We Obsessively Cover the Green Scene…

The California legislature may do what the feds have been unable to do – create a permanent tax credit for buyers of super efficient vehicles, including electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid-electric, and natural gas.

The lunacy of federal tax credits is that the $7,500 credit disappears once a manufacturer has sold 200,000 eligible plug-in electric vehicles. Years ago, for hybrids, it was only 60,000 and that's why there is no more federal money for buying a Toyoa Prius or Ford Fusion or Escape hybrids, but there are credits on the recently-introduced Prius plug-in and Ford C Max Energi.

The California bill (Assembly Bill 1077), by Assemblyman Al Muratuschi of Hermosa Beach, would use existing incentives to lower the cost of all alternative fuel vehicle purchases by reducing state sales taxes. The bill would reduce the sales tax due on an alt-fuel vehicle to what would be required of a "comparable conventional fuel vehicle, as determined by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission." The bill is supported by EV advocates, including California utilities, automakers like (surprise) Nissan and General Motors and environmental groups.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg drove up to the news conference in Rockefeller Center that introduced the first-ever all-electric NYC taxi in the back seat of - you guessed it – an EV taxi. Nissan and NYC chose Earth Day, today, to launch a zero-emission taxi fleet.

The six donated vehicles begin a year-long pilot program as soon as next week, after installation of recharging units is completed. That includes charging units in the homes or garages of participating owner-operated taxis and fleets, and several fast-chargers in strategic spots around Manhattan, which can provide 80-percent battery power in around 30 minutes.

Taxis average 70-100 miles a day in NYC. The 2013 Nissan Leaf has an official EPA range of 75 miles (aka 84 miles), and probably more in the stop-and-go of urban traffic, thanks to regenerative braking, so drivers might not have to recharge at all during their shift. "We want to demonstrate that drivers can integrate the technology without losing business," said David Yassky, the city's taxi and limousine commissioner.

The first Nissan Leaf taxi driver, London-born Uppkar Thind, told me his 12-year-old son thinks the EV taxi is "cool," and that the vehicle is stable and sturdy. Thind was one of more than 100 owner-drivers and fleets who applied for one of six pilot program Leaf vehicles, which requires drivers to provide feedback to Nissan, the city and other governmental agencies and utilities. But that's a small price in return for avoiding the time and expense of gas pumps.

All participating drivers received training from Nissan on adapting their driving style for electric, including feathering both gas and brake to get full advantage from EV torque. All the pilot Leaf taxis are production models, to which meters and the taxi TV screens have been added.

On Earth Day, Monday, April 22nd, New York City will launch a zero-emission taxi fleet. Okay, it's just six Nissan Leaf vehicles and just a pilot project, but it's a start.

Nissan is providing the vehicles, along with some fast chargers, so the test fleet doesn't run out of juice and cause even more traffic gridlock (I live here, so I know about gridlock). According to Mayor Bloomberg's office, this EV taxi pilot "will enable Nissan, the city, the taxi industry and the public to learn more about how to integrate electric vehicles as taxis."

The Leaf, as we all know, is the world's best selling five passenger all-electric zero-emission vehicle. Nearly 60,000 Leafs have been sold globally, but not many in New York City, where few apartment buildings have garages and few public garages have charging stations.

The pilot Leafs will be made available to both individual owner-operators and taxi fleets, which must have space to install the chargers, be interested in new technology and be willing to provide the required feedback. There's a little more information in this PDF from the governor's office.

The Nissan Altima and Altima Hybrid already are popular as NYC taxis. The Nissan so-called "taxi of tomorrow" NV200 van is expected soon, too.

Geely and Kandi Technology have plugged themselves together to research, develop, produce and market EVs together. The initial investment is a billion yuan ($160 million US) to fund the partnership, and each partner retains a 50-50 share.

It looks like a match made in green heaven, with both halves playing off the other's strong points in EV research and production. Kandi claims to be the world's largest manufacturer of off-road vehicles, electric vehicles, ATVs, trikes, and farm vehicles, while Geely is noted for its EV research and production. Geely models include a mid-size sedan, a seven passenger GX7, and the luxury sedan Emgrand that China Car Times reports is favored by diplomats. Its IG concept is pictured above.

The goal of the new partnership is to produce affordable, mass market electric vehicles. However, the first project will be to develop plug-in solutions for public transportation – think buses – in Hangzhou. The city of Hangzhou is one of 25 pilot cities in China to develop electrified public and private transportation.

GM reportedly will produce next-generation electric vehicles in South Korea, alongside the Chevrolet Spark EV (pictured), due to arrive in American showrooms by summer, and later this year in Europe. The Spark EV also will be available for fleets in Canada.

