Newly Elected French Prez Wants Hybrid Limo

Last week’s French Presidential elections saw the incumbent, Nicolas Sarkozy, deposed in favor of his socialist competitor Francois Hollande. Among the many perks Hollande will soon enjoy is his choice of presidential limos. Hollande has named the Citroen DS5 diesel-hybrid as his preferred limo, a choice we can only applaud.

When Barack Obama became President of the United States, it was widely theorized that he would also rock a hybrid limousine. Alas, he instead went with a truck badged as a Cadillac, a heavily armored beast that tends to bottom out if not properly driven. Hollande’s choice of the DS5 diesel-hybrid is a much more practical and plebeian choice of vehicles. Then again, President Sarkozy was known for being driven around in his limo with the windows down as French photojournalists chased him down on motorcycles and scooters. There is obviously less of a concern for safety in France as far as the President is concerned.

The diesel-electric Citroen that will be Hollande’s “limo” utilizes a diesel engine and small motor to power the rear wheels. It can reportedly get between 24 and 34 mpg, depending on how it is driven, which is rather respectable for a small SUV. Diesel-hybrids are the best of both worlds, and hopefully U.S. automakers will catch on to the potential for excellent fuel economy out of such setups soon.

As for Hollande, we approve of his choice of limos. Now if only we could get Obama to ditch the Cadillac for a Volt limo, that would really piss off the conservatives.

Source: Gas2.0

Ferrari Confirms Hybrid Is In The Works

Is this a sign of the end-times? Ferrari, perrenial maker of fast and exotic sports cars, has finally caved to international pressure as governments the world over crack down on carbon emissions. The noble Italian carmaker has confirmed reports that it will be building a mass-produced (at least for Ferrari) hybrid vehicle utilizing the same KERS flywheel technology it uses in Formula 1.

KERS, or Kinetic Energy Recovery System, has become popular in various motorsports as a way to provide a significant power boost for passing. The systems are heavy and expensive, but not meeting carbon standards will cost Ferrari even more money as governments will levy heavy fines against any automaker whose cars are not up to snuff. Ferrari has been a leader in curbing its emissions…but only because they gave off so many emissions in the first black.

Up until now, Ferrari has been pretty anti-hybrid for production cars, though they have shown off some hybrid concept cars in recent years. But the reality of the world is catching up, and the reality is that hybrid cars don’t have to be boring. Porsche is doing a fine job of marketing hybrid sports cars, including one they plan on charging almost $800,000 for. Porsche hybrid sales are skyrocketing, and while Ferrari is doing fine, hybrid and electric cars are gaining traction among the wealthy and elite. Ferrari no doubt wants a slice of that green car sales pie.

No details have emerged on what shape the hybrid Ferrari will take, but it will add another awesome dimension to Ferrari’s lineup if you ask me. And I’m willing to bet it will carry a hefty price premium. Ferrari doesn’t do anything half-assed, and I have no reason to believe that a hybrid prancing pony will anything but awesome.

Source: Autocar

First endurance run for the Toyota TS030 HYBRID

Toyota Racing completed its first long-distance endurance test of the TS030 Hybrid during a three-day session at Paul Ricard in France. In just its second full test, and its third time on track including a roll-out, the TS030 HYBRID tackled a 30-hour endurance run.

Sébastien Buemi, in his first test as an official Toyota Racing driver, started the marathon session, followed by his team-mate in car #8 at Le Mans, Hiroaki Ishiura. Car #7 team-mates Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima also took turns behind the wheel of the Toyota TS030 HYBRID. The test ended with Toyota Racing having achieved its primary goal of completing a significant number of laps to evaluate the car over very long distances.

Toyota Racing will now concentrate on preparing and updated package for the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, its first race of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship season. The next tests are scheduled for April.

This was the first time we have run the Toyota HYBRID System - Racing over such a long test session so we never expected a trouble-free week and we did experience a few issues, but nothing major. Thanks to a large amount of data and the detailed feedback of all the drivers, we have a lot of information about how the THS-R powertrain behaves. We have been able to use this already to refine our systems and before the next tests we will work more on some of the issues raised. We have achieved our primary goals for this test and I am happy with how it has gone.

—Hisatake Murata, Hybrid Project Leader

Source: Green Car Congress

ABI Research forecasts $47B market in 2020 for battery modules for hybrid and electric vehicles

ABI Research projects that the battery module market for hybrid and electric vehicles will grow from about $5 billion in 2010 to $47 billion in 2020, representing a CAGR of 25% over 10 years.

Continued demand for cleaner, more efficient vehicles, led by governments dealing with goals to cut emissions, means that financial incentives will be around for a long time, according to ABI. The recharging infrastructure is also developing rapidly in urban areas, which are being targeted as prime regions for electric vehicle adoption.

As well as the production vehicles that went on sale in 2011, announcements from all the major manufacturers make it clear that this segment will have much more competition in the next couple of years. Also, some existing hybrid vehicles will be fitted with larger batteries to improve their electric-only range.

—principal analyst David Alexander

Alternative technologies such as hydraulic hybrid drive, ultracapacitors, and flywheel energy storage continue development and testing in niche applications, but it seems that the battery-electric solution will be the recipient of the majority of the production investment during the forecast period, according to the study.

ABI Research’s new study, “Electric and Hybrid-Electric Vehicle Components,” provides an analysis of global market trends, cost and technical evaluations of the major sub-systems, and discussion of existing product announcements. System volume and value forecasts for installations are provided globally, by region, through 2020.

Source: Green Car Congress