generally compared to cars.
If the company makes good on Timoni's promise, as HybridCars points out, this would mean Piaggio is going to beat Chevy and its Volt to market by about six months.
While there are all-electric plug-in scooters, a hybrid would give riders the flexibility of filling up at the pump in an emergency. They wouldn't be stuck without juice, or have to time when they next need to charge up at an outlet.
Whether a scooter is an actual competitor to a rain-proof car is arguable. But you could see a plug-in hybrid scooter as an option for urbanites and commuters who park daily at the train station near their house.
Piaggio did not immediately return a request for comment.
One of 22 modules that make up the 16-kWh, 330-volt lithium ion battery pack for the Mitsubishi iMiev. The module contains four battery cells.
(Credit: Mitsubishi Motors)"Should Uncle Sam provide billions in loans and grants to a promising but unproven business? Or should the government wait for the market to sort things out before it backs a U.S. company?"
Those are questions posed in a BusinessWeek article last week. However, the questions are largely rhetorical: the U.S. Department of Energy already has a $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, and many car and battery companies are counting on these loans to aid their development and production of lithium ion batteries.
So it's not a question of "should," it's a question of "how?"
Lithium ion batteries will add at least $8,000 to the price of a production plug-in hybrid vehicle, according to BusinessWeek. However, that amount is probably on the low side when you consider that the Chevy Volt is predicted to cost a bit less than $40,000, a good portion of that price being the battery. Another manufacturer representative estimated that a lithium ion battery currently costs approximately $22,000, effectively putting the electric car out of reach to all but the well-heeled greenies.
... Read moreOn a test track in Southern California, a radical new car is getting its first workout.
The zebra stripes camouflage it from competitors, but you still get a good sense of the Fisker Automotive Karma, the brainchild of designer Henrik Fisker, who's trying to succeed where Detroit so far has failed, CBS News business correspondent Anthony Mason reports.
"The vision is to do a high performance, luxurious, sexy-looking car which gets better miles per gallon than the Prius," Fisker said.
The Karma is a plug-in hybrid. It can go 50 miles on an electrical charge before a gas engine kicks in to power its lithium ion battery.
"The average driver will get something around 100 miles per gallon," Fisker said.
The Karma's top speed is 125 mph. The initial price tag: $80,000. But within a few years, Fisker hopes to produce a $40,000 version of this lean, green machine.
It's got other Earth-friendly features.
"The entire roof's a solar panel," Fisker said. "Actually it's the first curved solar panel in the world."
The Danish-born Fisker, who was a designer at BMW and Aston Martin, then owned by Ford, grew frustrated by the bureaucracy at the big car companies, so he started his own.
"We don't have the overhead that plagues a lot of the large car companies. And we can move extremely fast," he said.
Unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in January, the Karma is scheduled to become the first plug-in hybrid on the road late next year, well ahead of Chevy's Volt.
For all the debate over whether the U.S. government should bail out Ford, GM and Chrysler, consider the biggest investor in Fisker is the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar. They've poured nearly $60 million into the car.
When the U.S. rescue package is discussed, the California-based Fisker is never mentioned.
Should the government be giving them some of the money?
"I think they should actually because we are pioneers," Fisker said. "We are coming out, leading the way and showing how it could be done."
Small, nimble and fast--in the future the American auto industry may need to look a lot like Fisker.
The extended-range electric Chrysler mini van.
(Credit: Chrysler)Updated 10:30 a.m. PDT: Added photos and a link to Chrysler's electric car site.
Struggling automaker Chrysler on Tuesday unveiled a line of electric cars scheduled to start shipping at the end of 2010.
The surprise announcement brings Chrysler in direct competition with General Motors, which last week showed off the Chevy Volt, an extended-range electric car also due in late 2010.
Chrysler's plans call for two electric cars, using the same concept as the Volt and two other all-electric cars.
The extended-range electric Jeep Wrangler.
(Credit: Chrysler)Chrysler's top executives showed off an extended-range electric Jeep Wrangler and a mini-van to CNBC on Tuesday.
As with the Volt, lithium-ion batteries will power the car for the first 40 miles and a small, one-liter, internal combustion engine will charge the battery for longer rides. A consumer will be able to charge the batteries in eight hours from a U.S. 110-volt outlet or four hours from a 220-volt outlet.
"The range is about 400 miles on eight or nine gallons of gas," Chrysler Vice Chairman Tom LaSorda told CNBC. Chrysler also unveiled a prototype of an all-electric sports car, called the Dodge EV, which can go 150 or 200 miles on a charge and accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under five seconds.
A prototype of the Dodge EV, an all-electric sports car.
(Credit: Chrysler)Finally, CEO Bob Nardelli said that Chrysler intends to make an all-electric city car based on its Peapod, a small electric car that runs on batteries only.
The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported that Chrysler will partner with battery maker A123 Systems. GM may choose A123 Systems' batteries for the Volt.
On Tuesday, Chrysler released technical specifications for all of the four cars it unveiled.
The Peapod, the basis for a planned all-electric city car.
(Credit: Chrysler)
