Japanese carmaker Toyota is continuing to eye up the Chinese market with all sectors of its business.

Now it is the turn of Toyota Tsusho Corporation, a Toyota group company, which is looking to build a strategic partnership for promoting electric car charging infrastructure in the country. Its potential partners include automotive parts manufacturer Chongqing Changpeng Industry and China Potevio Company Limited.

China Potevio builds and operates charging infrastructure in the country and in Shenzhen the company has constructed and started operating charging stations for both electric buses and electric taxis at 57 locations. It also plans to implement charging infrastructure businesses in multiple other cities.

This latest move is part of Toyota Tsusho’s Green Mobility Solution Group, which focuses efforts on its next generation automobile related business. It notes that the new energy automotive field has been undergoing “remarkable” development and is seen as a huge prospect for business.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has revealed that the UK economy has benefited from renewable energy by the tune of £2.5bn so far in this financial year. This came as the UK published an update on progress to source 15% of all energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Latest research from DECC shows that almost £2.5bn worth of investment has been announced by companies involved in renewable projects in the UK, with the potential to create almost 12,000 jobs.

A separate report to the European Commission on renewable energy progress that showed that the UK:

• Achieved a 27% increase in renewable energy consumption from 42.6TWh in 2008 to 54TWh in 2010 – representing 3.3% of total energy consumed.
• Increased wind generation by 46% from 7TWh in 2008 to 10.2TWh in 2010, and in 2010 achieved 5GW of offshore and onshore wind capacity; and
• Saw a threefold increase in the use of biofuels in transport from 1% of total road transport fuel supply in 2007/8 to 3.33% in 2010.

Chris Huhne said:

“Renewable energy is not just helping us increase our energy security and reduce our emissions. It is supporting jobs and growth across the country, and giving traditional industrial heartlands the opportunity to thrive again. Our renewable target is less demanding than other EU member states, but the effect is bringing real jobs and investment.

“I do not want the UK to be left behind by turning our back on the green economy. The agreement to negotiate a global deal secured at Durban has reinforced major nations’ commitment to cutting carbon. We cannot afford to stand alone while the world wises up.”

Consumers in the US have been notably slow to warm to the idea of electric cars such is the preference for SUVs and large trucks, stateside. However, a new report suggests there is serious interest in electric vehicles – although price remains a significant barrier.

Pike Research conducted a survey of 1,051 US consumers this autumn and found that based on Americans’ driving and commuting patterns, plug-in electric vehicles will be a strong fit for a large number of consumers.

There is said to be strong fundamental interest in plug-in electric vehicles, with 40 per cent of those surveyed saying they would be “extremely” or “very” interested in a plug-in hybrid or all-electric vehicle with a range of 40-100miles and an electricity cost equivalent to $0.75 per gallon. However, price sensitivity is a significant barrier with consumers looking to pay prices considerably below those currently planned by car manufacturers.

For example, for a vehicle that would usually cost $20,000, the optimal price point for consumers for a comparable plug-in electric vehicle is $23,750 – significantly less than intended prices.

In addition, the survey revealed that among the participants, four per cent currently own or lease a hybrid; 81 per cent believe fuel efficiency to be a key factor when purchasing their next vehicle; and there is no dramatic difference in the interest in electric vehicles based on different demographic segments such as age, gender, income and education.

Japanese manufacturing giant Mitsubishi is said to be working on its third electric vehicle – in the form of an electric light truck earmarked for a 2012 launch.

According to reports in Japanese business daily The Nikkei, the new electric vehicle will be targeted at contractors, farmers and others that use light trucks for their work – where range is less of an issue.

It states that the electric light truck will allow users to recharge the battery from normal household power outlets. It is hoped that with government subsidies in place it will cost no more than 1.5million yen (US$19,300) – making it the cheapest electric vehicle from Mitsubishi to date.

In addition, Mitsubishi is said to have outlined a goal for fiscal 2012 of selling 42,000 electric vehicles worldwide.

Its considered the flagship model in the Chrysler range – and now the Chrysler 300 Luxury Series will be more fuel efficient than ever before.

The new 2012 Chrysler 300 Luxury Series combines an eight-speed automatic transmission with a 3.6litre Pentastar V6 engine and delivers 31mpg – that’s a 17 per cent improvement compared to the previous generation which combined a five-speed transmission with a six-cylinder engine.  

Its figures mean that the new Chrysler vehicle offers a number of “best-in-class” statistics. For example, it has the best highway fuel economy at 31mpg; the best V6 AWD fuel economy at 18mpg city; and the best-in-class combined fuel economy at 23mpg with rear-wheel-drive and 21mpg with all-wheel drive.

There are a number of innovations that assist the new Chrysler to these class-leading figures. Among them is a compact and lightweight, all-aluminium V6 engine with dual independent cam phasers. The engine delivers 292hp and 260lb-ft of torque at 4,800rpm.

Of course the engine also has three more gear ratios which help to reduce the gap usually associated with up and down-shifting. The all-wheel drive system also features a segment exclusive active transfer case and front-axle disconnect system which boosts real world fuel economy.

Car giant, Volkswagen has set itself an ambitious target of making its plants more sustainable by cutting their environmental impact by 25 per cent by 2018.

