Category: Green Technology

The teaser campaign for the Ioniq 5 N is in full swing, which means the official premiere is inching closer. Hyundai has now confirmed the high-performance electric crossover will celebrate its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed scheduled to take place between July 13 and 16. It’s unclear whether the appearance in the UK will be preceded by an online debut, but the wait is nearly over after more than a few previews of the silent N.

Speaking with Autocar, Hyundai UK managing director Ashley Andrew described the Ioniq 5 N as being one of the “vehicles that differentiate car companies – and being able to show it off for the first time at Goodwood will be incredibly special.” He went on to mention it’ll boast that “sort of character that we will all recognize from great performance cars of the past.”

The first electric N-badged model from Hyundai has already been confirmed to feature all-wheel drive from two motors making somewhere in the region of 600 horsepower. Logic tells us it’ll outpunch the EV6 GT, which has 576 hp and 564 lb-ft (740 Nm). Kia’s hot crossover is already properly quick as real tests have shown a 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) sprint in a little over three seconds. It won’t be all about bonkers power and acceleration as Hyundai has promised the Ioniq 5 N will be fun to drive.

One of the gizmos will be the ability to artificially change gears through a so-called Virtual Grin Shift (VGN) mode that will mimic the experience you get in an i30 N equipped with the dual-clutch transmission. Hyundai will also fit the Ioniq 5 N with something called N Sound Plus to pump fake engine sound in the cabin. It’ll also feature a drift mode for tail-happy adventures.

Additional N-specific upgrades will include a stiffer suspension setup, new 21-inch wheels with Pirelli tires, an e-LSD, and extra body welds to toughen up the body. Another novelty but unrelated to the car’s performance will be a rear wiper (finally!) that Hyundai says will be offered on the lesser Ioniq 5 versions as well.

No word about the price just yet, but you’ll likely have to pay more than the $61,600 Kia is charging for the 2023 EV6 GT.

With the auto industry shifting to electrification, the primary goal is to cut CO2 emissions. That includes every possible way that this can be achieved, including logistics.

BMW wants to lead the way in sustainable transport logistics by using delivery trucks fueled by cooking oil. The German automaker has partnered with logistics providers Guggemos (GV Trucknet) and DB Schenker to operate a fleet of 10 trucks running on HVO100 diesel, a renewable fuel made from waste products, residues, and renewable raw materials, including used cooking oil.

HVO100 produces up to 90 percent less CO2 than fossil diesel, and the trucks are expected to emit up to over 800 tons less CO2 per year than they would with conventional diesel.

The HVO100 pilot project is part of the BMW Group’s Green Transport Logistics Strategy and its transformation into a BMW iFactory with a “lean, green, digital” approach. The use of HVO100 in logistics is a valuable component of the company’s sustainability goals, and it represents another sustainable technology that BMW is exploring to reduce its carbon footprint.

One of the major advantages of HVO100 is that it requires no modifications to vehicles or engines to run on eco-friendly fuel. HVO can be used pure or mixed with fossil fuel in any ratio, and it can be supplied via the existing fuel station infrastructure. BMW’s partner on the project is the Finnish company Neste, whose HVO diesel is based on their patented NEXBTL technology and produced purely from renewable raw materials.

BMW is evaluating aspects such as fuel consumption with different loads, at different speeds, in a variety of weather conditions, and over shorter and longer distances to determine which drive technologies and fuels work best in which contexts. Michael Nikolaides, Head of BMW Group Production Network and Logistics, believes that every gram of CO2 saved helps.

“We continue to reduce the carbon footprint from our transport and supply chains through a variety of measures,” Nikolaides added. 

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has laid out some big plans for the next few years. Before 2023 ends, Land Rover will open the order books for the electric Range Rover. We’ll also get more information about the first of three new EVs from Jaguar, a four-door GT that arrives in 2025.

Land Rover is launching a new platform called the electrified modular architecture (EMA) that will underpin the brand’s medium-size electric SUVs. The all-electric Range Rover model will launch in 2025, and the company will build it at its Halewood plant. It is transforming into an all-electric manufacturing facility as part of its new £15 billion ($18.7 billion at today’s exchange rates) investment into its factories.

The SUV brand plans to retain its modular longitudinal architecture (MLA) that underpins the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. The platform allows the company to build vehicles with internal combustion engines, hybrid setups, and batteries. This gives the automaker flexibility in producing cars for the needs of various markets.

Jaguar will launch its new JEA platform in 2025 with the first of three new EVs. The four-door GT will have a range of up to 430 miles (700 kilometers) and has an indicative starting price of £100,000 ($124,457). The company says the EV will have a “power output more than any previous Jaguar.” The brand will build the new GT at its Solihull, UK factory.

