TOYOTA & GM COMPETE FOR AUTO FUTURE

Maybe what GM lacked when it failed to bring the EV-1 to market in the 90s was competition. NewEnergyNews' cohort Marc Geller at Plugs and Cars has been expressing doubt for some time now about GM's commitment to the Volt. Now that it has Toyota breathing down its neck, maybe things will turn out differently.

Toyota Electric Car May Have Half the Range of GM’s
Jeff Green and Alan Ohnsman, August 3, 2007 (Bloomberg)

WHO
Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors Corp. (CEO Rick Wagoner), anonymous sources

Believe it. Better yet, click on the link in the left column, buy it and read it. It will make you a believer.

WHAT
GM’s promised Chevrolet Volt is aiming for a 40-miles-on-battery-power (miles/charge) capacity while Toyota’s competing prototype plug-in hybrid Prius reportedly has more than a 20-mile (miles/charge) capacity as the two giants race to bring the first and best plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) to market and get leverage on the future of auto transportation.

WHEN
- Toyota earned a record $14 billion in the last fiscal year.
- GM lost $1.98 billion in 2006.

WHERE
- Toyota is based in Japan. GM is based in Detroit, Michigan.
- Toyota’s Prius is presently the 12th most popular vehicle in the U.S.

WHY
- GM aims to beat Toyota into and in the PHEV even as Toyota is passing GM to become the #1 car seller in the world.
- The PHEV, designed by both companies to be rechargeable through a commonplace 110-volt household outlet, is expected to succeed in a car-market already turning to fuel-efficient, low-emission vehicles.
- Toyota will begin road-testing 8-miles/charge Priuses this year in coordination with the University of California. They assert that a 40 miles/charge capability cannot be done at competitive prices.
- GM asserts with confidence the 40 miles/charge goal can be met and must be met because that puts over half of all Americans, whose commute is 20 miles or less, in the market.
- GM’s announced plans are to have a drivable prototype Volt with a 20 miles/charge capacity by early 2008 and a 40 mile/charge version in 2009 would be ready for market by 2010 but company spokesman Scott Fosgard would not confirm the timetable. GM invested $1 billion in its EV-1 electric car before abandoning it due to reported battery difficulties. GM says it will solve the battery challenge this time and nake the Volt affordable.

The question now is: Who will bring it to market? The answer: Whoever wants to get rich.

QUOTES
- Jack Nerad, Kelley Blue Book and author (``The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hybrid & Alternative Fuel Vehicles.''): ``The latest arms race is being driven by GM…They one-upped everyone with the Volt, and they are saying they aren't going to be out-greened by anyone anymore.''
- K.G. Duleep, managing director of Energy & Environmental Analysis Inc, on the Volt: ``All the power has to be delivered by the battery, and that's a lot of battery…This will not be cheap.''
- Chris Paine, director of the documentary film ``Who Killed the Electric Car?'': ``The market is going to sort out which one is best…GM is taking a bigger risk, and I applaud them for that.''