It’s the opening day of the International Eco-Friendly Vehicle and Sustainable Motor Show in Madrid today and it looks set to hold a host of delights for the alternative fuel enthusiast.
The show displays the best in fuel efficiency vehicles and technologies, with manufacturers set to display their latest design in hybrid, electric, hydrogen, natural gas and solar powered vehicles. Among those attending are BMW, Citroen, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes Benz, MINI, Peugeot, Reva, SEAT, smart, Toyota and Volkswagen.
Highlights of the show include the worldwide debut of the Volkswagen Blue-e-motion, an electric version of the popular Golf model.
SEAT to will be making a big splash at the event. The Spanish native will be unveiling its latest Ibiza Ecomotive model. Boasting a new 1.2-litre TDI powerplant with the latest common rail fuelling, Diesel Particulate Filter and an array of economy-minded technologies, SEAT’s supermini achieves exceptional CO2 figure of just 89 g/km – a joint best-in-class number that makes the SEAT one of the cleanest conventional engined cars on the planet.
Fuel consumption is also just as impressive achieving a combined figure of 83.1 miles per gallon makes it, similarly, one of the most economical diesel-engined superminis on the market.
Aside from that new engine the technical revisions key to the newcomer’s improved economy and emissions stats include the use, for the first time in an Ibiza, of SEAT’s Auto Start/Stop function allied to the Spanish firm’s Energy Recovery System, which both work to minimise waste.
The new Ibiza Ecomotive joins a similarly impressive Ecomotive line-up which now includes the Leon (99 g/km), the Altea and Altea XL (119 g/km) and the Alhambra (159 g/km).
Also on display in Madrid will be the carmaker’s IBE Concept, which made its global debut earlier this year at the Geneva Motor Show. The IBE Concept is a fully electric, plug-in compact sporty coupé.
Finally the innovative Spanish brand will display the Leon Twin Drive Ecomotive, a plug-in hybrid model that features both a conventional combustion engine and an electric motor. Its lithium ion battery can be charged at the mains, giving it a 50 kilometre range in full electric mode. Longer trips are supported by the use of a traditional combustion engine.
Mass production of the Leon Twin Drive Ecomotive is scheduled for 2014 but, by the beginning of 2011, as many as ten cars will be making their road debut on the streets of Madrid, Barcelona and Seville in an extensive test of electric car technology and infrastructure in Spain.
The International Eco Friendly Vehicle and Sustainable Mobility Show runs from today until Sunday 23 May in Halls 3 and 5 at the Feria de Madrid Convention Centre.