JLR will invest in the company’s industrial footprint, vehicle programs, digital technologies, and autonomous systems. Part of the company’s plans includes renaming its Engine Manufacturing Center to Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Center, which will transition from building Ingenium internal combustion engines to electric drive units and battery packs.

“This investment enables us to deliver to our modern luxury electric future, developing new skills, and reaffirming our commitment to be carbon net zero by 2039,” said Adrian Mardell, JLR’s CEO.

The automaker also plans to move to a “House of Brands” approach designed to amplify the unique character of each one. The brands are Range Rover, Defender, Discovery, and Jaguar. The company also reaffirmed its commitment to its 2021 Reimagine strategy.

The Lexus RZ Outdoor concept debuts at Auto Shanghai as a more rugged take on the brand’s electric SUV. While just a one-off, the company wants it to show what’s possible when modifying the model for off-road adventures.

The Outdoor Concept starts with a Lexus RZ450e. The model wears lots of additional lighting, including a bar in the lower fascia, KC lamps on the outer edges of the nose, and an LED strip above the windshield. The hood and hatchback have a gloss-black finish. Most of the body is a sandy beige color that Lexus calls Regolith, and the lower portion is satin black. The rear has a bike carrier. 

The Outdoor Concept rides on eight-spoke black wheels with chunky 265/60R18 BFGoodrich all-terrain tires. Lexus also notes that the ride height has a 0.79-inch (20-millimeter) lift.

A few elements are less obvious. There are custom skid plates underneath the front and rear. The window moldings are black stainless steel.

The RZ450e has two electric motors making a total output of 308 horsepower and 321 pound-feet of torque. This lets it reach 60 miles per hour in 5.0 seconds. The top speed has an electronic limit of 99 miles per hour.

The Lexus has a 71.4-kilowatt-hour battery pack that provides a maximum 220-mile range. This distance falls to 196 miles with the available 20-inch wheels. The system can DC fast-charge at 150 kilowatts. The AC charger for plugging in at home is 6.6 kW.

In the United States, the 2023 RZ450e starts at $59,650 after the destination fee. The nicer Luxury trim takes the price to $65,150. If you want every option and accessory for the EV, then the cost tops out at $72,209.

Lexus already showed off the opposite of the Outdoor Concept by premiering the RZ Sport Concept at the Tokyo Auto Salon. Its body had fender flares, revised bumpers, and a carbon-fiber spoiler. The suspension was 1.37 inches (35 millimeters) lower than stock. Instead of the standard 107-hp (80-kW) electric motor at the rear, this one received a 201-hp (150-kW) unit.

Honda is debuting two pre-production prototypes and one concept model at Auto Shanghai 2023 – all with battery-electric propulsion.

The e:NP2 Prototype and e:NS2 Prototype are accurate representations of two production electric SUVs that will go on sale in early 2024 in China as Honda’s second wave of e:N Series EV models. As for the e:N SUV, it previews the third wave of e:N Series EVs coming to market before the end of 2024.

The introduction of these new EV models next year will support Honda’s goal to launch 10 EV models in China by 2027 under its core brand and have EVs represent 100 percent of its automobile sales in the country by 2035.

Starting with the Honda e:NP2 Prototype and e:NS2 Prototype, they are said to bring new value to brand customers by enhancing dynamics, technology, and style.

Honda says these models offer “a unique driving pleasure that enables the driver to enjoy a sense of oneness with the vehicle” and interior space that conveys intelligence with “clean, uncluttered, yet pleasantly rounded forms combined with advanced features such as Honda Connect 4.0.”

When it comes to design, both models adopt the body style of an SUV, combining it with the “sleek form of sedans.” Both the e:NP2 Prototype and e:NS2 Prototype feature a sloping roofline and fastback-like treatment at the rear. 

If the existing Honda e:NS1 and e:NP1 offer any indication, the e:NP2 and e:NS2 are essentially the same vehicle. However, unlike their smaller counterparts based on the Honda HR-V, these vehicles feature distinct design details, more specifically different front and rear identities. The rest of the body is the same.

We can assume that each model will be built by one of Honda’s Chinese joint ventures, GAC Honda Automobile and Dongfeng Honda Automobile. No powertrain details or dimensions were announced.

Moving on to the Honda e:N SUV Concept, it may have the same name as the wild design study that debuted in 2021, but it doesn’t appear to have anything else in common. It looks much more tame and closer to production, adopting the body style of a traditional SUV.

The production model previewed by this concept will be the first one to adopt the e:N Architecture W EV-dedicated platform developed exclusively for e:N Series EV models, with the e:N SUV to become the prologue of the new-generation EV models for Honda e:N Series.

The automaker promises driving performance unique to Honda vehicles which pursue the “joy of driving.” The vehicle is equipped with the latest safety and driver assistance systems as well as AI-powered Honda Connect technologies.

Honda did not reveal any specifications or dimensions for any of the models unveiled in Shanghai.

