Last month, when Toshiba announced it would build a second plant to produce its lithium titanate Super Charge Batteries (SCiB), no automakers had publicly declared they would use those particular packs. This is still the case. Now, though, if you were to just throw darts at a list of potential automakers who might be putting SCiBs into plug-in vehicles, there's a good chance you'll hit one who's actually going to, if Shoshi Kawatsu, the general manager of the SCiB division, is right. Kowatsu told the Financial Times that "about" five car companies will use SCiBs. If so, production could shift to Europe and the U.S. in 2011, he said.

Volkswagen and Toshiba already have an agreement to collaborate on electric drive systems and power electronics.

[Source: Financial Times via Green Car Congress]

Usually, if someone sends us pictures claiming they were taken in Michigan in mid-November and yet had guys in T-shirts in them, we'd tell them they're probably fakes. But, since we're experiencing the mild pre-winter weather in the Mitten state ourselves, we're willing to shift our focus away from the bare skin and onto the Chevy Volt sitting there on Main Street in Royal Oak, Michigan. Taken today, around noon, the pre-production vehicle was in town with GM's social media guy Christopher Barger and attracted the attention of a few passersby.

While there's nothing new revealed about the Volt in these pics, we do now have an idea of what it'll look like in everyday use and we know people notice the car. Pretty soon, this won't even be news any more.

A mileage tax has been in discussion here in the U.S., but doesn't look likley to become law. The situation is very different in the Netherlands, where the Dutch cabinet approved legislation that would replace ownership and sales taxes on automobiles with a 3 Euro cent (about 4.5 U.S. cents) fee per kilometer starting in 2012. The next step is for Parliament to pass the law, something that is very likely. If approved, the fee would climb to 6.7 Euro cents (10 U.S. cents) in 2018. What's the point of doing this? The Dutch Transport Ministry believes that these pay-as-you-go fees will result in a ten percent drop in CO₂ emissions and congestion reduced to half of what it is today.

One question with schemes like this is how to calculate how far people are driving. GPS is a simple solution, but then the government knows where your car is, which doesn't sit well with some people. A mileage tax test in Oregon used a limited GPS-tracking system to determine payment rates. From the looks of it, the system in the Netherlands will use GPS data that will be sent to a collection agency. Thanks to Mark F. and Alef A. for the tips!

[Source: AFP via Wired]

Volvo's DRIVe range, which have lower CO₂ emissions compared to standard models, have managed to win the person responsible for the range, Ulf Nordström, Talentia's "Intrapreneur of the Year" award. What's so good about these vehicles? Well, Volvo recently showed off how frugal they are by having European journalists drive the two new diesel DRVEe models, the V70 and S80, from Volvo UK's HQ in Marlow to Milan, Italy on one 70-liter (18.5 U.S. gallon) tank of fuel. The distance between these two points? 814 miles, which would mean real-world fuel economy of at least 44 mpg. With a few smart choices regarding cruise control and when to apply the brakes, this mission was accomplished.

Interested in navigating a Volvo DRIVe C30 around the world using absolutely no fuel? It can't be done in real life, but you can try on Facebook, where Volvo is sponsoring a charity contest to use your connections to drive virtual miles and then pass it off to your friend, who does the same. The winning team will get money donated in their name to offset one person's lifetime CO₂ emissions. Let's see if this turns out to be more popular than Ford's Fusion Hybrid app.



[Source: Volvo, Global Post]

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A new Electrification Coalition was announced today with the backing of the CEOs from twelve companies. What's interesting about this group is that, among the leaders from electric vehicles companies and related start-ups – Coda Automotive, Coulomb Technolgies, A123 Systems, etc. – we find Nissan's Carlos Ghosn. Nissan is the only major OEM to participate in this coalition, which will promote "policies and actions that will facilitate the deployment of electric vehicles on a mass scale in order to combat the economic, environmental, and national security vulnerabilities caused by our nation's dependence on petroleum."

Step one is the Electrification Roadmap (36MB PDF), which calls for ambitious plug-in sales goals: by 2020, BEVs and PHEVs should make up a full 25 percent of new vehicle sales in the U.S. This is a huge step beyond what Ghosn said was possible on Friday. By 2030, the target jumps to 90 percent, and, by 2040, 75 percent of all vehicle miles traveled in the U.S. should be done in a plug-in vehicle. The way the Coalition believes this can happen is by targeting markets where plug-in vehicles will be accepted early, and moving from there to the broader public. More details, including a list of all 12 companies involved, are available after the jump.

[Source: PRTM]





Photo by phos365. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

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Exactly how the Prius name navigates the shift from defining the world's most famous hybrid to it's own sub-brand – "Not!" – or moniker for other Toyota hybirds – "Yes!" – has been a source of interest for quite some time. The latest bit of speculative news comes from the Yomiuri newspaper in Japan (via Green Car Advisor) that the automaker is considering building a Prius sport wagon or a Prius SUV about 12 months from now, maybe using lithium-ion batteries (despite Toyota's public pronouncements). Toyota officials would not comment to the Yomiuri about the report.

