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VW head says future belongs to electric cars
FRANKFURT: The future belongs to electric cars
because of high fuel prices and environmental considerations, the
head of the biggest European carmaker, VW, said on June 16.
“In the next few years, we are not going to do
without gas and diesel motors, but the future belongs to the
electric car,” VW Chairman Martin Winterkorn told the
mass-circulation German newspaper Bild-Zeitung.
“My goal is to produce a Golf which consumes
three to four liters per 100 kilometers,” compared with 4.3 liters
(54.7 miles per gallon) currently consumed by the most
fuel-efficient version of VW’s compact model.
Automobile manufacturers, which face stricter
standards for carbon dioxide emissions and climbing oil prices, are
working hard to develop cleaner, more economical vehicles. Electric
or hybrid electric/gas engines have been criticized in the past but
appear set to power a new generation of vehicles, and VW has agreed
with the Japanese group Sanyo to cooperate in the field of
lithium-ion batteries.
-- AFP
Mitsubishi, Peugeot to build electric cars
TOKYO: Mitsubishi Motors and PSA Peugeot Citroen
on June 17 said they may collaborate in technology for electric
vehicles as the global race to build green cars heats up. The
exploratory project, expected to last several months, will involve
joint development of components to transform electricity into
driving force for small urban electric cars, they said in a joint
statement.
The dream of an electric car has so far failed
to break into the mainstream because of limited battery life that
makes such vehicles impractical for most purposes. Mitsubishi and
PSA Peugeot Citroen already have various joint programs, including
the construction of a new factory in Russia. The agreement comes a
week after Peugeot launched in collaboration with Mitsubishi the
construction of its first car plant in Russia.
The French group is the largest global
manufacturer of electric vehicles with more than 10,000 units sold,
while Mitsubishi aims to launch its i-MiEV battery-powered vehicle
in Japan next year.
-- AFP
Petrobras may sell biofuel in Japan
TOKYO: Brazil’s state-controlled energy
company Petrobras will begin sales of biofuel for motor vehicles in
Japan as early as this year, a report said on June 18. Petrobras,
one of the world’s largest biofuel producers, will supply gasoline
blended with ethanol to independent gas stations, which number
10,000 in Japan, the Nikkei business daily said without citing
sources.
Petrobras plans to mix gasoline and ethanol at a
refinery plant in Japan’s southernmost province of Okinawa
operated by energy firm Nansei Sekiyu KK, which the Brazilian giant
acquired in April, the newspaper reported.
-- AFP
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