Alternative-fuel vehicles drive into auto show spotlight
Alternative-fuel vehicles are making a strong showing at the downsized annual New England International Auto Show this week, reflecting a growing segment in a slumping industry. But don't expect them to be parked in your neighbor's driveway anytime soon.
Nearly every automaker has or is working on some form of alternative-fuel car, from an electric Roadster from Tesla Motors to BMW’s first hybrid, the crossover ActiveHybrid X6 - both of which are on display at the Boston show. But even as manufacturers pour more resources into developing alternative-fuel technologies, the interest in these more expensive cars, while growing, isn’t overwhelming.
Gas-electric hybrids, which make up the majority of the alternative offerings at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, account for 2.8 percent of overall automotive sales, with 265,064 cars sold this year - more than half of them are plug-in Toyota Prius cars, according to the automotive information site Edmunds.com. Car sales in general have fallen over the past few years, and the number of hybrids sold has declined since a high of 346,431 in 2007. But hybrids’ share of the market has continued to climb: From 2006 to 2007, hybrid sales increased 27 percent while overall auto sales declined 2 percent.
“Buyers are becoming more comfortable than ever with a hybrid,’’ said Chris Naughton, spokesman for Honda, which plans to debut its 2010 two-seat CR-Z hybrid at the Detroit show in January.
But the increase in alternative-fuel cars is being driven not by consumer demand but by government regulations. President Obama rolled out strict new nationwide rules for the automobile industry in May, requiring car and light truck fleets to become 40 percent cleaner and boost their fuel efficiency to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.
Much of these improvements can be achieved by improving gasoline-powered engines, said auto analyst Erich Merkle of Autoconomy.com, but automakers are looking beyond the next six years as they anticipate increased government regulations - and a way to create an environmentally responsible image. Even one alternative-fuel model in a fleet can give the impression that the entire brand is fuel efficient, said Merkle, a phenomenon he refers to as a “green halo vehicle.’’
The government is trying to stimulate the growth of fuel-efficient cars by offering automakers $25 billion worth of loans to produce them and consumers a tax credit of up to $8,000 per vehicle to buy them. These incentives help, said automotive analyst John Wolkonowicz, because alternative-fuel vehicles are more expensive. Still, he says sales will be limited. “The majority of Americans don’t want these vehicles,’’ said Wolkonowicz, of IHS Global Insight in Lexington.
One of the loan recipients is Tesla Motors, the only electric car maker showcased at the Boston auto show. Last summer the small California company received $465 million from the Department of Energy - the majority of which will go toward an electric family sedan expected to sell for $50,000 (after a $7,500 tax credit). Tesla is planning to open a store in Boston next year to show off its $109,000 electric Roadster, which is one of the only electric cars out on the road in the United States.
“The income levels are high [in Boston ], and there’s a lot of awareness for green vehicles and alternative fuels,’’ said Ricardo Reyes, spokesman for Tesla.
Two other cars that use electric power are scheduled to go on the market next year: the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt, which requires a gas engine to regenerate the batteries, and the Nissan Leaf, neither of which are on display at the Boston auto show. The Honda Clarity, a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle that creates its own electricity, isn’t for sale yet, but nine of them have been leased in southern California.
The hybrid segment is growing, too, and manufacturers have more of them on display in Boston than they have in the past. Lexus has three this year, and Honda has two, namely the new 2010 Insight, the lowest priced out there, at $19,800. BMW will be showing off its first hybrid at this year’s Boston show - a $89,725 crossover with a V-8 engine that gets 18 miles per gallon - along with the clean-diesel vehicle it demonstrated last year. Audi will also show two clean diesels - its first Boston showing of alternative-fuel cars.
Toyota will have three hybrids at the Boston auto show - Camry, Highlander, and a third-generation Prius; Ford Motor Co. will be showing off its Fusion hybrid; and General Motors Corp. is offering a number of sport utility vehicle and truck hybrids. GM’s hybrid Cadillac Escalade, which starts at $73,135 and gets 21 miles per gallon, will be available to test drive at the Boston auto show.
But automakers save their most cutting-edge cars for the bigger shows. The Chevy Volt will be at the LA Auto show, which opens today, as will Honda’s natural-gas-fueled Civic GX and the hydrogen Clarity.