Toyota recently partnered with Exxon Mobil to develop and test low-carbon fuels in gasoline engines. This effort aims to reduce the greenhouse emissions of existing vehicles and offer consumers an alternative to upgrading to an electric vehicle. 

The gasoline blends are developed with a mix of feedstocks, including biomass and ethanol using a refinement process that aims to reduce production emissions in addition to lowering emissions at the tailpipe. According to Andrew Madden, Exxon’s vice president for strategy and planning, these fuels could one day cut carbon emissions by as much as 75 percent compared to regular gasoline.  

Currently, the fuels are in the test phase but have proven compatible with Toyota vehicles. If successful, the alternative fuels program could provide an alternative to battery-powered cars in the future, allowing drivers to keep their existing cars or upgrade to a cleaner hybrid or other internal combustion vehicles. 

Once these alternative fuels are viable commercially, the next hurdle is government policy support. “Having a solution for liquid fuels that we can use in the existing fleet, having it in the kind of policy construct where we allow the market to innovate, is the lowest cost way to decarbonize transportation,” Madden said.

In the US and many other countries, new EV buyers currently receive tax credits. Exxon and Toyota argue that a better policy would be to focus on lifecycle emissions which account for EV reliance on an electrical grid powered by greenhouse gas sources while rewarding low-carbon fuel production. 

Exxon and Toyota have a history of developing technologies to reduce transportation emissions. Before dropping the idea, Exxon previously touted algae as a sustainable alternative to diesel fuel. Meanwhile, Toyota invested heavily in hybrid technology and hydrogen fuel as part of a multifaceted approach to reducing emissions. Both companies believe that even though demand for new EVs continues to increase, efforts must be made to lower carbon emissions on existing fleets to meet climate goals. 

“No matter what you think the pace of electrification transition might be, there will be a billion, if not hundreds of millions of vehicles on the road for quite a long time,” said Tom Stricker, vice president for sustainability and affairs at Toyota. Lower-carbon fuels are “quite important in achieving those greenhouse gas reductions quickly.”

The ultra-exclusive Batur signals the beginning of the end for Bentley’s venerable W12 ahead of 2030 when the V6 and V8 will also be discontinued. Yes, Crewe will go purely electric in seven years’ time, kicking things off with a first EV scheduled to come out in 2026. In an extended interview with British magazine Autocar, CEO Adrian Hallmark shared some juicy preliminary details about the company’s upcoming zero-emission models.

Two battery specifications are planned, and the sporty Speed-badged models will benefit from what the head honcho refers to as “the W12 of batteries.” He went on to mention the electric motors will deliver anywhere between 50 to 100 percent more power than the current crop of internal combustion engines.

In the Batur, the twin-turbo 6.0-liter unit has been dialed to a colossal 740 hp and 737 lb-ft (1,000 Nm) of torque. In an interview with Automotive News Europe last year, Hallmark didn’t rule out the possibility of launching a 1,400-hp EV with a 0 to 60 mph time in as little as 1.5 seconds.

As far as range is concerned, Bentley’s head honcho promised the EVs will be able to cover 350 to 450 miles (563 to 724 kilometers) on a single charge. Once you’re out of juice, it’ll take less than 20 minutes to replenish the battery pack from 10 to 80 percent. Hallmark says these future EVs will have just about the same driving range as the gas-guzzling ICE models on sale today.

The CEO mentioned Bentleys will remain Bentleys in terms of size, meaning they’ll be imposingly large cars: “Our job is to build Bentleys, not BEVs with Bentley badges attached.” He added some compromises will be made for the sake of better aerodynamics to improve efficiency.

During the same interview, Hallmark also touched on e-fuels. Although he believes they’re “really exciting” and the technology has matured, the production capacity necessary to fully replace fossil fuels is a long way off. Porsche, also a member of the Volkswagen Group, started production of synthetic fuel in late 2022 at its plant in Chile.

The VW core brand through the voice of its CEO, Thomas Schäfer, said earlier this week that talks about e-fuel are “unucessary noise,” labeling ICE as “old technology.”

Volkswagen is pushing the European Commission to delay the implementation of the Euro 7 emissions rules by about a year until the fall of 2026, according to Automotive News Europe citing a position paper from the automaker. The company argues that if the regulations go into effect in July 2025 then it would have to halt the production of several models. In addition, the business wants to push back the orders regarding brake dust and tire wear particulates.

“Several years of lead time are needed,” VW said in its position paper said. The company claims that a lack of suppliers for components that meet the regulations is part of the reason for wanting to delay the Euro 7 rules. Costs are another concern.

The EU recently reached an agreement with Germany that removed the planned combustion-engine ban in 2035. Instead, ICE-powered vehicles must run only on synthetic e-fuel by that time.

