Green Car Congress

Komatsu will begin sales of the PC200-8 diesel electric hybrid excavator in June. (Earlier post.) Compared with the standard PC200-8 hydraulic excavator, the hybrid model reduces fuel consumption by about 25%, depending upon the nature of the work. Mike Millikin

BASF has increased its sales price for AdBlue by €45 (US$70) per 1,000 liters (264 gallons US). Mike Millikin

Fisker Automotive, Inc. and Quantum Technologies are performing initial vehicle testing on the track and fine-tuning the battery software management system for the Fisker Karma plug-in series hybrid production car. (Earlier post.) These initial test track developments are taking place... Mike Millikin

NSE Biofuels Oy Ltd., the 50-50 joint venture between Stora Enso Oyj and Neste Oil Corporation focused on the production of synthetic diesel from wood residues (earlier post)—has awarded a contract to Foster Wheeler Energia Oy for a circulating fluidized-bed... Mike Millikin

The Volvo V70 and S80 are now available with a five-cylinder, 2.5-liter turbocharged E85-capable Flexifuel engine with a power output of 200 hp (147 kW) and 300 Nm (221 lb-ft) of torque. Both the S80 and V70 have been available... Mike Millikin

Lithium-ion battery supplier Axeon Holdings plc has closed a £17.3 million (US$33.6 million) contract to supply a minimum of 1,000 lithium-ion battery packs to Glasgow based Allied Vehicles Ltd. to power a range of zero-emission vehicles for Allied’s Zev Ltd.... Mike Millikin

The TNT Newton. Business-to-business express delivery company TNT has ordered 100 Newton electric delivery trucks manufactured by Smith Electric Vehicles. This order is in addition to the 50 vehicles ordered last year. (Earlier post.) The new fleet of 7.5 tonne... Mike Millikin

Nissan will introduce an all-electric vehicle in the US and Japan in 2010 and then mass-market vehicles to consumers globally in 2012, according to President and CEO Carlos Ghosn. (Earlier post.) The accelerated introduction of EVs reflects Nissan’s goal of... Mike Millikin

The market for Li-ion automotive batteries will be dominated by full hybrid applications in 2015, according to Dr. Anderman. Click to enlarge. Dr. Menahem Anderman, the president of Advanced Automotive Batteries, projects that the automotive lithium-ion market could reach $1.6... Mike Millikin

Robert Bosch GmBH has set up a new project unit in its automotive group to develop high-performance lithium-ion batteries and packs, and to focus the company’s efforts on further developing the core competence it needs for the increased use of... Mike Millikin

The new Alphard. Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) launched its completely redesigned Alphard minivan in Japan as two different vehicle series, the Alphard and the Vellfire. Toyota says that the Alphard emphasizes elegance and refinement, while the Vellfire accentuates power and... Mike Millikin

The California Air Resources Board has revised a draft regulation that will require retrofits and engine replacements for the estimated privately owned 300,000 diesel trucks and buses on California roadways beginning in 2012. The proposed regulation now calls for truckers... Mike Millikin

Electrorides, Inc., introduced the ZeroTruck, an all-electric 12,000-16,000 lb GVWR medium-duty truck, at the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute’s 2008 Alternative Fuels & Vehicles National Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada (11-14 May). The ZeroTruck is the first electric truck... Mike Millikin

Sterling Trucks, a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America LLC, has introduced its first natural gas vehicle, the Sterling Set-Back 113, powered by the Cummins Westport (CWI) ISL G engine and using liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel. Mike Millikin

India’s Bajaj Auto and the Renault-Nissan Alliance are forming a joint-venture company to develop, produce and market an ultra low cost car—code-named ULC—with a wholesale price range starting from US$2,500. Mike Millikin

Canadian natural gas and oil company EnCana Corporation will split into two energy companies—one a natural gas company with a portfolio of early life, North American natural gas resource plays and the other a fully-integrated oil company with in-situ oilsands... Mike Millikin

The concept for optimizing an engine for neat GTL. Optimization techniques are in blue, positive outcomes in green and negative outcomes in red. Some of the optimization techniques counter the negative outcomes of other optimization steps. Click to enlarge. Researchers... Mike Millikin

Xinhua. New passenger car sales in China climbed 17.84% in the first four months of 2008, compared to the same period the prior year. Mike Millikin

Motorized vehicle sales in China. Click to enlarge. Source: J. Weinert et. al. (2008) The market for electric two-wheelers (E2Ws) in China is booming; by 2006, the annual sales of E2Ws—which were virtually non-existent in the 1990s—almost equaled those of... Mike Millikin

Xinhua. China officially inaugurated its first jumbo passenger aircraft company in Shanghai on Sunday. The company, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd.(CACC), will be responsible for researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing the made-in-China large passenger aircraft. Mike Millikin