Hybrid Car Review

EPA Releases Fuel Economy Figures for 2009

2009-11-23T15:08:00.002-05:00

The EPA is projecting another increase in fuel efficiency for MY 2009 vehicles. That's the fifth consecutive year in a row in which car makers and buyers have made and bought more fuel efficient cars. Although the gain from last year was small, 21.0 mpg to 21.1 mpg, the five year gain sits at 9% since 2004.

The numbers for 2008 were finalized in the report, while the numbers for 2009 are still being projected, with the authors cautioning that 2009 has been turbulent and "It is impossible to predict whether actual MY2009 fuel economy will be higher or lower than the preliminary MY2009 value."

The fuel efficiency gains (if they are realized) are coming despite the prediction that weight and performance will also be increasing from 2008, albeit slightly.

Something to keep in mind when you read the following table:

Most of the CO2 emissions and fuel economy values in this report are a single adjusted composite (combined city/highway) CO2 emissions or fuel economy value, consistent with the real-world estimates for city and highway fuel economy provided to consumers on new vehicle labels, in the EPA/DOE Fuel Economy Guide, and in EPA's Green Vehicle Guide.

MY2007 – 2009 Marketing Group Fuel Economy and Carbon Dioxide Emissions
(Adjusted Composite Values)
Marketing Group	MY2007		MY2008		MY2009
Marketing Group	Fuel Economy	CO2	Fuel Economy	CO2	Fuel Economy	CO2
	(mpg)	(g/mi)	(mpg)	(g/mi)	(mpg)	(g/mi)
Honda	23.3	382	23.9	372	23.6	376
Hyundai-Kia	22.9	388	23.7	374	23.4	380
Toyota	23.3	382	22.8	389	23.2	383
Volkswagen	21.9	405	22.3	398	22.8	398
Nissan	21.3	418	21.9	406	21.6	411
BMW	21.5	415	21.2	419	21.6	412
General Motors	19.2	463	19.7	452	19.9	447
Ford	18.9	471	19.4	459	20.5	434
Chrysler	18.6	479	19.3	460	18.7	476
All	20.6	432	21	424	21.1	422

One thing to keep in mind when you see such small overall gains is the upcoming changes in the CAFE rules. Car makers are going to be pushed to increase their fuel efficiency at a high rate over the coming years.

One Million Miles of Plug-in Hybrid Driving

2009-11-23T10:08:00.000-05:00

The Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA), run by the US Dept of Energy (DOE), has now run their plug-in hybrid test vehicles for one million miles.

Using fleet and public drivers the AVTA is attempting to assess and demonstrate Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV). They have now surpassed the 1 million mile mark, plus they have had 26,000 'charging events' to date. With more than 215 PHEVs, and 12 different PHEV models, the test fleet is testing benchmark performance.

The testing has looking at energy consumption, via gas or electricity, in a wide range of operating conditions. The test vehicles are in 23 states and Canada. They are also examining the various factors that affect PHEVs, such as air temperature and human behavior.

See the report from July to get a good idea of what the AVTA is looking at with their test fleet. It's amazing what a difference driving 'aggresively' vs 'mild' can do to gas mileage.

By measuring the different factors, the AVTA hopes to demonstrate vehicle energy consumption results and potential electric grid impacts.

The AVTA's PHEV testing effort involves more than 75 testing partners, including electric utilities; city, county, state, federal and provincial governments; universities and colleges; clean air agencies; private companies and other organizations. As part of the AVTA, INL also collaborates with testing partner Argonne National Laboratory, which performs laboratory dynamometer testing of each PHEV model tested on the road. This testing partnership provides an important link between standard laboratory test results and real-world performance. In addition to Argonne, INL also collaborates with other DOE laboratories by sharing PHEV data analysis and reporting.

The AVTA is conducted by Idaho National Laboratory and the Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec) for DOE's Vehicle Technologies Program. The AVTA also tests other electric drive vehicles such as hybrid electric vehicles and neighborhood electric vehicles. Additional information about the testing results can be found at http://avt.inel.gov/

INL is one of DOE's 10 multiprogram national laboratories. The INL performs work in each of DOE's strategic goal areas: energy, national security, science and environment. INL is the nation's leading center for nuclear energy research and development. Day-to-day management and operation of the laboratory is the responsibility of Battelle Energy Alliance.

Toyota Lowers HS 250h Expectations

2009-11-23T09:52:00.000-05:00

Toyota told Ward's auto they were dropping their annual sales goals for the HS 250h in the US from it's current 25,000 units a year to 20,000 - 22,000. And not because the US is rejecting the HS 250h, either.

Instead, sales are going so well in Japan Toyota is keeping inventory there, instead.

Toyota started out by targeting 30,000 units a year, but dropped to 25,000. Now they are redirecting another 3,000 to 5,000 units elsewhere. They also tripled production of the HS 250h back in October.

Japan's policy for encouraging hybrid sales is certainly doing just that.