For all its size and big talk about technical excellence, Daimler doesn’t seem to be doing much of its advanced powertrain R&D itself. News that the firm’s future hybrids will be Toyota-developed is joined by the revelation that Mercedes, not GM, is the mystery OEM which has hired Amp Electric Vehicles to develop an EV SUV prototype. AutoSpies reports that

It seems when Mercedes representatives  visited AMP a while back they were so impressed with the [Amp-electrified Chevy Equinox], that they quickly commissioned a ML-350 test mule for further evaluation.   Our exclusive spy photos reveal that a previously unregistered 2009 Pearl White ML-350 bearing manufacturer plates has arrived at AMP’s facility and is currently in the process of electrification by their engineers.  Upon completion this now all electric ML is slated to undergo testing later in the month.

Which is an interesting turn of events for Daimler’s EV partnership strategy. With a $50m stake in Tesla, one might assume that Daimler would turn to the California firm to electrify its ML. After all, Toyota also has also invested $50m in Tesla as well, and Tesla is electrifying a RAV-4 prototype for Toyota. On the other hand, Daimler has not had much luck with its Tesla-powered Smart EV, so perhaps the Germans are diversifying away from the hype-driven Silicon Valley startup. If so, that’s not a good sign for Tesla or Toyota. Watch this space…

The Automotive X-Prize is over, and the Edison2 Team has won the “Mainstream” class with its Very Light Car. It may not look like any mainstream car you’ve seen recently, but it does fit four passengers, offers air-con, heater, an audio system, and a 200 mile range. And using a 250 cc ethanol engine, it got 102.5 MPGe, while accelerating to 60 MPH in 14.2 seconds. But this was not necessarily a hard-fought victory: Edison2 was the only team that even made it into the finals in the “Mainstream” class. Meanwhile, the X-Tracer motorcycle shown above won the “Alternative” class. In fact, it won the whole damn competition with 197 MPGe while accelerating to 60 MPH in just over 6 seconds. So, despite the ego-boosting rhetoric from Nancy Pelosi, and the other politicians speaking at the awards ceremony, the Automotive X-Prize didn’t so much advance America closer towards a fuel-efficient future as it proved that motorcycles are way more efficient than cars are. The much-maligned gas guzzlers that we know as “mainstream cars” are in little danger from this lot.

Here is one way to find out whether a company is serious about its long term plans for a given product: Find out whether they worry about what to do with their products after they are dead. That usually separates the serious players from the wannabes. Word reaches us from The Nikkei [sub] that Nissan has teamed up with the venerable zaibatsu Sumitomo, and established a joint venture to recycle electric car batteries. Read More >

EVs are also called “Yes but cars.” As in “Yes, but the power needs to come from somewhere. Usually from a dirty plant with a huge smokestack..” Several companies don’t want to hear that anymore and develop a smart grid that powers houses and cars entirely from renewable energy sources. At least that’s the plan. Read More >

Just weeks ago, Amp Electric Vehicles CEO Steve Burns told the New York Times

G.M. doesn’t know if we are friend or foe… They’re trying to figure it out.

What The General was trying to figure out was whether allowing Amp to sell $50k electrified versions of its Chevrolet Equinox is a good or bad thing. After all, if BMW can charge $800 per month for EV-anxious consumers to test its disappointing MINI E, why shouldn’t GM get in on the early adopter-scalping game? Two weeks ago, GM spokesfolks said

We’re pro-E.V., and it’s a good thing that there others out there moving the electric vehicle market forward.

Today, Amp is announcing that it has signed an agreement with “a major OEM” to electrify one of its SUVs… within  60 days, no less. Though the press release doesn’t specify which OEM is sponsoring the project, the fact that AMP exclusively electrifies GM products and hires former GM consultants should speak for itself. And with Tesla prepping an EV RAV-4 for Toyota, would it be shocking to find out that GM is playing the me-too game by commissioning an EV Equinox? On the other hand, maybe we should take the “SUV” label seriously and consider the possibility that Amp is electrifying a full-size GM ute? Either way, the trend towards rapid outsourced development of EVs is seriously starting to take hold…

If you exist outside the fast-paced world of the automotive branding community, you might believe that the point of car brands is to sell cars. Needless to say, you’d be wrong. The big buzzword around car brands, particularly the more niche and eco-friendly brands is “mobility.” As in “we must leverage our brand values to provide a broad-based mobility strategy for the cities of the future.” Or, to put it into layman’s terms, “screw cars, we gotta start building scooters.”

