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Hyundai to build hybrid in 2009
SEOUL: South Korea’s top carmaker Hyundai
Motor said on March 23 it would begin mass producing hybrid cars
next year amid growing demand for fuel-efficient and environmentally
friendly vehicles. The first mass produced model will be a compact
sedan, known as Avante, the company said in a statement.
The hybrid models will then expand into mid-size
vehicles in 2010, with fuel-cell cars also being produced in 2012,
it said.
Hyundai has produced about 2,800 compact hybrid
cars since 2004, largely for government agencies, while Toyota has
dominated the global hybrid car market.
Global demand for hybrid cars is rapidly
growing, with 390,125 units sold in 2006 and 517,911 last year,
Hyundai said, adding that the figure was likely to grow to 750,000
this year and more than a million by 2010.
-- AFP
‘Green’ cars boost Thai auto sales
BANGKOK: Incentives from the Thai government to
encourage carmakers to produce fuel-efficient eco-cars have yielded
a raft of major investments and started to change how Thais drive,
experts say.
Tax breaks for carmakers and car buyers were
unveiled last year, as the government worried that Thailand’s
position as the world’’s biggest maker of light pickups might
not be enough to guarantee the future of its auto industry. The
kingdom churns out 900,000 one-ton trucks every year—about
three-fourths of global output.
But amid soaring oil prices and concerns about
greenhouse gas emissions, the government expressed concern that the
global market for gas-guzzling trucks could weaken as consumers turn
to more fuel-efficient cars.
Sales taxes on smaller cars were also slashed
from January 1, which sent sales booming in the first two months of
the year.
Seven carmakers—including Toyota, Volkswagen
and Tata—have proposed eco-car projects to Thailand’s Board of
Investment. Four have already been approved.
-- AFP
Eco cars vie for $10-million pot
NEW YORK: More than 60 teams chasing $10 million
in prize money have entered a competition designed to inspire the
next generation of fuel-efficient vehicles.
The Progressive Automotive X PRIZE will test the
vehicles in a cross-country race from September 2009 in which they
are expected to achieve fuel efficiency of at least 100 miles per
gallon (no more than 2.3 liters per 100 kilometers). Unveiling the
competition at the New York International Auto Show, Mayor Michael
Bloomberg described the initiative as “an excellent example of how
the private sector can spur solutions to our most complex
challenges.”
“The environmentally friendly cars created as
a result of this competition will affect everyone who drives in ways
we can’t even imagine today. Let the race begin!” added Peter
Diamandis, chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation.
The foundation describes itself as a non-profit
organization aiming to bring about radical breakthroughs by holding
competitions with at least $10 million in prize money to solve some
of the world’s greatest challenges. The competition is to focus on
affordability, safety, and the environment, involving a qualifying
race next year and a Grand Prize Final Race in 2010.
The winners will be the vehicles that exceed the
fuel efficiency requirements, meet undisclosed emissions standards
and finish the fastest.
-- AFP
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