Fire risk: GM recalls 43,500 hybrid cars in North America

Oh no. This is not a good news at all for hybrid vehicles big community.

In a rare incident, GM is recalling hybrid car models for issues related to 'potential overheating of the circuit board' that could lead to a loss of battery charge and cause the engine to stall. Models affected are:

• Chevrolet Malibu Eco 2013
• Buick LaCrosse 2012 - 2013
• Buick Regal sedan 2012 - 2013

Recalling is uncommon in vehicle industry, but let's hope this will not halt the progress and dim people's enthusiasm for energy-efficient cars.

BTW, this hybrid is powered by a combination of a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder gas engine and a 15-hp electric motor, is priced at $25,995 in the US. That's about RM77,036 in Malaysia in dollar-to-dollar conversion. I bet it will cost you no less than RM160,000 in our 'import-friendly' car market!

The Chevrolet Malibu Eco

As reported by the press:

General Motors is recalling nearly 43,000 hybrid vehicles in the United States and around 500 in Canada to fix a defect that could cause a fire in the trunk, the automaker said Monday.

The recall affects Chevrolet Malibu Eco models from the 2013 model year and Buick LaCrosse and Regal sedans from 2012 and 2013 which are equipped with eAssist hybrid gas-electric engines.

"The issue is the potential overheating of the circuit boards in the generator control module, but it does not involve the eAssist battery," GM said in a statement.

GM said an overheating circuit board could lead to a loss of battery charge and cause the engine to stall.

"In addition, there may be a burning or melting odor, smoke, and, in rare instances, a fire in the trunk," GM spokesman Alan Adler said in a statement.

Most of the incidents occurred within the first 1,000 miles of operation, GM said and only two led to trunk fires. One was during an October screening in a dealership and the other occurred in March.

No injuries or crashes were reported as a result of the defect, GM said.
Source: The Bangkok Post

No cash rebate as incentive to buy electric and hybrid cars

No. Not our way.

Because such incentive to attract buyers to purchase electric cars would cost a lot of funds - that's according to International Trade Minister, Mustapa Mohamed. Apart from the US and some European nations, handing out cash rebates has been done in Japan, too.

If such exercise costs too much, why not do it the other way - review the tax and duties for such vehicles. Price range of RM97,000 to RM100,000 for hybrid cars such as Honda Insight and Toyota Prius C is still way too much. If such review looks drastic that it affects the current value of existing models, formulate mechanism such that it happen gradually. Policymakers just need to think harder and dig deeper.

Above all, make owning-a-car a painless experience by lowering the car prices across the board. Price of hybrid and electric cars is about RM100,000 currently and is beyond reach of many low to medium income Malaysians. Possible subsidies and cash incentive will unlikely be enjoyed by low income earners!

Face-lifted Honda Insight 1.3 litre IMA starting at RM99,800 OTR

Mustapa: No plans for cash rebate as incentive to buy electric and hybrid cars
The Star, October 24, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government does not plan on cash rebates as an incentive to buy energy-efficient vehicles (EEV) similar to that implemented in the United States or other European countries, Parliament heard Wednesday.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said such a subsidy to attract buyers to purchase electric cars would cost a lot of funds, which will be taken from other ministries.

"Currently, to attract consumers, the Government has lifted the import duties for EEV while major car companies were given incentives to draw them to set up their manufacturing operations locally," he told Datuk Ismail Kassim (BN-Arau) during Question Time.

Ismail had asked whether the Government would consider handing out cash rebates like in the US or European countries to attract more people to buy EEV or hybrid vehicles.

Mustapa said the incentives given by the Government to major companies had attracted companies such as Honda, which recently set up an EEV factory in Malacca, attracting some RM1bil worth of investments.

"The new factory enabled 1,000 new job opportunities for the locals as well as the production of some 50,000 EEV assembled locally to be sold locally and to other Asean countries," he said.

He also noted that the reduction of import car excise duty needed to be studied carefully to avoid any negative implications to the economy.

"We believe that the vehicle ownership cost is still considered cheap compared with other Asean countries if we take consideration of other factors such as oil and gas subsidies, maintenance costs, insurance and others.

"We must also look into the impact on used car dealers, public transportation as well as congestion problems before we consider reducing the import duty," he told Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (PKR-Machang), who asked whether the Government intended to reduce the excise duty for cars.

I like to have one but I don't like the price tag. Or, should I say tax !?

Electric car, i-MiEV from Mitsubishi on display in Langkawi Island. Mitsubishi plans to start selling them in Malaysia within this financial year. Photo: CBT

At what speed do hybrid cars switch from battery power to petrol power?

