Green Cars Needed Now More Than Ever

July 16, 2006 – Vol.11 No.17

GREEN CARS: NEEDED NOW MORE THAN EVER.

Toyota announced this week that it would develop plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. In this stunning announcement the company gave no indication as to when the cars would be available nor what the product offerings would be.

Given the shaky state of the Middle East, the preferred debut of these cars should be, for instance, tomorrow morning. That’s not going to happen of course: Expect a few years, but sooner if the most recent conflict engulfs the entire region from Afghanistan all the way to the horn of Africa. Toyota would do the world a great favor by working a few evenings and weekends to get the plug-in hybrids on the market ASAP.

DaimlerChrysler is already experimenting with plug-in hybrids and GM is apparently considering them. Others should do the same and rush their products to vehicle showrooms as well.

Ford of the UK and Ford of Europe also made some significant announcements this week.

Ford of the UK decided it will spend GPB 1 billion ( $1.86 billion) on green car development that could include everything from biofueled vehicles to clean diesels to hybrids. The UK division of the global company said this while Ford of the US has said it is retreating from hybrids in the homeland but pushing its hybrid research and development off to Sweden, and thus Volvo, with a $1.3 billion investment.

Ford of Europe announced that global warming was one of the greatest challenges facing mankind but believes that everyone is a part of the problem and everyone needs to contribute to fixing it. Car makers will help out if others do, the company said.

The division also said that fuel companies need to play along in the effort, as do governments, by providing fiscal stimulus to encourage “green behavior” such as buying a green car or driving less. (The fiscal stimulus in the US for the world’s most popular hybrid, Toyota’s Prius, has run out. The company met its quota in May with 60,000 vehicles sold that would be eligible for the tax credit.)

Ford of Europe also said that government should not promote one technology over another. It’s the marketplace - consumers and vehicle manufacturers - that needs to make the decision as to which technology is best.

Ford’s government-should-let-us-decide statement contributes to the stun factor of Toyota’s plug-in hybrid announcement. Other than Japan’s obligation to cut greenhouse gases at home as a Kyoto signer, Toyota is not obligated to develop 100-mile-per-gallon-plus plug-in hybrids. The company is doing this on its own because it can and feels, probably correctly, that a significant number of motorists want a dramatic improvement in fuel economy as well as have some independence from oil companies.