Hybrid Activity is Gaining Momentum
By Ron Cogan, General Manager, GreenCar.com
By Ron Cogan
 Since Green Car Journal editors are immersed daily in the activities unfolding in our industry, there is little that truly comes as a surprise. That said – and even though we have been pointing out that hybrid market projections have been far too conservative – we are somewhat taken aback by the level of activity in the gasoline-electric hybrid realm.
It’s not just the current products now on the market or those that have been announced and will be coming soon. Many projections are based on these vehicles and also by extrapolating from early product plans. What is shaking this field up is the sheer number of hybrid concepts being fielded by automakers on the international auto show circuit.
We’ve come to expect hybrid concepts from the companies that have been up front about their hybrid plans and already have hybrid product out there on the market, like Toyota and Honda. What’s interesting is witnessing the developmental vehicles that are now surfacing from others like Subaru, Hyundai, and Mazda. The latter represents a logical move considering the evolution of Ford’s hybrid technology from the Escape to the Mercury Mariner, and then the Mazda Tribute. Could a Volvo SUV hybrid be far behind?
German automakers in particular are showing surprising motivation in entering the hybrid market. While German automakers have historically offered diesel technology as their answer to growing fuel efficiency concerns, there is no longer any exclusivity to this approach. With a joint hybrid development effort now underway with Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche, there is no doubt that the German automakers are serious about this. Underscoring this are recent hybrid concept debuts from German car companies including the Audi Q7 and Mercedes-Benz Bluetec hybrids.
At Green Car Journal, we have written extensively about gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles and our experiences driving them. That’s important to readers who are considering purchasing one of these advanced technology vehicles. What we haven’t done yet is report on what it’s like to live with one over the course of a year, as it serves as daily driver for commuting to work, taking kids to school, and generally going about the business of life. This will change with the long-term 2006 Toyota Highlander test that’s being shared in this, and coming, issues. Over the course of a year, GCJ will provide updates on our daily experience with this efficient SUV and document its functionality, as well as its fuel economy.
In the meantime, there will clearly be much more hybrid news coming. While many of the concepts now being shown or coming soon will never make it to market in any semblance of the form they’re being shown in now, the fact is that some of them will. If even a percentage transition from showpiece to showroom production vehicle, it will be a hybrid buyer’s delight in the not too distant future.
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