The 2012 Geneva Motor Show is taking shape rapidly – and now Ford has revealed plans to introduce an all-new Ford B-MAX at the event.

The original B-MAX concept was unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show and one year on it is set to boast a 1.0litre Ford EcoBoost petrol engine as well as Duratorq TDCi diesel engines.

There are a host of new features in the B-MAX which required a new approach to door construction for wide-open access for drivers, passengers and luggage. The centre pillars have been integrated into the doors.

The all-new Ford B-MAX is scheduled to go on sale in Europe later this year.

It is the subject of this month’s manufacturer spotlight, (see article) and now Nissan’s luxury brand, Infiniti, has revealed the name of its brand new range extended electric sports car.

Scheduled to debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March, the concept car will be known as EMERG-E. It will be the first vehicle from Infiniti to not only boast a range-extending drivetrain; but to also feature one that is mounted in a mid-ship package to optimise handling. It is believed that this optimises weight distribution.

According to Infiniti, the ultimate goal of the EMERG-E is to combine extreme low emission open-road performance with the ability to run on zero emissions when driving in urban situations.

The Toyota Aqua – known in other markets as the Prius C – has got off to a flying start in its home country of Japan.

The Japanese carmaker has reported that it received around 120,000 orders for the new compact hybrid car by the end of January – that’s just one month after the vehicle’s debut.

This is the second highest level ever for Toyota– and follows on from the successful launch of the third generation of the Prius model back in May, 2009, when it reported 180,000 orders.

Deliveries of the vehicle for new orders are not expected until July because existing orders have already outpaced production capacity. However, the company will increase production in an effort to shorten this schedule.

Sales of the Ford Transit Connect have continued at a rapid pace after Azure Dynamics Corporation announced 45 new sales.

It has revealed that it will send 20 units to Europe; and 25 to North America. The latter order will include six units through the General Services Administration in San Antonio, Texas; as well as a four-unit order from Verizon; and a four-unit order from an internet company.

Thanks to these orders, Ford Transit Connect Electric sales have now surpassed $32million in less than 12 months.

The Ford Transit Connect Electric features a lithium-ion battery from Johnson Controls and it can achieve a range of 50-80miles.

Part of the reason for the success has been its agreements with more than 160 Ford commercial truck dealerships across key markets in North America. Around 90 of these support sales and service activities for the Transit Connect. Meanwhile it also has deals in six European countries with 57 store locations.

It doesn’t seem like much time has passed since the North American International Auto Show – but already the focus of the automotive world has switched to Geneva.

At this year’s Geneva Motor Show, Fiat will introduce the 500L – a new model in its 500 range. The L stands for “Large” as Fiat looks to offer the characteristics of both the traditional B and C segments in one vehicle.

The vehicle will be 414cm long, 178cm wide and 166cm high – it features a five-seat single volume structure and is a further development of the concept of cab forward that was introduce by Fiat with the 600 Multipla.

The Fiat 500L is scheduled to be introduced in Europe during the final quarter of 2012 and will have an engine range of the TwinAir and 1.4litre petrol models; and a turbo-diesel 1.3 MultiJet II.

Wireless charging is seen as the future for electric cars – and now a Stanford University research team has advanced the concept further.

It is designing a high efficiency wireless charging system that utilises magnetic resonance coupling. This allows for wireless transmission of electric currents between metal coils. Its hope long term is to develop an all-electric highway that will charge cars and trucks as they move down the road.

Published in the journal Applied Physics Letters, the design could potentially transfer around 10kW of electrical energy to a coil 6.5ft away – with efficiency of up to 97 per cent.

The idea behind resonant coupling wireless power transfer is to utilise two copper coils that are turned to resonate at the same frequency. They are placed a few feet apart with one coil connected to an electric current that generates a magnetic field, and that causes the second to resonate. This results in the transfer of electric energy through the air from the first coil to the second.

The concept is similar to the work of WiTricity, the MIT spin-off company, which is developing a stationary charging system that can transfer around 3kW of electric power to a vehicle parked in a garage or on the street.

