Already established as the leading automotive market in the world, China shows no signs of slowing down with its urbanisation rate predicted to reach or exceed 50 per cent within five-six years.

According to the Chinese Government, the urban population had reached 622million by the end of 2009 with an urbanisation rate at nearly 47 per cent – and the rapid rate is expected to continue for 15-20 years.

A report in the People’s Daily outlines that China’s existing rate of urbanisation is close to that of the average rate of middle income countries having grown by almost one per cent over the last five years. However, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development expects that China’s urbanisation is now at a crucial stage and the country will face both opportunities and challenges. When the financial crisis ends it will need to increase its urbanisation rate with domestic demand while actively taking advantage of exports, according to officials.

Telematic technology could help electric cars overcome a a major obstacle, making it easier for car buyers to overcome the dreaded ‘range anxiety’, Frost & Sullivan suggest in a new report.

According to the global market analysts, telematics could be used to develop a system of alerts to inform the driver when the vehicle is running low on charge and locate nearby charging points. This technology, fitted as standard would help boost perceived value of the cars too.

The researchers at the firm have suggested that unlike conventional cars, for which smart navigation systems are still an expensive option, most hardware elements required for enabling these services would be built into the cost of an electric vehicle (EV). An EV driver would therefore only pay an incremental amount for services included in the subscription they pay for battery leasing.

The new report ‘Strategic Market and Technology Assessment of Telematics Applications for Electric Vehicles’, suggests that telematics should expect to have a penetration of more than 80 per cent of all new EVs sold by 2015.

"Neighbourhood electric vehicles (NEVs) and city electric vehicles (CEVs) have a modest driving range of less than 100 miles," says Frost & Sullivan’s Global Program Manager for Telematics and Infotainment, Praveen Chandrasekar. "Therefore, they require some form of charging environment related alerts and smart navigation that informs the driver of the charge status, distance covered with charge remaining, and charging stations on the route."

As the demand for these vehicles increases along with the growth in inner city areas, the development of  smart navigation technology will become increasingly vital, the firm predicts.

The most important telematics service will be to provide charging environment-related POIs like the location of the next charging station and the ability to book that charging station. Other significant telematics services will include connecting to the battery and knowing the state of charge. These services will enter the market first.

Several carmakers, including Renault, Nissan and GM, are currently developing ingenious telematics concepts for their upcoming EV models like the Fluence, LEAF and Chevrolet Volt. Their real challenge, however, will be to ensure mass market adoption of EVs while providing adequate infrastructure support. Moreover, as EVs will remain niche products for a majority of the conventional original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) it remains to be seen whether they will incur development expenses or invest the time to create dedicated telematics concepts for their EVs. This will indirectly impact the involvement of traditional telematics companies in the EV initiative.

"Although EVs lead to a potentially new business model for telematics to be sold as a standard feature rather than a costly option, the future of this market depends on infrastructure development and smart energy planning," explains Chandrasekar. "Telematics development will be noticeably slow, if it remains a niche segment."

Incentives and tax rebates by local governments in Europe and the United States will boost the initial uptake of EVs. Additionally, some companies are developing wholesome EV service packages ranging from charging/swapping services to 360 degree telematics packages that will enable OEMs to take the lead in this market.

"OEMs such as GM and BMW are expected to use their existing telematics packages like ‘OnStar’ and ‘Assist’ for the EVs as well," concludes Chandrasekar. "OEMs that currently do not offer telematics, should opt for adoption packages such as the ‘Better Place EV service package’ that serve as a one-stop shop provider of all services needed for the EV."

Renault has received a rap from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) this morning, after the governing body found one of the carmaker’s ads made misleading environmental claims.

A TV ad for the carmaker featuring a montage of images of how cars were used and their impact on society, had a voice-over which stated: “For us, global warming goes beyond the emissions coming out of the exhaust. It’s an issue we address before, during and after manufacture. From next year, Renault will launch a range of zero emission vehicles to drive the car forward again”.

The regulator upheld complaints from viewers that the carmaker’s claim to be producing ‘zero emission vehicles’ couldn’t be substantiated on the basis that it failed to take into account emissions produced through electricity use and the full product lifecycle of the vehicle. 

