Keep your eyes peeled for the new Citroen DS4 which will be unveiled at this year’s Paris Motor Show and will include an e-HDi micro-hybrid system as an option.

The DS4 is expected to go on sale in 2011 and will be made available with a choice of five Euro 5 engines. Among them will be two HDi diesels including an HDi 110 (which will be available as an e-HDi version); as well as an HDi 160, both of which will be fitted with Citroen’s diesel particulate filter system. Also being made available will be three petrol powerplants – a VTi 120, a THP 155 and a new THP 200, all of which were co-developed with BMW and will be available with manual or EGS six-speed gearboxes.

The new Citroen DS4.

As for the micro-hybrid system, it includes: the engine; a new generation stop and start system; a second-generation reversible alternator and e-booster function that restarts the engine instantly; an electronically controlled alternator for energy recovery during braking; and an electronic gearbox system with optimised gear changes.

It is believed that the technology can reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by as much as 15 per cent in urban environments.

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Remember our comedian friends on a eco-challenge to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as featured on the website last week (see story)?

Well you will be pleased to know that intrepid comic performers Dan Adam and Christian Ancliff successfully completed their 530 mile journey to Edinburgh on a single tank of fuel in time to mark the start of the three-week long festival of arts.

Driving from London, the lads stopped off to perform venues in five cities over the five night journey. Piloting a low emission Citroen DS3 with emissions of just 99g/km CO2 and fuel economy of 74.3mpg (combined), ‘Ecomedians’ Dan and Christian drove all the way through the capital city to Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Manchester and Glasgow before reaching Edinburgh to begin their debut Fringe show run.

During the tour, Dan and Christian took the stage at famous venues such as Manchester’s Comedy Store and The Stand Club in Glasgow, raising support for Helen & Douglas House Hospice all whilst trying to consume as little fuel as possible.

Dan Adams commented: “What an adventure. We’ve played some fantastic venues, met some great people, supported a brilliant charity and the DS3 still had about 200 miles left in the tank! Now we’re here in Edinburgh and starting our Fringe show, we couldn’t be happier.”

Daily video episodes and pictures from the tour are available to see at www.ecomedytour.com.

Dan and Christian are performing their Edinburgh Fringe show, Baggage of Being, from 7^th to 28^th August at The Globe (Venue 389).  For more information visit: http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/baggage-of-being.

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There is nothing funny about running out of fuel, and that’s why two comedians heading to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival have selected to run a Citroen DS3.

‘Ecomedians’ Dan Adams and Christian Ancliff are taking part in a challenge to take the DS3 on a comedy tour of the UK before they arrive in Edinburgh for the festival. Travelling over 500 miles from London to Edinburgh, the comedy duo hope to complete the challenge on a single tank of fuel. Using a DS3 with emissions of just 99g/km and an official combined miles to the gallon figure of 74.3, the comedians have also undertaken the IAM Drive & Survive ‘Ecolution’ driver training course to help them maximise their fuel economy.

Designed to lower fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions, the Ecolution eco-driving course also offered some hints and tips on smoother and safer driving methods.  The result: over the course of the day Dan and Christian improved their DS3′s fuel economy (mpg) by 37.5 per cent. 

Dan Adams commented: "The Ecolution driving course has definitely given me more confidence that we can make it from London to Edinburgh on just the one tank of fuel, but at the same time it means there is no turning back.  The anticipation is building."

The pair will put in a performance each night over the five night tour, playing in London, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Manchester and Glasgow, before reaching Edinburgh in time for the start of their Fringe run. The DS3 Ecomedy Tour runs from 1^st to 6^th August and is supporting Oxford-based hospice, Helen & Douglas House.

Their DS3 DStyle 99g car is powered by Citroën’s ultra-efficient 1.6HDi 90hp engine, helping them achieve strong fuel efficiency.  For more information on each performance or to follow the tour activity, visit www.ecomedytour.com.

Dan and Christian are performing their Edinburgh Fringe show, Baggage of Being, from 7^th to 28^th August at The Globe (Venue 389).  For more information visit: http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/baggage-of-being

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PSA Peugeot Citroen has been boosted by a €200million loan agreement with the European Investment Bank for the development of plug-in hybrid vehicles.

A total of €400million will be poured into the plug-in hybrid programme with the aim of developing multi-purpose vehicles that combine the advantages of a diesel engine on the highway with those of an electric motor for city driving. Around 500 PSA Peugeot Citroen employees will work on the project at the Velizy Technical Centre in France.

The European Investment Bank aims to contribute towards the balanced development and economic cohesion of EU member states and has granted the funding support under the European Clean Transport Facility programme, which is one of its measures aimed at stimulating the European economy.

It is hoped the programme can significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions through research and development and innovation, as well as encouraging the production of cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Since December 2008, the European Investment Bank has committed around €8.6billion in loans to car manufacturers and automotive equipment manufacturers with €6.7million awarded under the European Clean Transport Facility programme.

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Citroen’s stunning new Survolt electric sports car made its debut on the racing track last weekend at the legendary Le Mans Circuit.

The all-electric, battery-powered vehicle charged around the course at the Le Mans Classic closely followed by the GTbyCitroen concept and a parade of the new stylish supermini DS3 models.

The car’s racing driver, Vanina Ickx, commented: “I am very proud to have participated in this unique project.  On the track it felt really good.  It’s a real race car, with a very promising potential for the future.”