Globe Correspondent Clifford Atiyeh contributed to this report. Katie Johnston Chase can be reached at johnstonchase@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
Source: Alternative-fuel vehicles drive into auto show spotlight
Nearly every automaker has or is working on some form of alternative-fuel car, from an electric Roadster from Tesla Motors to BMW’s first hybrid, the crossover ActiveHybrid X6 - both of which are on display at the Boston show. But even as manufacturers pour more resources into developing alternative-fuel technologies, the interest in these more expensive cars, while growing, isn’t overwhelming.
Gas-electric hybrids, which make up the majority of the alternative offerings at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, account for 2.8 percent of overall automotive sales, with 265,064 cars sold this year - more than half of them are plug-in Toyota Prius cars, according to the automotive information site Edmunds.com. Car sales in general have fallen over the past few years, and the number of hybrids sold has declined since a high of 346,431 in 2007. But hybrids’ share of the market has continued to climb: From 2006 to 2007, hybrid sales increased 27 percent while overall auto sales declined 2 percent.
“Buyers are becoming more comfortable than ever with a hybrid,’’ said Chris Naughton, spokesman for Honda, which plans to debut its 2010 two-seat CR-Z hybrid at the Detroit show in January.
But the increase in alternative-fuel cars is being driven not by consumer demand but by government regulations. President Obama rolled out strict new nationwide rules for the automobile industry in May, requiring car and light truck fleets to become 40 percent cleaner and boost their fuel efficiency to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.
Much of these improvements can be achieved by improving gasoline-powered engines, said auto analyst Erich Merkle of Autoconomy.com, but automakers are looking beyond the next six years as they anticipate increased government regulations - and a way to create an environmentally responsible image. Even one alternative-fuel model in a fleet can give the impression that the entire brand is fuel efficient, said Merkle, a phenomenon he refers to as a “green halo vehicle.’’
The government is trying to stimulate the growth of fuel-efficient cars by offering automakers $25 billion worth of loans to produce them and consumers a tax credit of up to $8,000 per vehicle to buy them. These incentives help, said automotive analyst John Wolkonowicz, because alternative-fuel vehicles are more expensive. Still, he says sales will be limited. “The majority of Americans don’t want these vehicles,’’ said Wolkonowicz, of IHS Global Insight in Lexington.
One of the loan recipients is Tesla Motors, the only electric car maker showcased at the Boston auto show. Last summer the small California company received $465 million from the Department of Energy - the majority of which will go toward an electric family sedan expected to sell for $50,000 (after a $7,500 tax credit). Tesla is planning to open a store in Boston next year to show off its $109,000 electric Roadster, which is one of the only electric cars out on the road in the United States.
“The income levels are high [in Boston ], and there’s a lot of awareness for green vehicles and alternative fuels,’’ said Ricardo Reyes, spokesman for Tesla.
Two other cars that use electric power are scheduled to go on the market next year: the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt, which requires a gas engine to regenerate the batteries, and the Nissan Leaf, neither of which are on display at the Boston auto show. The Honda Clarity, a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle that creates its own electricity, isn’t for sale yet, but nine of them have been leased in southern California.
The hybrid segment is growing, too, and manufacturers have more of them on display in Boston than they have in the past. Lexus has three this year, and Honda has two, namely the new 2010 Insight, the lowest priced out there, at $19,800. BMW will be showing off its first hybrid at this year’s Boston show - a $89,725 crossover with a V-8 engine that gets 18 miles per gallon - along with the clean-diesel vehicle it demonstrated last year. Audi will also show two clean diesels - its first Boston showing of alternative-fuel cars.
Toyota will have three hybrids at the Boston auto show - Camry, Highlander, and a third-generation Prius; Ford Motor Co. will be showing off its Fusion hybrid; and General Motors Corp. is offering a number of sport utility vehicle and truck hybrids. GM’s hybrid Cadillac Escalade, which starts at $73,135 and gets 21 miles per gallon, will be available to test drive at the Boston auto show.
But automakers save their most cutting-edge cars for the bigger shows. The Chevy Volt will be at the LA Auto show, which opens today, as will Honda’s natural-gas-fueled Civic GX and the hydrogen Clarity.
Globe Correspondent Clifford Atiyeh contributed to this report. Katie Johnston Chase can be reached at johnstonchase@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
Source: Alternative-fuel vehicles drive into auto show spotlight