GM Korea honcho Sergio Rocha told journalists at the Seoul Auto Show, now underway, that the new electric will be an entirely new design and will be a bit larger than the current Spark. Also, it will be an EV-specific design, not a gas-to-electric model, and GM's first dedicated EV since the bullet-shaped EV1, whose demise was well-documented in the 2006 film Who Killed the Electric Car? GM has vaguely mentioned plans for two other new EVs, one with a 100-mile range, another with 200. Stay tuned to find out which one will be produced first. Whichever it is, the lithium-ion batteries will be from LG Chem, according to Reuters.

GM Korea makes more than 40 percent of Chevrolet's smaller models at its Bupyeong plant, including Aveo, which is no longer sold in the US, and Malibu, which is.

Which is best new green car in the world – the all-electric Renault Zoe, the all-electric Tesla Model S or the Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid?

Those are the three finalists for the 2013 World Green Car of the Year award, and the winner will be announced later this week at the 2013 New York International Auto Show. The three finalists were named announced at the recent 2013 Geneva Motor Show. The annual award is limited to production vehicles that either are available to buy, or will be soon, on at least two of the world's continents.

The 2013 Volvo V60 plug-in hybrid already is sold out for this production year, the Tesla S has been controversial lately for a dispute over its range ability, and the Renault Zoe is not available in North America. We wonder how the judges will take all this into account?

The 2012 World Green Car of the Year winner was the Mercedes S 250 CDI clean diesel, which beat out the other finalists, the Ford Focus Electric and the Peugeot 3008.

Honda is tooting its fuel-efficient horn, boasting that it has more vehicles than any other manufacturer – four – that qualify for access to California's coveted HOV lanes.

That number represents an impressive mix of cutting edge eco-friendly technologies – electric, plug-in hybrid, natural gas and hydrogen fuel cell. The HOV qualifiers are the Honda Fit EV, which is rated at 118 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe); the Honda Accord Plug-in, rated at 115 MPGe; the Honda Civic Natural Gas, rated at 31 MPG; and the Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, rated at 60 MPEe.

Honda may have the most HOV-eligible vehicles, but it's certainly not alone. The current Chevrolet Volt qualifies and, most recently, the Ford Focus Electric, C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi gained access to the HOV lanes. Anybody who has ever been stuck on California's 405 or 10 around Los Angeles knows how much time, fuel and frustration that can alleviate. Despite the appeal, California has more stickers than takers, for now.

Sequestration or no sequestration, Washington is investing another $50 million in electric vehicles and hybrid electric cars, with the goal of making them as affordable to own and operate as today's gas-powered vehicles.

The funding by the Department of Energy is in support of its EV Everywhere Grand Challenge, the goal of which is to speed up the development of advanced plug-in vehicle technologies to improve both fuel economy and performance by 2022. The other goals, of course, are to reduce US dependence on foreign oil and greenhouse gasses – oil by 80 percent and emissions by 60 percent – according to the Department of Transportation.

The investment covers research and development of low-cost batteries, advanced power electronics and electric motors, plus test models and simulation tools to predict the performance of advanced conventional and electric-drive vehicle systems.

The US Army also is kicking in $3.5 million for R&D that has military potential. Specific research projects included in the funding are advanced lightweight and propulsion materials, battery development, power electronics, HVAC systems and fuels and lubricants. DOT is accepting applications from industry, national laboratories and universities for the research grants.

Since plug-in vehicles work way better with places to plug them in, another part of the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge is increasing the number of charging stations, including encouraging corporations to install units in employee parking lots. That program is called the Workplace Charging Challenge. Participants include Google and Dell, along with auto manufacturers Chrysler, Ford, GM, Nissan and Tesla.

BMW is increasing the use of hydrogen in assembly line equipment powered by fuel cells, including fork lifts and motorized parts delivery carts. The fuel cells also will help power the company's vehicle test fleet, which has doubled in the past few years to more than 200. The additional fuel cell material – hydrogen – is being manufactured at BMW's four million square foot factory in Spartanburg, SC.

BMW has added two new high-capacity compressors, new storage tubes and distribution piping, and eight new hydrogen dispensers to existing equipment, installed in 2010. The expanded system will deliver at least 400kg of hydrogen daily, part of BMW's commitment to what it calls "sustainable mobility," which includes fuel cell vehicles, electrics such as the i8 supercar and i3 city car, and its active hybrids. The Munich-based company also is committed to finding new, energy-efficient and cost-efficient ways to produce energy.

Part of that mission includes a pilot project with the South Carolina Research Authority to convert methane gas, which is produced "naturally" in landfills, into hydrogen. To do this, BMW has installed a system to remove sulphur and trace contaminants from landfill gas and, ultimately, produce hydrogen via a steam methane reformer (SMR). The US Department of Energy is providing technical and funding support for this project.

Late this year, BMW will conduct side-by-side trials of equipment fueled by hydrogen produced from landfill gas versus commercially sourced hydrogen. The hope is the test will show that rotting garbage can be turned into usable fuel to power vehicles of the future. BMW's US plant currently produces 38 percent of its electricy needs on-site, mostly from this landfill gas-to-energy program.