The regulator acknowledged that if Renault’s electric vehicles were powered by electricity from renewable sources it could, in use, operate without emissions. However, thanks to the UK’s national grid energy mix, most people would produce CO2 emissions in using these vehicles.

Meanwhile, the authority also ruled that the carmaker’s statement that it is tackling emissions ‘before, during and after manufacture’ might imply that the full product lifecycle was taken into account in in making the ‘zero emission’ claim.

The ad was ruled to be in breach CAP (Broadcast) TV Code rules covering misleading advertising and environmental claims and is banned from being broadcast again.

Nissan has confirmed that the all-electric LEAF will cost from 2.99 million yen- equivalent to around £21,500.

This surprisingly low figure is the retail price for the electric model in its home country and includes expected Japanese government incentives against the model.

The model is set to begin deliveries to customers in Japan by December this year and has been confirmed it will cost from 3.76 million yen (around £27,000) before electric car consumer incentives are taken into account.

The pricing for the model is announced just as the carmaker confirms that it will open the order books for the innovative model to Japanese customers tomorrow (April 1, 2010).

Dubbed ‘the world’s first affordable electric car’, the LEAF will be available to pre-order with a down-payment of just 2.4 million yen (around £17,000).

On the assumption that current government incentives in Japan continue through fiscal year 2010, Nissan LEAF will be eligible for a 770,000 yen (around £5,500) government incentive credit.  With the incentive, the consumer’s net price for Nissan LEAF will be slashed below the 3 million yen mark-helping the carmaker prove its claim of affordability.  The LEAF will also be exempt from the car-weight tax and the car-acquisition tax in its home country, helping to further cut costs.

Assuming that the LEAF model will have a similar starting price in the UK, with the UK government’s Plug-in Car Grants, we might expect the model to sell for as little as £22,000- a lot less than rival electric car, the i-MiEV. i-MiEV manufacturer, Mitsubishi confirmed that this model would cost just under £34,000 even after a £5,000 incentive is deducted off the price.

The carmaker will offer its electric car model various purchasing methods, including a Nissan Auto Loan.  This would allow customers to pay only 2.4 million yen as a down-payment and then a low monthly fee of 10,000 yen, which includes the cost for electricity.

Compared to cars in a similar class, LEAF’s cost of ownership is competitive is competitive, Nissan says. During six years of ownership, the carmaker estimates that the electricity cost would be 86,000 yen. By contrast, the gasoline cost for a car in a similar class would be 670,000 yen (electricity cost based on 1,000 km/month driving and using Tokyo midnight charging ratio. Gasoline cost based 1,000 km/month driving and 148 yen/litre).

“While a car in a similar class emits around 10 tons of CO₂ in the course of six years, Nissan LEAF produces zero emissions while driving,” said Takeo Katagiri,Senior Vice President for Sales & Marketing in Japan.

“Nissan LEAF is an attractive, affordable EV that will introduce a new way of mobility for our customers,” he added.

Nissan aims to sell 6,000 units in Japan in fiscal year 2010. The electric car model, a C-segment hatchback, has a range of 160km and a top speed of around 140km/h. It is expected to go on sale in the UK by 2011.

There are two pieces of exciting news for green car enthusiasts in Japan after Nissan and Mitsubishi both made announcements regarding their eagerly anticipated electric cars – the Nissan LEAF and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV.

Nissan, which is aiming to sell 6,000 units of the battery-electric LEAF in the fiscal year 2010, has announced a starting price of Y3.76million. From April 1, customers will be able to place orders for the vehicle at dealerships and if existing government incentives continue the LEAF will be eligible for a 770,000-yen government incentive credit. It will also be exempt from car acquisition and weight tax.

In addition, Nissan is offering several services to entice customers including charging equipment for private homes; charging facilities installed at dealers nationwide; and an after-sales service with each dealer’s service shop including technical staff trained to handle electric vehicle maintenance.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi has announced it will begin sales of the electric i-MiEV to individuals in Japan from April 1 – it has been selling the i-MiEV to corporations since July 2009. If existing incentives continue, the i-MiEV will be eligible for subsidies as high as 1,140,00yen leaving a cost to the customer of Y2,840,000.

