Toyota lays out big green-car push with hybrids, EVs

Reuters, Tokyo, By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia autos correspondent, Thu Nov 18, 2010

A Toyota employee shows how to recharge a Prius-based plug-in hybrid during a photo opportunity at the company's showroom in Tokyo November 18, 2010. Toyota on Thursday laid out big plans for launching greener vehicles, including 11 new conventional hybrids over the next two years and a Prius-based plug-in hybrid that may cost as little as 3 million yen. (Credit: REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao)

(Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp on Thursday laid out big plans for launching greener vehicles, including 11 new conventional hybrids over the next two years and a Prius-based plug-in hybrid that may cost as little as 3 million yen ($36,050).

One of the hybrids will be a compact car with fuel efficiency exceeding 40 km per liter -- the highest for a gasoline-electric model measured under Japanese test cycles, it said.

The world's top automaker has led the industry in cleaner, next-generation vehicle technology, having dominated the hybrid field for more than a decade with the iconic Prius and 13 other models so far.

But with governments tightening environmental and fuel economy standards all over the world, rival automakers are aiming to catch up, particularly with new vehicle technologies such as battery-powered electric cars and part-electric-part-engine "range extenders" such as General Motors's Chevy Volt.

Not to be outdone, Toyota said it would begin selling a plug-in hybrid based on the Prius by early 2012 mainly in Japan, the United States and Europe, targeting sales of more than 50,000 units a year.

The car, which unlike a conventional hybrid can be plugged in to enable longer-distance driving using only electricity, is expected to cost as little as 3 million yen in Japan, Toyota said. GM has priced its Volt at $41,000, while Nissan Motor Co's all-electric Leaf will start at 3.76 million yen before subsidies.

With billions of dollars of cash at hand, Toyota is among the few car manufacturers able to spend on research and development across the range of technologies.

In the field of battery electric vehicles, which Nissan and its French partner, Renault SA, are aiming to lead, Toyota confirmed it would launch a model based on the tiny iQ in the United States, Japan and Europe in 2012, initially targeting urban commuters.

It was also considering a launch in China, the world's biggest car market, with road trials planned in 2011.

Toyota plans to begin selling fuel-cell vehicles, which are also all-electric but run on hydrogen fuel, in the three markets from around 2015. Their high cost are a hurdle, but Toyota said it expected to be able to offer the car for a price under 10 million yen -- about one-tenth of what the zero-emission vehicle cost at the beginning of the decade.

Toyota is also working on developing next-generation batteries in-house, an ambition that had been held by the group's founder Sakichi Toyoda.

Having established a separate battery division in January with about 100 researchers, Toyota said it had made some progress toward creating a full solid-state battery in a compact package, as well as determining the reaction mechanism of lithium-air batteries.

(Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Related Article:

Toyota to sell plug-in hybrid in US, Europe, Japan

Volkswagen’s electric Milano Taxi concept is very cool

Paultan.org, bY DANNY TAN, APRIL 21, 2010 AT 12:16 PM BY DANNY

This is the taxi of the future, according to Volkswagen. VW, which will launch its first production electric vehicles in 2013 has shown this electric driven taxi at the Hanover Trade Show. Called the Milano Taxi concept, it is a city MPV tailored to the needs of taxi drivers and passengers with innovative details such as a swivel-sliding door that opens in a forward direction and customisable taxi touchscreens.

The green and black paint of the concept cab is a tribute to the fashion capital of Milan, where taxis were once painted like this. VW says that the Milano’s styling bears similarities to the iconic Volkswagen Samba Bus of the 1950s, and this plus its emissions-free drive and practicality could “make it a highly coveted vehicle in cities like New York and Tokyo”.

“One door less is all the more for a taxi,” said Walter de Silva, VW Group’s Head of Design. The safest way to enter and exit a taxi is on the sidewalk side, which explains why the LHD Milano’s single swivel-sliding door opens on the right side. The door also extends well into the roof, so the opening is very tall. The Milano’s dimensions is 1.60 m tall, 3.73 m long and 1.66 m wide. Like the Samba Bus, the outer roof areas are transparent; combined with a panoramic glass roof, passengers get a spacious feel and great views of the cityscape above.

Also, the need for passengers to always have to gaze at the taximeter in front to see the current charges is now a thing of the past (the meter in our Proton Iswara cabs are always conveniently shielded by the gear stick!). An 8-inch touchscreen in the Milano’s rear not only displays charges, but incorporates a credit card reader as well!

This cute cab has a top speed of 120 km/h and is driven by an electric motor with 85 kW (50 kW continuous power) powered by a lithium-ion battery located underfloor. VW says that the battery’s storage capacity of 45 Kilowatt-hours (kWh) and the Milano’s relatively low weight (1,500 kg) allows it to cover distances of up to 300 km. The battery can be recharged to 80% capacity in just over one hour.

More pictures .....

Eco-driving promoted to cut emissions

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government is working to change the behavior of public transportation drivers, a key element in the campaign to reduce carbon emissions.