As we saw with the Hybrid X (above) unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2007, Toyota has been thinking about a Prius wagon for a while. Green Car Advisor speculates that the the Venza could be a good candidate for the production wagon, while any of Toyota's JDM wagons could make the transition to hybrids here. As for a Prius SUV? Tone down the Lexus RX 400h and there you go.


[Source: Yomiuri via Green Car Advisor]

Kids these days. According to Ford, what gets the young (well, younger) car shopper's attention is a nice EcoBoost engine. For proof, Ford offers the following statistic: buyers of the Taurus SHO with EcoBoost are, on average, over ten years younger than people who buy base Taurus vehicles. Don't think that this means Taurus SHO buyers are someone who's just gotten his or her driver's license, though. The average SHO buyer is 54 years old.

Looking to the future, Ford reminds us that the EcoBoost, which offers a fuel economy boost of 20 percent compared to comparative normally-aspirated engines, is coming to the F-150 next year in both V6 and four-cylinder 2.0 and 1.6 liter versions. Currently, EcoBoost is available on four Ford models: the Taurus SHO, the Lincoln MKS and MKT, and the Flex. As we like to call it, it's the perfect line-up for tweens.

[Source: Ford]

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When we saw the Coda Automotive promotion team during the AltCar Expo last month, most of the participants were wearing (and giving away) T-shirts labeled "End Dependence Day" (there was also at least one bad sunburn). The idea they were trying to give out was that the company's fairly normal-looking sedan holds within it a lot of potential. Coda's new website, unveiled yesterday, takes the "practical revolution" message from the shirts to the Interwebs. As Coda wrote to us:

Because CODA is less about a car and more about a cause, what you can expect to see is a hype-free zone, where consumers can learn not just about the CODA, but about the important issues surrounding the EV industry. Visitors can check out new images of the all electric sedan, which reflect a slightly updated front and rear fascia and exterior lighting. And for the first time, you will also be able to see renderings of the car's ecologically progressive interior, with fabric made from recycled plastics (PET) including soda bottles.

The new website will also soon feature a new company blog and an impact calculator to see what it would mean to switch over to the Coda Sedan from your current gas guzzler. Revolutionary? No, but not a bad thing to have.

UPDATE: We had an old version of the site in our browser cache. New image uploaded.

[Source: Coda Automotive]

Fans of the normal-car-as-EV style of the Coda Sedan, you've been warned. What we have here is the AirRay, a totally unusual vehicle that (theoretically, at least) uses solar, wind and plug-in power to decrease gasoline consumption. It's also a little bit crazy.

The giant air scoops on the hood and rear of this car are used to power the air turbines – three in front, one in back – that generate energy for some sort of unspecified battery system. Said battery can also be charged using a plug, and the whole apparatus is Vehicle to Grid (V2G) capable. On the roof, a "solar honeycomb-membrane panel" sucks up rays for additional power.

The AirRay is the product of EarthSure Renewable Energy Corp., which bills itself as "an American corporation innovating technologies to produce energy in a clean and affordable way." What are they all about? Well, "Our goal is to offer a cost-effective way for all businesses to use Green Energy, regardless of size or industry. We are on the cutting edge of compliance with America's Green Initiatives as they relate to the energy and environmental provisions in the Stimulus Plan. Sounds like this car will be ready ... never, but there's a video of the rendering in action after the jump. Thanks to Sean J. for the tip!

[Source: AirRay]

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Speaking at the U.S. launch of the Nissan Leaf this morning in Dodgertown, Los Angeles, Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn was supremely confident and optimistic about the chances of his company's first electric vehicle – and plug-ins in general – in the U.S. market.

"This car should sell without advertising," Ghosn said, noting that Nissan's plan to sell a normal-looking (mostly), family-style vehicle with the "free premium" of an electric drivetrain will be an easy sell. Because the Leaf's batteries will be leased, Ghosn said, the Leaf will cost almost exactly the same as a similar gasoline-powered vehicle (it'll be one to two percent higher, without factoring in the cost of the battteries). For someone who drives between 12,000 and 15,000 miles a year, buying the Leaf and leasing the battery will be cheaper than owning a similar gas-powered car and filling up with liquid fuel. Using the "free premium" strategy, Ghosn said, the U.S. can easily reach and then beat President Obama's goal of having a million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015.

Another bonus of leasing the battery, Ghosn said, is that the consumer won't have to worry about when to replace or upgrade it. Nissan will make that decision for the user, simplifying what it means to own an electric car. Nissan has publicly stated that they expect 10 percent of all cars sold in 2020 will be plug-ins, a number some criticized as too optimistic. But Ghosn said that Nissan's internal polling shows that even today, before most people have driven an EV, eight percent of Americans say they want their next car to be an EV. This gives Ghosn confidence that the 10 percent number is probably too low – and doesn't even account for possible dramatic political or social changes (wars, huge spikes in the price of oil, etc.). The question might not be if Nissan can drum up enough interest in the Leaf, but if they can produce enough to meet demand.

We'll have a full report about the launch – and what it's like to drive the Leaf – up shortly.

Our travel and lodging for this media event were paid for by the manufacturer.