The South Korean subsidiary of US auto giant General Motors yesterday showcased its first hybrid sports utility vehicle, the S3X, which will hit the market from 2006.
GM Daewoo, launched in 2002 after GM took over Daewoo Motor, said the new vehicle will offer improved fuel economy especially in stop-and-go driving conditions by shutting the engine off at idle.
GM Daewoo said the S3X reflects its hybrid strategy focusing on larger and heavier vehicles such as SUVs, buses and trucks because hybrid systems are more efficient in larger vehicles.
"With the S3X hybrid car, we want the people of Korea to see and experience GM Daewoo's ability to develop hybrid systems," said Ki-Joon Yu, a vice president in charge of product engineering.
The US auto giant plans to sell pickups and SUVs with the new version of its hybrid system, which improves fuel economy by up to 35 percent, in the US in 2007, GM Daewoo officials said.
Fuel cell car
Along with the hybrid show car, GM put on display its "Hy-Wire" concept car, powered by hydrogen-based fuel cells. It has no pedals or conventional dashboard, with all functions combined in a single control unit that can be activated by hand and shifted easily, it said.
GM has been a leader in the development of fuel cell technology since it produced the world's first operational fuel cell vehicle in 1968.
The recent surge in world crude oil prices to over US$50 a barrel also drew efforts from automobile industry to develop "clean vehicles" in China.
The hydrogen peroxide-fueled Habo No. 1 was one of 150 experimental and advanced-technology vehicles on display at the Challenge Bibendum, an exhibition of eco-friendly cars named for sponsor Michelin's puffy mascot.
Even as booming demand has turned it into the world's fastest-growing car market, China is pushing to develop alternative fuels. Foreign automakers are preparing to test cars and buses powered by fuel cells and gasoline-electric hybrid engines.
"Using conventional internal combustion engine technology alone will be a source of huge pressure in terms of energy security and environmental protection in China," Wan Gang, president of Shanghai's Tongji University, which has its own automotive studies institute, told participants in the Challenge Bibendum, held at a new Formula One track outside Shanghai.
Rocket technology
The vehicles displayed in Anting run on electric motors, gasoline-electric hybrid engines, fuel cells and other technologies meant to cut pollution and boost fuel efficiency.
"This car only emits water vapor and oxygen," said He Limei, project director for Shanghai Habo Chemical Technology Co, which developed the Habo No. 1. "It uses rocket technology."
Hydrogen peroxide reacts with silver to produce oxygen and heat that can be used to propel a rocket, or a car.
But He admitted the Habo needs a bit more work: the equipment required to run it fills the entire back seat and trunk.
"We only had three months to develop this," she said. "It's somewhat lacking aesthetically."
The Chinese government began looking at alternative fuels in the 1980s and is promoting diesel and fuels made of locally abundant materials.
Despite scant progress in putting any domestically developed alternative fuel technologies into commercial use, 43 Chinese-developed vehicles -- 20 of them two-wheelers -- were among the models displayed by both local and foreign automakers at the Bibendum.
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