America passed a milestone on Monday, according to electric-vehicle advocacy group Plug-In America. That’s when the 100,000th EV was sold in the U.S., the group estimates…

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Automobiles with four-cylinder engines already comprise more than half of U.S. new-vehicle sales, and that number could grow to two-thirds by the end of the decade, according to projections by Ford Motor Co.

The shift to the smaller engines is a result of strict federal fuel-efficiency standards — known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE — and means a growing share of cars, SUVs and trucks will join the four-cylinder fray by 2020.

With the U.S. Department of Energy’s help, a research group managed by the Detroit 3 is launching a drive to speed development of next-generation battery technologies for hybrids and electric vehicles, the department said today.

The U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium will coordinate r&d and explore more efficient and cost-effective technologies for energy storage in vehicles.

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The challenge of balancing vehicle weight with fuel economy was the central topic at a New England Motor Press Association and Massachusetts Institute of Technology conference last Thursday. Panelists representing auto manufacturers, academia and government affairs spoke about the impact of increased fuel economy standards on new car construction, materials and price…

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NEW YORK: A push by the United States to improve fuel efficiency could spur demand for platinum catalytic converters from leading car producers for diesel-powered vehicles, an executive of platinum specialist refiner Johnson Matthey said…

The “Big Three” American automakers, General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, are pressing to meet a government requirement for average fuel economy of 54.5 miles per gallon (23.2 km per liter) by 2025, almost doubling the current fuel efficiency…

Diesel engines, mainly used in North American heavy-duty vehicles and trucks, tend to be more fuel efficient and offer more horsepower than their gasoline counterparts.

While cheaper palladium is widely used in gasoline vehicles, platinum is more heavily used in diesel engines to filter out harmful gas emissions.

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Ten years ago, no one would have thought we could get the world’s largest automakers, the unions that represent workers at auto plants and in the auto supply chain, environmentalists, sportsmen, consumer groups, and the President of the United States to agree to ambitious new fuel-efficiency rules for light-duty vehicles.

Yet these groups found common ground and stood with President Obama at the White House in 2009, when strong efficiency standards were announced for the 2012-2016 model years. They stood together a few years later, when the standards were extended through 2025, effectively doubling the fuel efficiency of cars and light trucks over the next decade…

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The average fuel economy of light vehicles delivered in April matched the record set in March of 24.3 mpg (9.7 L/100 km) on the WardsAuto Fuel Economy Index, a 0.8% increase over year-ago and a 16% gain on the base rating established in fourth-quarter 2007.

The monthly score remained the same despite significant shifts in segment splits in the market, including a continued shift from cars to trucks.

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HOLLAND, MI – In the future, your new car may have a “micro-hybrid” powertrain instead of the hybrid or electric powertrains on the market today, says MaryAnn Wright, vice president of technology and innovation for Johnson Controls Inc. Power Solutions.

That’s good news for West Michigan because the lithium ion batteries for that micro-hybrid will be made at Johnson Control’s advanced battery plant in Holland, Wright said at a gathering sponsored by Lakeshore Advantage, a Holland area economic development agency on Thursday, May 9.

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Two years ago, reports EV World, the land next to GM’s White Marsh transmission plant just north of Baltimore was an open, grassy field.

Today, it’s the site of the first plant in the U.S. built specifically to supply electric motors for electric vehicles.  The new 110,000 square-foot facility will supply the motors to power the Chevy Spark, a low-volume model that will go on sale later this summer in California and Oregon.

GM worker Jae Fortune working on an electric motor at GM’s new facility in White Marsh, Maryland. (© General Motors)

The west-coast-only availability is due California’s rigorous emissions regulations: the state goes beyond federal rules by requiring automakers to increase the percentage of zero-emissions vehicles they sell. By 2025, one out of every seven vehicles sold in California will be EVs, plug-in hybrids, or fuel-cell vehicles.

GM also plans to sell the Spark in Canada, Europe and South Korea.  No word yet on when – or whether – it will be available in the rest of the United States.  When it hits the market in June the Spark will have a Fast Charge option, allowing the battery to recover 80% of its charge in 20 minutes or less. That’s much faster than most current EVs, which can take four hours or more to recharge.

The Spark is assembled in South Korea, but the electric motor is not its only critical made-in-USA component. The vehicle’s lithium-ion batteries are produced by battery-maker A123 in Livonia, Michigan.

GM’s new Maryland e-motor plant was built with a $105 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and a $121 million investment from GM. In its start-up phase, the plant employs about 20 workers, members of UAW Local 239. The GM transmission facility next door –which builds 2-mode hybrid transmissions for pick-ups and SUVs, among other products – now has about 250 employees, an increase of 65 workers since 2010.

GM and local officials say the White Marsh plant is poised to capitalize on the potential growth of the electric vehicle market.  With new fuel standards requiring more high-mileage, low-emission vehicles, other companies are making similar bets.

• Battery maker LG Chem announced this week that it will begin production of lithium-ion cells for EVs at its Holland, Michigan plant in July. The Michigan-made batteries are initially slated for use in the GM Volt, which is assembled in Hamtramck, Michigan.

LG Chem has been the target of criticism for accepting a $150 million U.S. government loan, even though production was delayed at its U.S. facilities due to slower-than-expected EV sales.  Kim Jong-Hyun, who directs LG Chem’s battery division, tells Reuters he expects the EV market to grow as improved technology leads to a drop in vehicle prices.

• Nissan is now operating the largest lithium-ion plant in North America.  The Smyrna, Tennessee battery facility supplies an adjacent assembly plant which produces the electric Nissan Leaf.   Nissan received a $1.4 billion DOE loan to aid in re-tooling the Smyrna auto assembly plant for EV production, and to build the new battery plant.

 Onshoring production of the Leaf and its lithium-ion battery to the U.S., reports the Wall Street Journal, helped Nissan cut the price of the vehicle to $28,800 in 2012.  The $6,400 price drop is a result of reduced shipping costs and savings on foreign exchange.

Government support for advanced technology vehicle has been controversial. Critics say it’s a green boondoggle, promoting vehicles that have not yet gained widespread consumer acceptance.

But the market for full and partially electrified vehicles continues to grow.  EVs and hybrids accounted for 3.8 percent of U.S auto sales in in the first quarter of 2013, a steady increase from 2.2 percent in 2011.  As the market continues to grow, as EV prices begin to drop and as more U.S. workers are hired to produce advanced vehicles, using public funds to kick-start new technology is looking more and more like a good deal for U.S. taxpayers.

The real test is whether more green shoots of private investment will grow from the seeds of government loans. That’s where GM appears to be headed, says EV World:

The very existence of the White Marsh facility, along with other EV-specific infrastructure development…. strongly suggests that GM is committed to developing, refining and producing an ever-increasing range of electric drive vehicles beyond the Volt and the Spark.

Roger Kerson is a Michigan-based media consultant for labor, environmental and non-profit organizations.

The veritable explosion of pickup truck sales during the first quarter this year– with the sale of full-size pickup trucks up 26% to date year-over-year according to Kelly Blue Book’s Automotive Insights – is being driven by a host of factors, according to industry experts, but the vastly improved fuel economy and greater electronic “connectivity” are two major reasons, according to industry experts.

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