The car maker’s factories must reduce their energy consumption, waste volumes, air-borne emissions, water consumption and carbon dioxide emissions to meet the target which will compare performance in 2010 to 2018. Part of the brand’s ‘Think Blue’ environmental strategy, all the brand’s passenger car plants will be expected to meet the sustainability goal.

"Through the growing efficiency and productivity of our plants, the Volkswagen brand is already making a key contribution to the achievements of Group strategic targets for 2018. However, we are going a step further: by 2018, we intend to make production at all our plants 25 per cent more environmentally compatible," said Hubert Waltl, Member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand with responsibility for Production and Logistics.

"Sustainable, efficient production is a clear competitive advantage," added Prof. Werner Neubauer, Member of the Board of Management of the Volkswagen brand with responsibility for Components. "With its "Think Blue. Factory." Initiative, the Volkswagen brand is pursuing a clear strategy which pools all environmental activities at our plants throughout the world. Our ambitious targets for sustainable vehicle production have now been defined in a way which is clear and comprehensible for our customers."

The ‘Think Blue. Factory’  includes key measures in the area of vehicle production. The programme, which is concerned with efficiency improvements in production addresses all employees at the plants. In future, approaches for reducing energy consumption in production will be honoured by the Volkswagen Energy Cup at an annual ‘Think Blue. Factory’ day.

Only a few weeks ago, the new Volkswagen plant at Chattanooga, Tennessee, was the first automobile factory worldwide to receive platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Platinum certification confirms compliance with the most demanding standards for sustainable, environmentally compatible production.

Sick of being stuck in traffic? A new project by IBM and the University of Guadalajara in Mexico is aiming to address the issue.

They have created a Smarter Cities Exploration Centre which has the aim of tackling infrastructure challenges in major cities around the world. It focuses on advancing technology in areas such as transportation, healthcare, education, public safety, water and energy.

Its initial focus is to develop a transportation pilot that could reduce commuting time by as much as 15 per cent in Guadalajara. This could represent around US$90million in savings per year.

The pilot scheme will offer real-time analysis and forecast traffic behaviour for 1.7million vehicles in the city. Its objective is to increase the efficiency of commuting alternatives, including a 10mile north to south corridor that typically takes more than an hour to travel through.

Both IBM and the University will exchange information through data analytics, supercomputing and cloud computing. It follows on from IBM introducing its Intelligent Operations Centre for Smarter Cities earlier this year, which is designed to help cities gain a holistic view of information across city departments and agencies.

A fixed fee electric vehicle charging service is being tested by several oil wholesalers in Japan.

JX Nippon Oil, Cosmo Oil Company, Showa Shell Sekiyu KK and Idemitsu Kosan Company have teamed up to test the service at 27 of their affiliated stations across Kanagawa Prefecture and Tokyo.

Known as the Electric Vehicle Station Network, members can charge their plug-in vehicles at the stations with any of the four members.

Currently, JX Nippon Oil has the most participating stations and its plan is to start offering a monthly fee of Y3,000 (US$38) for individuals and corporate card holders. Customers will be able to charge their vehicles at any of the stations with the four companies also providing additional services while customers wait for their vehicles to recharge.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revealed its 2012 percentage standards for four fuels within its Renewable Fuel Standard programme.

It has announced the following volumes and standards: biomass-based diesel (1.0billion gallons, 0.91 per cent); cellulosic biofuels (8.65billion gallons, 0.006 per cent); advanced biofuels (2.0billion gallons, 1.21 per cent); and total renewable fuels (15.2billion gallons, 9.2 per cent).

Originally, in its rulemaking earlier this year, the EPA had suggested a cellulosic biofuels volume that would range from 3.45-12.9million gallons.

In order to reach this standard, the EPA suggested there should be a focus towards construction and production goals with other factors that could impact fuel production. Within domestic US sources, the EPA suggested around six facilities could make volumes of cellulosic biofuel available for transportation use.

The overall aim of the Renewable Fuel Standard is to reach a level of 36billion gallons by 2022. To achieve this, the EPA must conduct an evaluation of the volume of qualifying cellulosic biofuel and determine whether the advanced biofuel and/or total renewable fuel volumes should be reduced by the same or a lesser amount.

The undisputed market leader in the hybrid car sector, Toyota has now launched a new hybrid vehicle in its home market of Japan.

The Toyota Aqua is a petrol electric hybrid car with a 1.5litre Toyota Hybrid System II. It features a reduction gear that helps it achieve fuel efficiency of 83.3mpg. It will be priced at Y1.69million (US$21,685).

Among its key features is a cooled exhaust-gas recirculation system that helps boost efficiency in the Atkinson cycle; while engine efficiency is further boosted by a battery powered water pump, and a small, light hybrid transaxle.

The Toyota Aqua can race from 0-100km/h in 10.7seconds. Meanwhile, its instrument panel offers information on eco-driving; while ABS with electronic brake-force distribution means that braking performance is maximised. Vehicle stability is maintained by vehicle stability control, while hill start assist reduces anxiety about a vehicle rolling backwards on steep inclines.  

To be known as the Prius C in other markets, the Toyota Aqua will have an initial sales target of 12,000 units per month in Japan.