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To hype its forthcoming Leaf electric car, Nissan has reached for the most manipulative imagery in the green marketing playbook: the Polar Bear. They’re cute, they’re cuddly, and because their icy habitat is being destroyed by regular cars, they will hug you if you buy an EV. Meanwhile, the causes, trajectory, and impacts of global climate change (not to mention its possible solutions) remain extremely abstract and far-away when compared to the political and economic ramifications of global oil undersupply. Too bad market failures and geopolitical instability aren’t as emotionally manipulative as those fuzzy bear guys…

Remember when Hyundai was famous for cheap, tiny hatchbacks instead of sculpted, Lexus-alike sedans? Though Hyundai’s first hybrid will be based on its popular Sonata, its first-ever EV is based on its old-school i10 hatchback. The AP reports that the BlueOn (remember, blue is the new green) will be delivered to Korean government fleets this year, with sales to the public starting in 2012. Hyundai hasn’t disclosed whether the BlueOn’s pricetag will be as old-school Hyundai as the i10, but with only 87 miles of EV range and 80 MPH from 16.4 kWh of Lithium-polymer batteries, it looks like low-cost city transport is the name of the game. But with a planned production volume of 2,500 units per year, the BlueOn shows how far Hyundai still has to come before catching up with the Nissans and Mitsubishis of the EV world. Then again, Hyundai’s come from behind before…

The things you find on the Internet. FFOG (ever heard of them?) reports that the Iran has an electric vehicle that goes 300 kilometers (186 miles), “with the recharging battery in only six minutes.“ Read More >

Yesterday, The Nikkei [sub] had it on good authority that Mitsubishi and PSA will co-develop a compact commercial electric vehicle for the European market. Now, Mitsubishi says it’s a product of fantasy in overdrive. Mitsubishi told Dow Jones Newswire that the story is not true. The funny thing is, the Nikkei wire is dead silent on the issue. Even funnier: After saying that it’s not true, the Dow Jones rehashes the allegedly false Nikkei story in great detail.

It’s no secret that I’m a bit doubtful about the runaway success of the all-electric vehicle. The infrastructure obstacles are just too great. There is one market where plug-ins make sense: Light delivery vehicles. Never cruise too far from the warehouse. Can be charged while van is being loaded. Lots of regenerative braking. Mitsubishi and PSA think the same. They will co-develop a compact commercial electric vehicle for the European market. Production will begin by 2012, says The Nikkei [sub]. Read More >

The Japanese seem to be convinced that EVs are the wave of the future. They are so convinced that they are thinking up schemes to use that big expensive battery in the car for other things if the car is not used for other things. Such as when that new EV is sitting in the driveway while Watanabe-san commuted to work using the JR-train. Nissan, Hitachi, and Orix announced that they will work together on turning those batteries-on-wheels into dual-use technology. Read More >

In the former millennium, if you had a fantasy in overdrive and writing skills, you wrote books. These days, you join a management consulting company, and you author future scenarios. Easier and far more lucrative than coming up with “The Hunt For The Red October.“ Your client will give you the desired finale, along with a lot of money. All you need to write is a halfway logical plot that leads to the desired finale.

Everybody has decided that the future belongs to the electric car. Expensive batteries, high cost, low range, long recharge times, short battery life, these are just distractions. What we need is a halfway logical plot that leads us to the finale where the electric car gets the girl, and the ICE drives over a cliff.  In comes Frost & Sullivan. Read More >

Karl-Thomas Neumann, Volkswagen’s new Emperor of China, took over his job today. He replaces  Winfried Vahland, who now runs Volkswagen’s Skoda division. Neumann has a problem many would like to have. “We can’t build enough cars to meet the demand in China,” Neumann told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Now, if you have nothing to sell, you lose market share, and you really have a problem.  Neumann will build. he will build new factories, and  … Read More >

With the Mitsubishi i-miev electric car about to hit the British market, the BBC decided to break down the Pounds and tuppence behind the EV hype. And though it found that the i-miev comes out looking quite well thanks to Britain’s EV consumer subsidy, its freedom from congestion charges and road tax, fuel price differences and estimated servicing costs, it has one eye-popping cost associated with it: nearly 50 percent depreciation over the first three years. And that’s what Mitsubishi is willing to cop to. So not only will your new i-miev cost about twice as much as a little Fiat 500, it will lose about enough value after three years to have paid for that same Cinquecento. Needless to say, as American consumers begin their own first flirtations with the electric automobile, we will continue to keep a close eye on this issue.