This weekend site theme is energy efficient vehicles and its related technology. An article from Science Focus is reproduced here to answer one of the questions about hybrid cars.

So, at what speed do hybrid cars switch from battery power to petrol power?

In a hybrid car, electric motors are used most when they're travelling at slower speeds around town. Petrol is more efficient at high speed, so the conventional engine is in charge on the motorway.

For much of the time, however, the engine and electric motors run together with the car's power control unit, varying the relative amount of drive from each. So there's no set point where electric power switches off and petrol kicks in.

Hybrid car - Toyota Aqua is known as Prius C in Malaysia. Image: fastmotoring.com

Germany might miss electric car target

About 20% of Germany’s electricity now comes from renewable sources, and the feed-in tariff for renewables has been very successful in getting the public to participate in generating electricity from solar.

However, it has been widely reported that the government intends to curtail financial support for renewables, particular for solar energy, and industry analysts doubt the renewable energy industry could survive without it.

It seems that Germany is not only having issue with sustaining and growing further its renewable energy industry but it is now faced with another obstacle in one of its GHG emissions reduction related initiatives. Official said that, unless more incentives are given, Germany will miss its target of 1 million electric cars on its roads by 2020.


As reported by AFP on Wednesday, June 20

German Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer gets out of an E-drive BMW electric car.

Photo: John Macdougall/AFP

Germany will miss its target of one million electric cars on its roads by 2020 without more incentives, the country's coordinator on electric transport policy warned on Wednesday.

"I've already said that without additional incentives we will reach more of a figure of half a million," Henning Kagermann, who oversees Germany's electric mobility strategy, told reporters.

Germany set a target in 2008 of having one million electric cars on its roads in 2020 and said it wanted to be a pilot market in the field. Under the plan, it has given itself until 2014 to prepare the market, with mass production of electric cars due to kick in from 2017.

But Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer called at the same press conference for "optimistic realism" and spoke of "making Germany the number one (market) for the electric car" rather than re-stating the one-million target.

The head of the powerful Federation of German Industry (VDA), Matthias Wissmann, has said that by 2014, German manufacturers will be able to offer 15 different models of electric vehicles.

But he insisted on the need to improve the vehicles' batteries to provide electric cars with more autonomy outside heavily built-up areas.

The government offers tax incentives to electric car drivers but campaigners say much more must be done to encourage people to switch from petrol or diesel to electric vehicles.

Source: Germany might miss electric car target, officials says

China considering subsidies to develop energy-saving vehicles

There are many ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and one of them is through large scale use of energy-efficient vehicles. The impact of the intended reduction is made more significant if it is done in countries with the most number of vehicles. China is one of them and it is currently eying subsidy provision to develop energy-saving vehicles, together with the necessary infrastructures.

New stylish car charging station by GE Energy. Image: ge-energy.com

China's subsidy plan

Reuters cited a report by Shanghai Securities News last week that China is considering tax exemptions and subsidies for buyers of energy-saving vehicles in an attempt to boost its low-emissions auto sector. 

In 2009, Beijing introduced a similar stimulus package with tax incentives for cars with engine sizes of 1.6 liters or smaller and subsidies for rural residents. That move spurred car sales and helped China surpass the United States as the world's largest auto market.

Under the new proposal, those purchasing electric vehicles or hybrid cars would be exempt from a vehicle purchase tax, the paper said, citing Zhang Xiangmu, secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The paper separately quoted a car association official saying that electric car buyers would also get a sales rebate as well as a reduction in the value-added tax. While plans to construct charging facilities for electric vehicles would support the country's demand for a raft of base metals, including copper.

The government said in May that it plans to spend up to 2 billion yuan ($315.06 million) from this year to help develop energy-saving vehicles to cut carbon emissions.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/19/us-china-cars-idUSBRE85I02J20120619


Malaysian car buyers incentive?

Not really a subsidy, but Malaysia government encourage the purchase of energy-saving cars - in particular hybrid vehicles - by exempting import duty and and excise tax for such vehicles. Unless there changes in the policy, this will be enforced until the end of 2013.

The Honda Insight has been upgraded for 2012. Image: blog.travelpod.com

As a result of the tax exemption, a 1.3 litre Honda Insight is marketed in Malaysia at RM99,800 and recently some adverts put a RM97,000 price tag (on the road). Toyota Prius has also seen the launch of a new 1.5 litre Prius C or known as Aqua in Japan, for the same price tag of RM97,000. From the consumers' perspective this is good as it gives options and promote improvement via competition.

Apart from that, there have not been many incentives for electric vehicles in Malaysia. National car manufacturer, Proton, has been talking about designing and producing electric cars for sometime now but the end result is yet to be seen.