Hybrid Cars Information Future Green Cars

Hyundai officially introduced the hybrid version of the Sonata sedan at the 2008 Los Angeles International Auto Show. It will be the automaker’s first production version gas-electric hybrid in the United States. The company previously made noises about entering the hybrid market with subcompact hybrids, but Hyundai’s hybrid plans were indefinitely delayed before getting very far along. The company seems to be back on track. The Sonata Hybrid is due out in 2010.

At the introduction of the Sonata Hybrid, Hyundai also announced that it will be able to achieve a fleet average of 35 miles per gallon by 2015, five years ahead of the timetable for new fuel economy regulations. “We’re taking fuel efficiency higher and faster than any other carmaker. We’re going to pass Toyota and Honda by 2015,” said John Krafcik, president of Hyundai Motor America, in an interview with HybridCars.com.

What about the fuel economy of the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid? HybridCars.com asked a Hyundai spokesperson (who asked not to be named). “Fuel economy should be improved by 20 to 25 percent, but those are not hard numbers,” he said. The current Sonata midsize sedan grants 22 mpg in the city and 32 on the highway. Do the math, and it means that the Hybrid Sonata could achieve combined fuel economy better than 30 miles a gallon. By comparison, the Camry Hybrid beats out the four-cylinder conventional Camry by the same 20 to 25 percent, while the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid manages about a 9 percent gain over its gas-powered counterpart.

The Sonata Hybrid’s Lithium Batteries

Hyundai developed its own homegrown hybrid architecture for use in the Sonata. The technical design, known as a parallel hybrid system, will serve as the foundation for future hybrid drive vehicles introduced by Hyundai. In a parallel hybrid, the wheels are turned by power coming directly from the gasoline engine, the electric motor, or both together, as conditions demand. This approach is similar to the design used by Toyota and Ford.

The more significant innovation is the use of a lithium polymer battery system provided by Hyundai’s battery supplier, LG Chem. According to Hyundai, the lithium batteries deliver the same power as today’s hybrid nickel metal hydride batteries—but with 30 percent less weight, 50 percent less volume and 10 percent greater efficiency.

Despite industry concerns about the price and availability of lithium batteries, Krafcik said it wasn’t a hard decision to make the move to lithium. He admits that Hyundai is late to the hybrid market—the Sonata is about two years away from dealerships—and expressed the desire to demonstrate a leadership position with its first hybrid entry. “We asked ourselves where the technology is going to be in five years,” he said. “And how we can get to that end point ahead of time.”

Nobody knows where fuel prices will be in two years, when the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid goes on sale, but the Sonata Hybrid could match the fuel economy ratings of the most efficient family sedans on the market—for thousands of dollars below the competition. Pricing and many other specs are not yet available.