Bollore, the company that supplies electric cars to the Paris carsharing service Autolib, will begin selling the vehicles for a rock-bottom 12,000 euros (US$15,550). That sounds good, but remember that that's without a battery, which buyers would have to rent with a monthly service plan.

It sounds revolutionary, but it's really no different than buying a flatscreen HD TV and renting monthly access to cable channels. Or, buying the latest iPhone or Android smartphone or tablet and renting monthly access to call out and access the internet.

The monthly fee for Bollore battery rental is 80 Euros for unlimited mileage. The 12,000-Euro price for the Bluecar is more than 10 percent less than for the Renault Zoe, which starts at 13,650 Euros. According to L'energie D'avancer, the small Bollore Bluecar four-seater has a top speed of around 75 miles per hour and a surprising range of up to 155 miles on a full charge.

Right now, Bollore's only model is the Bluecar, the same model used by Autolib. The carsharing service currently has more than 65,000 subscribers, and boasts more than 4,000 dedicated parking spaces in and around Paris. Unfortunately for Bluecar buyers, they would not be able to use these dedicated spaces, which often are in desirable spots.

Despite the incentive setback, Mahindra is still hoping to sell 30,000 E2O units by 2015-2016, half of them for export. The vehicles are manufactured at a recently-opened factory in Bengalaru which is capable of churning out 30,000 cars a year. The E2O microcar is reported to have a top speed of 60 miles per hour and a range of 60 miles on a full charge.

Mahindra Reva's main competition in the segment is the Manuti Suzuki Swift and Hyunda i20.
Mahindra & Mahindra is India's largest truck and tractor manufacturer, and Reva is its electric car division. The company was founded in 1994 by Chetan Maini, a former Bosch India engineer, and named for his wife, Reva. Mahindra & Mahindra purchased a controlling interest in 2010.

Troubled EV car maker Coda has closed its Los Angeles showoom. In a twist that you're welcome to read meaning into, the space in the high-traffic Westfield Century City shopping center will re-open "soon" as a showroom for ... Tesla Motors.

According to the business magazine LA Observed, Los Angeles-based Coda closed the store after laying off much of its staff. The company also is facing court battles from investors including former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Limited Brands CEO Les Wexner, who invested more than $200 million into the fledgling company.

Coda announced its four-door, five-passenger sedan, in the end of 2010, and the first vehicles rolled off the production line in March 2012 It features a Coda-designed 33.8-kWh lithium-ion battery system with 40 percent more usable energy that other electric vehicles in its class, and proprietary battery and thermal management systems for enhanced safety and durability. Coda claims a 120-mile range per full charge across all US weather conditions.

The approval of the Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid for California carpool lanes puts the Blue Oval into the winner's circle; tied with Toyota for the most fuel-efficient models approved for use in the Golden State's HOV lanes.

To qualify for the high occupancy program, a vehicle must be classified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as a super ultra-low emission vehicle and certified by the EPA to offer at least 45 miles per gallon fuel economy on the highway. Of course, any car can qualify when it carries enough people, but that's another issue.

The Fusion Energi meets CARB standards and well exceeds the EPA standards, with an estimated fuel economy rating of 108 MPGe city and 92 MPGe highway, or 100 MPGe combined. Those numbers mean the plug-in hybrid has a one-tank, full-charge range of up to 620 miles, including an electric-only range of up to 21 miles.

As of about a month ago, California still had around 30,000 HOV stickers left for plug-in hybrids.

Chevrolet is stretching the extension cord for the new Spark EV to Canada, in addition to the previously announced markets of California, Oregon and South Korea. At the Canadian International Auto Show, Chevy announced that the sub-compact Spark EV will be available only for fleet use, according to Hybrid Cars, and is eligible for incentives in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. Those incentives include a spot on HOV lanes in Canada and the US.

Chevrolet expects the Spark EV to launch with one of the best EV ranges in its segment. More important for fleets and future individual owners, it will be the first electric vehicle to offer SAE Combo DC Fast Charging capability. That will power up the Spark EV to an 80-percent battery charge in just 20 minutes, or the length of a sales call or lunch break. Using a dedicated 240V outlet takes 6-8 hours.

The Spark is small, but powerful, with an oil-cooled permanent magnet motor that produces at least 130 hp (100 kw), and about 400 pound-feet of torque with the coaxial drive unit. GM says the Spark EV can sprint 0-60 mph in a blink less than eight seconds.

The Spark EV has a so-called confidence gauge that shows the expected driving range based on driving habits and other conditions. Pricing is under $25,000 with tax incentives. Thanks to the extended-range hybrid Volt, Chevrolet accounts for just over half of all plug-in electric vehicle sales in the North America.