Low carbon vehicles feature at London Motor Show
Sun 08 January 2006
View all news
A range of low carbon and otherwise 'greener' vehicles were on display at the Motor Show, held at ExCeL, London, during the last two weeks of July.
The show featured the launch of three new electric city cars: the Mega City NICE (no internal combustion engine), the electric Smart (see separate story) and GoinGreen's 2-seater electric G-Wiz.
Ford displayed three new flex-fuel vehicles, capable of running on either conventional or bio-fuel, produced from biomass. The models displayed included the Ford Focus C-Max FFV and the new Ford Focus FFV.
Saab displayed the new-look Saab 9-5 biopower car (capable of running on E85) and the Saab Biopower Hybrid Concept, the first car to combine the use of pure bioethanol fuel and electric power generation. Also displayed was the Saab Aero X Concept, capable of running on pure bioethanol.
Citroen featured what it claimed are three of the most economical diesel models on the road; the C1, C2 and C3 diesels; all capable of more than 65 mpg. Citroen also showed their new HDi diesel engine which they say will set new standards for fuel efficiency and will be on sale in the UK soon. Citroen's stop-start technology also featured.
Meanwhile, on display at the Peugeot stand was the 307 diesel-electric hybrid which the makers say will offer significant fuel economy benefits over petrol hybrids and is expected to be available from 2010.
Hybrid technology was also displayed in the forms of the Honda Civic Hybrid, the Toyota Prius, Lexus RX 400h and GS 450h hybrids.
Mitsubishi's displayed their 'I' Car, a Japanese mini-car with CO2 emissions of 120 g/km.It is the first in the Mitsubishi range to feature in-wheel electric motors, and is due to be available from 2010.
Motor Show-goers also saw the new colour-coded fuel economy label which was displayed on stands throughout ExCeL. Now a familiar sight across new car showrooms, the label provides clear CO2 emissions data in a colour-coded format.
Related Links
Motor Show website - 'green issues' section
The Independent - Motor Show report
< Back to news list