Survolt’s two electric motors provide up to 300bhp, a top speed of 162mph and a 0-62mph time of less than five seconds.  The twin 140kg lithium-ion batteries can provide a range of up to 124 miles and can be re-charged in just two hours with a specific power supply, or in 10 hours on the standard 220 Volt network.

The Survolt is merely an concept car at the moment, its carmaker has yet to announce any production details. However, the carmaker will release the electric C-Zero, based on the electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV from next year.

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A letter from a consortium of carmakers warns the UK government that a failure to confirm electric car subsidies will jeopardise the switch to greener cars, reports The Guardian.

According to the national newspaper, Mitsubishi, Nisssan, Peugeot and Citroen have written a joint letter to the business secretary Vince Cable and transport secretary Philip Hammond warning that "without the incentives, the UK will become a significantly less attractive market" to the electric car manufacturers.

It reads: "As businesses, we will target the markets that provide the best environment for selling our vehicles. The emergency budget made no specific reference to supporting low-carbon vehicle incentives and has therefore left our businesses uncertain of the government’s position."

Last week Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond said that it is likely that there would be a grant for buyers of electric and plug-in hybrids, although he could not confirm if it would match the £5,000 promised by the former Labour government (see story).

The companies, which all plan to launch mass-market electric cars in the UK by next year, said the vehicles were of "critical importance" to the growth of new green jobs. Accordingly the climate and energy secretary, Chris Huhne, has said such posts were central to government job-creation plans.

Electric cars are also central to Government plans to cut the country’s carbon emissions to meet legally-binding targets.

Cutting the grant for electric cars would hit of Nissan’s all-electric Leaf model. The carmaker is currently planning to manufacture its electric Leaf model at its plant in Sunderland from 2013. Currently around 4,000 people are employed at the North East factory.

Mitsubishi will retail its i-MiEV electric car model in the UK from January 2011-when the grants were scheduled to be introduced. Peugeot and Citroen likewise will introduce their electric car models from next year, both of which based on the i-MiEV.

The Government has still yet to confirm details of potential grants for electric cars and refused to comment on any timescale for incentives to the sector.

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The two companies have already a pretty extensive history in collaboration, with the forthcoming Citroen C-Zero and Peugeot i0n both based on the Mitsubishi iMiEV.

Now this collaboration has been extended with the news of a new feasibility study to be carried out by the two parties with the expectation of a new all electric light commercial vehicle being developed.

The study will centre around the development and supply of electric powertrains and will include an analysis of battery packaging.

There is no news yet on whether the light commercial vehicle will be based around an existing model or whether the partnership will collaborate on an entirely new vehicle. At TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk we speculate that it would make sense to develop a new platform for any commercial application to minimise any loss of space that housing numerous battery packs would bring.

As always, more information when we get it.

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A London hotel is set to offer electric cars for hire to its guests free of charge.

Base2Stay in Kensington is to offer its customers up to four hours of free hire of an Citroen EV’ie throughout the summer, Travelmole.com reports.

The car, supplied by rental firm, Move About, will then be hire out for out at £4 per hour, £20 for a half-day or £30 a day from October 1, 2010 when the hotel ends its freebie offer. Even so, this apparently works out cheaper than bike hire for the family.

The car can be re-charged for free at the hotel too.The EV’ie is based on the Citroen C1 and seats up to five people. It has a 60-75-mile range, a top speed of 60mph and a full charge time of six to seven hours.

The car is also exempt from the city’s congestion charge and qualifies for free parking in many areas.

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Future models from PSA Peugeot-Citroen will soon benefit from the second generation of Valeo’s stop-start system.

The system will be launched in the third quarter of 2010 and will be featured alongside the HDi diesel engines of Peugeot and Citroen in around a million vehicles by 2013.

The first generation of the stop-start system has been in production since 2004 and has featured in models including Smart cars and the Mercedes Benz A- and B-Class vehicles. Now this new generation micro-hybrid system sees the power and control electronics integrated into the electrical machine, reducing the size of the packaging.

The micro-hybrid system cuts off the vehicle’s engine at a red light or in a traffic jam and restarts it when engine power is solicited. To optimise fuel savings further, it can cut off the engine even before the vehicle comes to a complete stop – as soon as it falls below 5mph with an automated transmission and 12mph with a manual transmission. This helps to reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 15 per cent in congested urban traffic.

Engine restarts are immediate and there are no vibrations or noises; and because the engine cut-off phases are longer and more frequent, the fuel savings are greater than those available with other systems.

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Regular readers of TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk will know that Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and PSA Peugeot Citroen Group are no strangers to one another.

The two companies have already collaborated for the electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV model that will be sold under the Peugeot and Citroen brands – as the Peugeot i0n and Citroen C-ZERO – in Europe. Now, they are joining forces again.

According to reports in the Nikkei, the two companies are in talks over plans for Mitsubishi to supply PSA Peugeot Citroen with small internal combustion engine cars from 1.0-1.3litre displacements. The vehicles would be manufactured in emerging countries.

The reports suggests that the idea of a capital alliance was first suggested back in March and Mitsubishi remains keen to boost its cost competitiveness at a time when rivals are growing bigger through alliances – such as the partnerships between Nissan, Renault and Daimler.

It is now hoped that an agreement will be reached by the end of the year and that Mitsubishi will use its technology to make the mini vehicles small and light to achieve high fuel efficiency. It also plans to manufacture the small cars in Thailand in 2011 before considering mass production in China, India and Brazil.

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