Small and fuel efficient cars showcased at Paris Motor Show
Fri 10 October 2008
View all news
Small and fuel efficient cars were prominent at the Paris Motor Show which took place at the beginning of October. Against the backdrop of difficult market conditions and high fuel prices, the industry showcased some new fuel efficient vehicles and innovative technologies.
Despite overall declining sales, smaller "city" cars have seen sales rises of around 17%; consumers are going for the smallest, cheapest options. Smart cars, for example, have confounded the market with a 9% sales rise year-on-year.
There were both prototype and production vehicles among the - generally - smaller and 'greener' exhibits at the show:
Production
- Volkswagen's Passat BlueMotion2 and the whole Bluemotion range.
- Hyundai's i20 which is set to compete for market share with the Vauxhall Corsa and the Volkswagen Polo. It will produce under 119g/km of carbon dioxide (CO2).
- The Ford Fiesta EcoNetic which emits just 98g/km of CO2, includes energy-saving tyres. Ford says the car can achieve fuel economy of 76.3mpg overall.
- Skoda's Fabia Greenline and Superb Greenline
- The Suzuki Alto with emissions of a meagre 109g/km of CO2.
- NICE Ze-0; a small family electric car with a range of up to 65 miles and the electric two-seater MyCar.
- The Toyota iQ which features a glass panoramic roof and which will go on sale in the UK from spring 2009. Its CO2 emissions are 99g/km.
- Think! City: The Th!nk has been redesigned and now boasts a top speed of 65mph plus a range of 126 miles.
Concept
- Lotus' Eco-Elise.
- The Morgan LIFECar concept.
- GM's petrol-electric hybrid Volt.
- DuraCar unveiled its QUICC! brand along with a prototype of a new electric vehicle named the QUICC! DiVa. The DiVa will be a fully battery powered distribution van with the body and chassis made entirely from plastic. It is expected that the vehicle will have a top speed of 75mph and a range of 83 miles. It will consume around 230Wh per mile.
- Citroen's Hypnos concept, described as a SUV/ Coupe crossover, with diesel hybrid technology. The C-Cactus hybrid and the company's C4 HYmotion2 hybrid concept, pledging to deliver just 90g/km of CO2 and up to 83 MPG.
- Honda's OSM fuel cell family concept car
- Mazda's Kiyora concept, city car.
- Nissan's Nuvu city car electric plug-in concept and the slightly larger, Nissan Pixo concept, promising 103g/km of CO2 plus the new improved Nissan Note. Also the concept Denki Cube pure electric car.
- Also the Volkswagen Up! which has unique central displays including a monitor for CO2 emissions.
- Audi's A1 Sportback concept with it’s promise of just 92g/km of CO2!
- Renault's ZE Concept, Tang Hua's Chika, Ligier's X-Too and Chrysler's Zeo electric plug-in concept cars.
Related Links
< Back to news list