The transportation sector accounts for 50 percent of the nation's total fuel consumption. Of that, 80 percent is consumed by land transportation.

"In addition to fuel diversification, energy-use efficiency is a second means of reducing national fuel subsidies, which have proven to be very costly for Indonesia," Dollaris Riauaty "Waty" Suhadi, the project manager for Swisscontact's Clean Air Project, said during a campaign drive Thursday.

To increase efficiency in fuel use, Waty added, Swisscontact has introduced eco-driving or fuel-efficiency driving among bus and commercial vehicle operators through a pilot study involving drivers of charter bus firm PT Hiba Utama.

"After training 100 Hiba Utama drivers in eco-driving techniques, our study concluded that the company managed to reduce fuel consumption up to 18 percent, enabling it to save at least US$12,000 per month," she said. Hiba Utama operates more than 2,000 vehicles and employs at least 4,000 drivers.

Swisscontact previously trained 50 truck drivers at publicly-listed cement maker PT Holcim Indonesia in 2006, the year the non-government organization first introduced eco-driving to Indonesia. The concept has also been applied in Switzerland, Britain, the Netherlands, and Germany.

In eco-driving, motorists avoid hard acceleration, excessive braking and other behaviors that lead to higher fuel consumption.

"The way we accelerate and shift gears affects the way fuel is used," said the Transportation Ministry's director general for land transportation, Iskandar Abubakar.

According to Iskandar, since the commercial transportation sector is not only the country's largest fuel consumer, but also one of the sectors most likely to be hit by fuel subsidy cuts, there is a greater need for eco-friendly operation measures within the industry.

Soetanto Soehondo of the City Transportation Board, however, argued that the idea should have been introduced among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and individually-owned commercial operators first, instead of big players like Hiba Utama and PT Bluebird.

"A cursory glance at the city's transportation system will tell you that the main contributors to carbon monoxide emissions are actually buses owned by SMEs and private individuals," Soetanto told The Jakarta Post by phone Thursday evening.

"Well-established companies like Hiba, on the other hand, already have certain operating standards. So naturally they will face fewer challenges in training their drivers, unlike public bus operators, which are pressed to generate as much money as possible within a short period of time," he argued.

According to Waty, Swisscontact is targeting large fleet companies for reasons of efficiency.

"Introducing eco-driving measures to companies with large vehicle fleets will yield more results than approaching SMEs that on average run small numbers of vehicles," she said. (amr)

Eco-driving campaign to cut emissions

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The clean air campaign group Swisscontact has stepped-up its effort to promote environmentally friendly driving in order to cut car emissions, the main contributor to Jakarta's air pollution.

The group's campaign officer, Tory Damantoro, said the company will perform training in so-called "eco-driving" techniques for drivers working in the private transport company Hiba Utama.

"In the first stage, we will train 100 Hiba Utama drivers, starting in May," Tory told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Hiba Utama currently operates around 2,000 passenger buses.

Eco-driving was first promoted in Indonesia by Swisscontact last year when the group trained 50 truck drivers from the publicly listed cement maker PT Holcim Indonesia.

Tory said truck drivers using eco-driving techniques could save fuel consumption by up to 10 to 15 percent.

"With small improvements in driving style, drivers can save significantly on fuel consumption and cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (CO2)," he said.

"So if 3 million cars traveling across the city applied eco-driving techniques, there would be an energy saving of Rp 400 billion per year. It's an easier way to clean the city's air," he said.

Eco-driving techniques have been developed in several European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Britain and Switzerland since the mid-1990s.

The British government is now planning to make eco-driving training a requirement for obtaining a driver's license.

Swisscontact has long pushed the Jakarta administration to clean the city's air.

The organization's massive campaigns led the administration to issue a bylaw on air pollution control requiring, among other measures, compulsory emissions tests for all private cars.

The bylaw also makes the use of more eco-friendly compressed natural gas (CNG) compulsory for all public transport.

However, the bylaw has not come into full effect due to poor law enforcement.

The administration has also tried to discourage people from driving private cars into the city by increasing parking fees and improving busway services.

The administration also plans to implement electronic road pricing this year to substitute the current three-in-one lane system.

Experts have said emissions from road vehicles contribute to up to 70 percent of the city's air pollution.

Tory said his company would analyze CO2 emission reductions resulting from the eco-driving program.

"If possible, we will develop the eco-driving style to reap money from the clean development mechanism (CDM)," he said.

The CDM is part of Indonesia's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, which allows developing nations to trade carbon credits gained through reduced emissions.

A ton of reduced CO2 emission is currently valued at between US$5 and $10.

Eco-driving Tips:

1. Anticipate the traffic, look as far ahead as possible 2. Drive smoothly and at a constant speed 3. Change gears economically, shift up gears quickly 4. Stay in higher gears with lower engine RPM (revolutions per minute) whenever possible 5. Coast a lot 6. Decelerate smoothly 7. Avoid breaking abruptly 8. Use engine breaking

Source: Swisscontact