Automakers unveiled at the new York motor show a wide range of economical electric and hybrid models, demonstrating their efforts aimed at compliance with legislative requirements (both in Europe and USA), despite the fact that consumers are strongly attracted by SUVs/crossovers (SUV) and pickups, due to relatively cheap gasoline.
Hyundai Motor Co. showed Ioniq three models: hybrid, plugin hybrid and battery version (pure electric vehicle). Toyota Motor Corp. rolled out on the runway new plug-in hybrid version of its hybrid line Prius is called Prime. Koenigsegg Regera supercar, unveiled on Thursday, combines electric drive with an engine V-8, thanks to which generates 1,500 horsepower (pictured above).
In the category of SUVs, Toyota showed a hybrid version of its Highlander, part of the Honda Motor Co. Acura MDX demonstrated with the new “sport hybrid” variant, and even luxury crossover Maserati Levante will be available in the form of a hybrid.
These proposals reflect the pressure exerted on the automakers stringent European and American requirements which aim to bring the average efficiency up to 4.3 l/100 km by 2025. Moreover, the individual States have their own, more stringent requirements, such as California, requiring increasing sales of vehicles with zero emissions.
“Automakers just need to be prepared to experience some losses on mainstream hybrids, Oka market conditions are more favourable,” says LMC Automotive analyst Jeff Schuster. “It’s easy to do when you print money on the sales of SUVs and pickups”.
Honda intends to increase its sales of hybrids or other cars on clean technologies to two-thirds of total sales by 2030, said in an interview given in new York, Executive Vice President of Honda John Mendel. He said hybrids and pure electric cars are the “backbone” of the industry, as the legal requirements impose severe restrictions on fuel consumption.
“The strategy of electric cars is alive and well,” he said. “Fuel is limited [final] product, and the price once again goes up”.
The strategy of hope
The most difficult part meet legislative trebovaniyam is even, oddly enough, not development of technologies (which in Western countries has become just a matter of technique), and how to convince consumers to buy these auotmobile. Today, legislators are based on the “hope” that consumers wish to buy more efficient cars, he said.
“The hope, obviously, cannot be our strategy,” said Mendel. In the US (and in Europe, which is somewhat easier) you need to “do something that will make privlekatelnym economically for consumers that wish to make the government, namely to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels”.
In the first two months of 2016 the market share of “green” cars fell by 18 percent, compared with last year, and declined by more than a third compared with the peak for them, 2013 year, says Jessica Caldwell, analyst Edmunds.com. This is partly caused by the reduction in the price of gasoline, but not least, the fact that traditional cars are also becoming more efficient.
Offer electric cars implies, “that you are referring to people getting used to slightly different from the usual style of driving,” she said. “For consumers who do trade in, (selling the old car to the dealer instead of new), the savings in fuel will be significant, and for most this will be enough [to overcome the barrier of the unknown in the transition to the electric car]”.
Automakers are using technology and their different strengths as effectively as they can, said Eric noble, President of automotive consulting firm the CarLab.
“Electric motors are good at acceleration and in heavy urban driving cycles with frequent stops. Internal combustion engines great to drive on the highway because of the incomparable energy density fuels,” he said. “What we see in the showroom, in the interests of consumers, the brands combine these two properties in a wide variety of options”.
