Mitsubishi Evo XI to go Hybrid!

The Evolution XI will be built off the same platform as the PX-MiEV plug-in hybrid off-roader concept Mitsubishi revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show last October, the Evolution XI will benefit from the company's latest electric/hybrid technology. The new Evo's 2.0 litre MIVEC petrol engine, borrowed from the current Japan-spec Galant, will be mated to a new plug-in hybrid system with lithium-ion batteries. But here's the twist: the Evo's main power source will not be the gas engine, but an electric motor that will drive the front wheels. The 2.0 litre engine, when needed, will drive the rear wheels.

The Evo XI will give drivers the option of driving in EV mode, though only for short distances, improving fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions. But it won't be a namby-pamby eco-warrior. According to our source, the electric motor will be an upgraded version of the 63 hp permanent magnet synchronous motor used in the i-MiEV, and the 2.0 litre MIVEC gas engine is expected to generate around 320 hp. Depending on how Mitsubishi manages the power flow between the two, the Evo XI could effectively have up to 350 hp on tap. The current Evo makes do with a mere 291 hp.

Mitsubishi engineers are working toward a target 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds. "The new electric motor will effectively work like a turbo, only smoother," he says, "so there's no need to worry about power delivery."

What hardcore drivers will be more concerned about are the handling upgrades, which include a couple of hi-tech handling gizmos that were not finished in time for the Evo X, launched two-and-a-half years ago -- Active Steering and Roll Control Suspension. The Evo XI will also feature a new electronically-controlled active yaw control system (E-AYC) that regulates torque distribution between the rear wheels.

Fisker Karma to use A123 batteries

Battery supplier A123 Systems expects to supply power packs for a second, lower-cost plug-in hybrid model being developed by Fisker Automotive as it takes a stake in the start-up carmaker, A123 Chief Executive David Vieau said on Thursday.

A123 announced on Thursday that it would supply lithium-ion battery packs for the Fisker Karma, a rechargeable luxury sports car scheduled to go on sale in September.

Although the deal is small in terms of production, it represents a breakthrough for A123 since it will put the company's advanced batteries in cars for the first time.

Shares of A123 were up 8 percent in Thursday trading.

Vieau told Reuters that A123 would also work with Fisker to develop batteries for its "Project Nina," a rechargeable sedan that Fisker expects to build beginning in 2012 at a former GM factory in Delaware.

The Fisker Karma, which is designed to travel 50 miles on a single charge and accelerate to 60 miles per hour from a standing start in 6 seconds, will sell for $87,900.

The Karma, which has a list of celebrities on its waiting list including former Vice President Al Gore, will be built in Finland by Valmet Automotive.

Fisker's second vehicle, the Nina, is expected to sell for $47,400 before a U.S. tax credit to consumers of $7,500.

"In the case of the Karma, we kind of came in late and said, 'OK, how do we fit our battery into your car?'" Vieau told Reuters. "In the case of Nina we can sit down together and say, 'how do we build the car and the battery together?'"

A123 will also invest $23 million in Fisker as part of a funding round still being negotiated by the three-year-old start-up, Vieau said.

Fisker was the recipient of a $528 million low-cost loan from the U.S. government to help fund expansion plans.

As a condition of receiving that government loan, Fisker has been raising additional equity from investors.

The Los Angeles-area start-up counts Silicon Valley-based Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as an investor and plans to deliver its first Karma models in September.

"We wanted to help galvanize the (funding round)," Vieau said of Fisker. "We perhaps could take a board seat but we'll certainly participate in the round."

The announcement of the closely watched supply deal comes a day after EnerDel, an Indiana-based unit of Ener1, said it had broken off talks with Fisker to be its battery supplier for the Karma.

A123 also has announced battery-supply partnerships with Chinese automaker SAIC and German luxury car makers Daimler AG and BMW.

Boston area-based A123, which went public last year in a closely watched IPO, lost out on a contract to supply batteries to the Chevrolet Volt to Korean rival LG Chem.

Vieau said A123's contracts with automakers included annual price reductions as costs to adapt lithium-ion batteries for cars begin to fall with an increase in production.

He said by 2012 it would be possible to produce a plug-in hybrid battery pack with capacity of 15 kilowatt hours for about $7,500, roughly half of what the industry-wide cost had been in 2009.

Toyota Creates Division to Speed Up Work on Li-ion Batteries

Toyota Motor Corp. has set up a division to speed up development of advanced lithium-ion batteries for the plug-in version of its popular Prius hybrid hatchback, a company executive told reporters on Tuesday.

The world's biggest automaker uses nickel-metal-hydride batteries in the current Prius hybrid.

But it plans to use the more-energy-efficient lithium batteries for the plug-in hybrid version of the car that will be launched in 2012, Toyota's head of battery development Koei Saga told reporters at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

"We believe a key to the electrical mobile technology lies in innovation of battery technology," he said. "Lithium-ion batteries will already be a step forward, but we need batteries that offer far superior performance."

Saga said the new division was established this month and includes about 50 engineers who are studying production processes for the next-generation batteries.

Saga also said Toyota has considered procuring some batteries from outside the company. Toyota has developed batteries with Japan's consumer electronics maker Panasonic Corp.

Ford will start selling electric Focus next year

Ford Motor Co on Monday announced its intentions to sell an all-electric version of the Focus starting next year.

The company said the electric version of the Focus would be built at a factory in Michigan that previously manufactured sport utility vehicles, which Ford President of the Americas Mark Fields observed was an example of how quickly the auto industry and consumer tastes were shifting.