The company has already received 2,000 orders from municipalities, corporations and individuals and plans to export 5,000 vehicles in the current financial year while moving forward with a global rollout.

It’s not just moving from A to B in your vehicle that consumes fuel – it’s also running many of the car’s devices including its air conditioning. That’s why John Rugh from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is proposing the introduction of a vehicle-level test procedure to measure the fuel used by air conditioning.

In his paper, which will be presented at the SAE 2010 World Congress in Detroit, Rugh outlines that air conditioning systems can have a significant impact on the fuel economy of vehicles as well as on the fuel use/range of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. According to an NREL vehicle performance analysis, the operation of the air conditioner reduces the charge depletion range of a 40mile plug-in hybrid electric vehicle from 18 per cent to 30 per cent in a worst case environment.

Rugh believes that the impact of the air conditioning system is more apparent in fuel efficient vehicles because they use a larger percentage of the overall vehicle fuel use. With total energy management essential in vehicles such as electrics and plug-in hybrids, air conditioning energy use increases the size and cost of the energy storage system.

There are three tests to measure air conditioning use at vehicle level. These are: equivalent capacity with the goal to measure the fuel required to provide the same thermal performance as the air conditioning system level; equivalent temperature which requires the same air temperature at the driver’s location from test to test; and real world where the air conditioning system is allowed to run as designed with vehicle and climate control design decisions impacting its use.

Rugh’s test procedure would include soaking the vehicle with solar lamps or an alternative heating method; operating the vehicle over repeated drive cycles at a constant speed until a steady temperature is attained; and running air conditioning on and off to calculate a cool down and fuel use.

He believes this procedure measures the approximate real world air conditioning fuel use and can be used to characterise the impact of energy use for climate control on advanced and conventional vehicles.

Ordering products online has long been considered more environmentally friendly than heading down to the shops – and now the process should become even greener.

That’s because the FedEx Corporation has expanded its alternative energy vehicle fleet with the first all-electric FedEx parcel delivery trucks in the US. Four purpose-built trucks will hit the road in Los Angeles starting in June 2010 with FedEx already having 10 electric trucks in service in London and five more on order in Paris. In total, the company has 1,800 alternative energy vehicles in service.

Two of the new all-electric trucks come from Navistar and are based on the Modec design already in operation in Europe. The vehicles are capable of travelling 100miles on a single charge and can carry 3,000lbs of freight. Meanwhile, another pair of vehicles will be purchased from another manufacturer in the Los Angeles area later this year.

A FedEx electric truck on Route 66.

In addition, a FedEx prototype electric truck from Navistar was unveiled yesterday as part of an event in Chicago – it will be operated for FedEx customers along the historic Route 66.

Known as the Charge Up Route 66 tour, it is designed to underscore the initiative outlined by CEO of FedEx Frederick W Smith who has called for a comprehensive programme to encourage affordable electrification of local transportation to help boost domestic energy production, reduce reliance on imported petrol and further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Efforts to standardise electric-car technology will remove a major potential stumbling block to take up as the first mass-produced zero-emissions car is launched, a leading car industry analyst firm concludes.  

The debut of the Nissan Leaf at the EVER Monaco electric vehicle show (March 25-28) followed the recent formation of the CHAdeMO association by Japanese carmakers including Nissan and Toyota observes Datamonitor.

This association will ensure the standardisation of charging points for electric cars in Japan and elsewhere and while many uncertainties for the technology remain, Datamonitor views this as a significant step – particularly as the association’s objectives are spread global.

Richard Carteau, lead automotive analyst at the firm, said: “The high purchase cost of electric vehicles – or more accurately the battery – is often cited as a key impediment to the development of the market.

“However, government subsidies or tax breaks on such vehicles can help consumers get over the short-term affordability hurdle, while developments in battery manufacturing technology and scale economies should bring costs down in the longer term.

Mr Carteau added: “Aside from the high cost of the battery, probably the most fundamental impediment to the take-up of electric vehicles is their limited driving range combined with an underdeveloped recharging infrastructure.

“This is where the recent agreement in Japan is important. Indeed, while there are many that remain sceptical about the potential for mass-market adoption of electric vehicles, others are making high stakes bets on the future of the technology and its potential to revolutionize the automotive sector.

