Toyota’s Prius was the top selling car in Japan during August. This happends for the 16th consequetive month and is mainly explained from local incentives which have driven further more demand for hybrid cars.

The Prius, Toyota Motor Corp.’s best-selling gasoline-gas hybrid, sold 22,263 of the cars during August 2010.

However, sales of Prius in August, were the lowest ones during the year and there worries that sales may further lower as government incentives will stop during the end of this month in Japan.

Via Ecomagnificent

The Follow Me concept electric vehicle has been designed to better postal delivery services in inner city. The compact vehicle helps delivery agencies sneak through congested city lanes. A network of distributed docking stations allows to continuously stock-up deliver vehicles with parcels on the move.

The open design allows the driver to easily get in and out of the vehicle, which can be customized with a wide range of add-ons. Developed in collaboration with the Art College of Berlin and the Technical University of Berlin, the concept electric vehicle is easy to maneuver during traffic jams to ensure a smooth function of the delivery system.

Via: James Dyson Award

Replacing conventional gas engines from a car gives designers the freedom to test unusual vehicles that can have any shape to please their future owners. We’ve seen a variety of concept electric cars, some of which have been too weird for any practical appeal. Auto designer Mika Becktor is testing out his skills in designing an electric car that includes an energy generating exterior.

Christened Solis, the zero-emission concept has been designed to run on electric motors, which are fueled by solar energy generated by the car’s skin. Essentially a single seater, this solar car can accommodate another seat behind the rider when required.

Via: TheDesignBlog

After unveiling the Eva GT at Pebble Beach 2010, the English carmaker Morgan is gearing up to add a new ting of green to its portfolio of sports cars. Morgan Motor Company is planning to put two new cars into production during the next three years. The first vehicle that the carmaker will add to its current range will be called the “LIFEcar 2”, while the second model will be a “fun weekend vehicle.”

The company announced that the LIFEcar 2 is an electric-diesel hybrid sportscar, which will flaunt its high range of more than 1000 miles. The other car targeted to the adventure enthusiast will be more extreme with real entertainment value. The company has already been moving towards a sustainable future and hopes to cut down on CO2 emission significantly in the coming time.

If Martin Eberhard, the electric vehicle engineering director at Volkswagen’s Electronics Research Laboratory (ERL) in Palo Alto, California is to be believed, we could hope to see electric vehicles with a range of more than 500 miles within the next 10 years. The ERL focuses mainly on the development of new driver assistance systems and new human-machine interface technologies. It also looks into improving the multimedia functionality and connectivity of Volkswagen Group cars.

The ERL’s biggest project projects at the moment are the development of the lithium-ion battery packs for Volkswagen’s Blue-e-motion Golf, the E-Up city car and the Audi e-tron. The ‘18650’-type lithium-ion cells are what they are working with and see it as the future of green transport. This battery develops faster than any other battery and using them can provide benefit from state-of-the-art technology.

Earlier the battery used by ERL in the original Audi e-tron prototype offered 60kWh of power and a range of just over 150 miles. But, by replacing it with 3.4 amp-hour cells, the car is expected to have 100kWh power and a range of nearly 300 miles on a single charge. With this progress rate, Mr. Eberhard expects to have EVs with greater than 500 miles of operational range, within 10 years time frame.

Via: AutoCar
 

Kia has unveiled its next-gen compact electric car, the POP, which is scheduled to be showcased at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. The concept vehicle is a commuter car for two that has a unique bubbly appearance. The POP includes a massive single piece of windscreen that stretches all the way back making a transparent roof.

The looks are complimented by symmetrical oval side windows. Power for this compact car comes from an all-electric drivetrain that can be recharged by plugging into any conventional wall socket. The vibrant interior of the POP includes space for two, where the seats are formed from one single curvaceous bench seat.

Via: Diseno-Art