The price will be competitive with other electric vehicles, such as rival Chevrolet's Volt, Fields said, but he didn't elaborate. GM hasn't announced pricing for the Volt either.

The electric vehicle will be built alongside the next-generation Focus, a compact car that Ford sees as a key part of its strategy to leverage global design and engineering to produce a vehicle that will sell well in many global markets.

The new Focus will be nearly identical in all markets, with 80% parts commonality around the world.

"The efficiencies generated by our new global C-car platform will enable us to provide Ford Focus customers with an affordable product offering quality, fuel efficiency, safety and technology beyond their expectations," said Alan Mulally, Ford's chief executive.

The Focus will come in both four-door sedan and five-door hatchback styles. Production will start for Europe and North America late in 2010 and sales are expected to begin early in 2011.

In other news, Ford captured the North American Car of the Year and North American Truck of the Year awards for the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and 2010 Ford Transit Connect, respectively. It marked the third time in 17 years that one manufacturer had won both titles, which were awarded by a panel of automotive journalists.

The Fusion Hybrid, a mid-size hybrid that gets about 40 miles a gallon in city driving, edged out finalists including the Buick LaCrosse and Volkswagen Golf/GTI.

The Transit Connect, a cargo and work van targeted at small businesses and people in construction trades, beat out the Chevrolet Equinox and Subaru Outback.

Chrysler unveil Fiat 500 Electric Vehicle At Detroit

Fiat and Chrysler said today that the 500 BEV is a concept only, designed to investigate the application of Chrysler’s modular electric drive technology in a smaller package.

Oddly, the Italian-American partnership has revealed little else about the Fiat 500 BEV. Past reports suggest the electric 500 will take 10 hours to gain a full charge from a regular home power supply, while dedicated charging stations will accomplish the task in half the time.

Drag-reducing aerodynamic updates to the 500’s exterior were expected, but short of the missing tail pipes up back, the 500 BEV’s exterior appears little different to the more powerful 500 Abarth.

In a recent presentation to the Italian Government, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed that the Fiat 500 will be offered with a 900cc turbo-charged two-cylinder petrol engine from next year.

The engine is expected to be offered as the entry-level or ultra-efficient eco-friendly version of the Fiat 500, along with the Panda and Punto.

GM Will Make a Pure-Electric Version of Chevy Volt

General Motors Co. will build a pure-electric vehicle by expanding the Chevrolet Volt's battery pack and removing its internal combustion engine, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said Monday.

It's the next step for the Volt, a car the company says can run 40 miles on a charge from a standard home power outlet. After the battery wears down, a 1.4-liter four-cylinder internal combustion engine takes over and generates electricity to power the car.

It's due to go on sale this fall at a cost of about $40,000, before tax credits.

Lutz would not say exactly when the pure-electric version would make it into showrooms, but said it would be "technologically trivial" to switch out the internal combustion engine.

Lutz told reporters at the Detroit auto show that GM could quickly expand the Volt's battery pack and take out the engine to build a fully electric car similar to Nissan's Leaf.

The Leaf, also to go on sale in the U.S. late this year, can get up to 100 miles on an electric charge but must be recharged or have a new battery installed to go any further.

The Volt, Lutz said, eliminates "range anxiety" as the car gets close to depleting its batteries.

But there may be a market for pure-electric vehicles for people who travel less, or GM could need it to meet government fuel economy regulations, he said.

"Once you've done the Volt, pure electric is trivial. You just leave some parts out," Lutz said.

Lutz also said electric vehicles may not get the stated range on fully electric power because of weather, atmospheric conditions, terrain and driving habits. He said he had a Volt during the Thanksgiving weekend and got only 28 miles on full-electric power because of the cold weather.

"It varies a lot more than the range variation with a gasoline-powered car depending on your driving style," Lutz said.

The Volt equipped with the internal combustion engine was unveiled three years ago. Once it goes on sales later this year, it will qualify for up to $7,500 in tax credits.

Detroit showcar Audi e-tron 2WD electric concept vehicle

Audi is showing an uncompromising purist compact sports car with all-electric drive at the first major auto show of 2010. The Detroit showcar Audi e-tron is the name of this 3.93 meter (154.72 in) long and 1.78 meter (70.08 in) wide but just 1.22 meter (48.03 in) tall two-seater; just a few months after the debut of the Audi e-tron at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, this is now the second electric concept vehicle from the brand with the four rings.

Coupled with the Detroit showcar Audi e-tron’s low gross weight of around only 1,350 kilograms (2976.24 lb), Audi have reduced the e-tron from All Wheel Drive to Rear Wheel drive only. The Detroit concept car runs two electric motors with a combined output of 150 kW (204 hp) and 2,650 Nm (1954.54 lb-ft) at the wheels. Audi are sticking to their non-industry standard of announcing torque at the wheels as opposed to industry standard that quotes torque at the motor shaft. The e-tron coupe with ASF-design aluminum body can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in just 5.9 seconds. The Audi e-tron accomplishes the sprint from 60 to 120 km/h (37.28 - 74.56 mph) in a mere 5.1 seconds.

The new e-tron is arguably better looking than a Tesla Roadster but with the Tesla Sport having 3,308 Nm (at the wheels) and a 0-60 time of 3.7 seconds, almost a full 2 seconds faster than the e-tron, the Ingolstadt engineers need to get to work on the electric motors if they are to be truly competitive.