“By ensuring that there is not a raft of competing charging technologies, the vehicle manufacturers that have created the CHAdeMO Association can speed the development of a comprehensive network of recharging points that is open to all vehicles. This strategy will avoid the industry developing multiple standards, which would ultimately make batteries more expensive and the roll out of national and multi-national roadside charging more difficult.

“The implementation of a standard re-charging norm, at least by continent, is crucial, coming as it does alongside Nissan’s launch of the Leaf.”

Building more roads is not always the most effective way of tackling congestion on the UK’s roads the Transport Select Committee concludes today.

Set up to advise the Government, the Committee’s latest review into the management of major roads concludes that a recent policy of transferring control of many major roads from the Highways Agency to local authorities has broadly been a success in helping tackling congestion and repair roads.

However in the long term fight against congestion- a major source of air pollution- the Committee advises that the Government intensify its efforts to encourage sustainable travel as part of an integrated transport policy. Greater use of innovative methods such as Active Traffic Management (ATM), better planning and new technology to tackle congestion on motorways, trunk roads and major A roads are important it concludes. ATM methods such as includes hard shoulder running and variable speed limits are an important tool in tackle congestion.

The Committee believes the integration of different modes of transport, making it easier for travellers to choose public transport, such as trains or buses, for parts of their journey, is key to managing congestion on the major road network.

Launching the report, Committee Chair, Louise Ellman MP said: “Congestion on our major road network costs our economy enormous sums every year. The Government needs to demonstrate leadership by ensuring that a wide range of cost effective tools are used in the fight against congestion.”

However it advises that the Highways Agency and local authorities need to provide better, and more timely, information to the travelling public. This is true both where road works slow down traffic and cause congestion, and where ATM methods such as temporary speed restrictions are imposed on drivers.

Mrs Ellman MP adds: “It is vital that the public understands what is happening, and why the speed limit is lower than normal. That may be because of road works, an accident or because of congestion. We have all experienced the frustration of temporary speed restrictions, sometimes for miles, for no apparent reason. Information provided for the public needs to be comprehensive and absolutely up to date. Information that is out of date is no better than having no information at all.”

Welcoming the committee’s findings, Stephen Joseph, executive director of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Good planning and smart use of technology are more likely to reduce congestion than road building.  This is a welcome conclusion by the Committee.

“It’s been well established that road building generates more traffic.  Sensible planning reduces the need to travel, reduces traffic and encourages sustainable living.  Good planning ensures new housing is close to services, jobs, schools and hospitals. 

“Given current spending constraints, fixing the roads we have must surely take priority over building big new ones.”

“The next Government needs to look to smart planning as an alternative to massive road building programmes we can no longer afford.”

TV host and stand-up comedian, Jay Leno, a long-time supporter of electric cars says that electric cars built back at the turn of the 20th century faced much the same challenges and had many of the same benefits as their modern equivalent.

The talk show host, known for his Green Car Challenge, took to the wheel of an all-new Ford Focus BEV (battery electric vehicle) and compared it to an original electric car built way back in 1909.

Driving his very own Baker electric, one of the first commercial electric cars, is surprisingly similar to modern electric models, the host explains in his latest video (which can be seen below).

Explains Jay: “Electricity is really the ideal form of propulsion for the automobile. They knew this at the turn of the century; the problem was always batteries and range. That was the main concern of people back then and it is the main concern of people now. So electric cars are nothing new; we used two on the TV show, two electric Ford Focuses to race around the track. And I’ve got my own electric car. It’s quite advanced, it goes 100 miles on a charge, it’s fully electric.It was built in 1909.”

In comparing the two models, Mr Leno explains: “I do feel a connection between the two cars because the mode of transportation is exactly the same, there is no transmission, the engine is connected directly to the rear wheels and when you put electricity through the motor it goes immediately to the rear wheels. The drive train or the way the drive train works is exactly the same. The parts that have changed are obviously that the Focus’s motor is more efficient and your range is a lot better.”

Despite the age-old problems facing electric cars, the TV star concludes: “I think electric is the future for now. Hydrogen and all that kind of stuff is very sexy but we have electricity, we have the infrastructure for electricity so I think at least for the near future, electric will be the next way to go.”