Although, Volkswagen brand boss Thomas Schäfer came out somewhat against e-fuel. He called the debate “unnecessary noise” and said that the era of the combustion engine was “over anyway.” By 2030, the brand intends for 80 percent of annual sales to be EVs.

In March 2023, VW announced that it was building a battery factory in Spain. Cell production begins in 2026, and the site should make 40 giga-watt hours of packs each year initially. There’s room to expand to 60 GWh annually.

In North America, VW Group is building a battery factory in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. The company is not yet detailing the site’s manufacturing capacity. Production should begin in 2027.

In the US, VW Group is a $2 billion building a factory specifically for the new Scout Motors brand near Columbia, South Carolina. Construction begins in mid-2023, and production begins before the end of 2026. The plant has a planned yearly capacity of 200,000 vehicles.

VW also intends to become a battery supplier to other automakers. The company wants its PowerCo division to supply half of the firm’s own packs and sell the rest to other corporations, like Ford.

At the end of 2022, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its annual Automotive Trends Report. Covering 2021 model-year vehicles, it features the most recent data available regarding various new-vehicle statistics, including fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions. In short, cars have never been more efficient, cleaner, and more powerful than they are right now.

That’s the short version of the report, and we do mean short. The full report is 158 pages long, but on average, it reveals overall fuel economy for new vehicles is up 32 percent while CO₂  emissions are down 25 percent. Meanwhile, horsepower is up 20 percent. The start-point for these percentages is 2004, the year which saw fuel economy begin a steady rise after more than a decade of decline.

^{Photo Credit: US EPA}

It’s important to remember that this is an overall industry average. The report classifies vehicles into five categories: pickup trucks, truck-SUV, car-SUV, sedans/wagons, and minivans. The two SUV categories are separated by weight, with vehicles over 6,000 pounds falling into the truck-SUV realm. Car-SUV is home to smaller models that may or may not have four-wheel drive or AWD systems. And as we’re all aware, buying trends have shifted significantly towards the SUV realm in the last 20 years.

As such, the report states that improvements could’ve been greater had the market not moved away from sedans and minivans. Case-in-point are category-specific fuel economy numbers showing minivans with the greatest increase at 3.9 mpg, versus pickup trucks clocking a barely noticeable 0.1-mpg increase. The report also mentions stats for specific automakers, noting Stellantis as posting the highest CO₂ emissions with the lowest fuel economy numbers among major manufacturers. It should be no surprise that Tesla, with its all-electric lineup, ranked best for economy and emissions.

The EPA report credits advancements in technology for the improvements, especially in the last few years. Electrification is obviously a big part of that, but the report also credits the influx of smaller turbocharged engines, stop-start systems, and cylinder deactivation for creating a cleaner fleet of new vehicles. As for power, bonkers 1,000-hp EVs certainly up the ante, but there’s a growing slate of mainstream vehicles like the Toyota RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid offering over 300 hp to buyers.

Of course, the EPA has recently proposed new rules that would build significantly on these gains. If approved, the rules would go into effect starting in 2027 and see emissions fall another 56 percent. To meet this goal, the EPA estimates that EVs would account for approximately 67 percent of light-duty new-vehicle sales in 2032.

Nissan took many by surprise at the end of last month when it announced plans to convert a GT-R from the R32 generation into an electric vehicle. A new walkaround video published on Twitter by the company’s Japanese division fully reveals the sports car in its current state, right before losing the oily bits. As with all Skyline models produced during the 1989-1993 era, it’s a right-hand-drive example, and this one comes in the two-door body style.

The R32 EV project is still in its infancy and will come to life following an engineer’s idea to give the classic Skyline an electric powertrain. The higher-ups at Nissan approved the build, which will involve yanking off the RB26, a twin-turbo inline-six engine that made 276 horsepower (206 kilowatts) and 271 pound-feet (368 Newton-meters) of torque. Well, at least on paper.

The engine’s output was deliberately underrated as per the “gentlemen’s agreement” between Japanese automakers about not going above that power threshold. Established back in 1989, the pact was ultimately dissolved in 2005. In reality, the RB26DETT with its 2.6-liter displacement made approximately 330 horsepower before any modifications, which took the engine to over 2,000 hp in some extreme tuner applications.

Nissan has yet to release any details about the Gunmetal Grey R32 EV, but if it wants to retain the all-wheel-drive layout, it’ll have to install two electric motors – one for each axle. Perhaps from the Ariya? It’ll be interesting to see whether it’s going to have one of those simulated manual gearboxes or if the engineers will stick to a regular single- or two-speed transmission as all EVs have.

Don’t expect to see the finished project anytime soon since Nissan is only getting started. Time will tell if it’ll remain a one-off build or if it’s going to preview a future electric crate motor to keep old GT-Rs on the road. As for the long-awaited R36, your guess is as good as ours about when it’s slated to arrive.