OnStar is hoping to boost the development of Smart Grid solutions by encouraging energy companies and tech firms to use its application programming (API).

The subsidiary of General Motors hopes to broaden the potential of electric cars, including the Chevrolet Volt, after announcing plans to give developers access to a proprietary API that can create mobile applications to interact with OnStar services. 

Its services use an Advanced Telematics Operating Management System – a cloud application platform that connects to six million OnStar customers.

The APIs will work with a host of OnStar solutions including:

-         Demand response: This connects utilities to companies with intelligent energy management products. For example, companies could use OnStar to manage energy use for Volt customers.

-         Time of use rates: Will offer Volt owners rate plan deals via email.

-         Charging data: OnStar has the capability to send and receive electric vehicle data that helps utility providers to interface with the supply equipment – including location-based data that identifies charging locations and determines potential load scenarios.

-         Aggregated services: This, with the customer’s consent, allows electric service providers to manage the charging of vehicles in a specific area.

For the first time in its 80^th run of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Audi will compete with a total of four LMP1 sports cars – with two to be equipped with hybrid drive.

Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, the head of Audi Motorsport, commented that the decision to introduce hybrid technology forLe Mans was both ambitious and challenging. He believes however, that the first test results have been highly encouraging and he is now intrigued to see how the technology will perform alongside the ultra lightweight vehicles on the race track atLe Mans.

In addition, Audi Sport Team Joest will take a two-pronged approach to the FIA World Endurance Championship. It plans to field additional cars at selected races, such as the 12hour Sebring race; and the six-hour Spa-Francorchamps race.  

Meanwhile, the new Audi sports prototype with hybrid drive for the Le Mans classic will be presented at the end of February ahead of its first competitive outing in the six-hour Spa Francorchamps on May 5.

Are electric vehicles good for your health? A new study from the University of Minnesota, University of Tennessee and Tsinghua University investigates.

It compared emissions – CO2, PM2.5, NOx and HC – from conventional vehicles and electric vehicles, including electric cars, light scooters and bicycles. The study was partly motivated by the rise in popularity of electric bikes in China– known as e-bikes – which is seen as the single largest adoption of alternative fuel vehicles in history. There has been an 86 per cent annual growth rate over the past decade.

The study is important because in China, 85 per cent of electricity production is from fossil fuels – with around 90 per cent from coal. Indeed most electricity generating units in China lack advanced pollution controls and so it is not clear-cut that electric vehicles would automatically be “better” than conventional vehicles for drivers’ health.

It found that concentration rather than intake is optimal for health comparison – because electricity generation typically occurs further from people than exhaust emissions meaning intake values are usually lower for electric vehicles than for conventional vehicles.

Among the findings were that electric vehicle emission factors vary based on the city they are in; and that PM2.5 emission factors are usually lower for conventional vehicles than they are for comparable electric vehicles.  It believes that compared to a new Euro IV petrol car, average electric car emission factors are around the same for CO2 and 19 times higher for PM2.5 – but e-bikes outperform cars, buses and motorcycles on most emission metrics.

The study concludes therefore, that replacing petrol cars with electric cars results in increased CO2 from combustion emissions and all-cause mortality risk from primary PM2.5.

It was announced at the North American International Auto Show last month – and now it is official: Hyundai will offer a lifetime hybrid battery replacement guarantee on all new models of the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid in the USA.

In a first-of-its-kind for the industry, the Hyundai Lifetime Hybrid Battery Replacement Guarantee means that the battery will be replaced and recycling costs will be covered for old battery packs – and this will be free of charge to Hyundai Sonata Hybrid owners. It does not apply to lease and commercial vehicles – or vehicles serviced outside the USA.

According to Michael O’Brien, the vice president of corporate and product planning, there is limited demand for hybrid cars because of the uncertainty surrounding the technology and its performance. He hopes that the lifetime battery replacement guarantee will help to ease some of these fears.

The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid comes with Hybrid Blue Drive technology and a lithium-polymer battery pack that have been developed by LGChem.