Each truck uses a 6.0-liter V8 engine capable of operating with gasoline or compressed natural gas (CNG). This engine has been designed to maintain performance levels no matter which fuel is used. GM has estimated a range of about 650 miles between refueling stops, topping the market among vehicles using CNG. GM worked with supplier IMPCO to develop a single-tank storage system that maintains cargo space while providing enough fuel for long journeys. These eco-friendly trucks meet emissions standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

A prospective customer places an order with a local GM dealer but each truck is sent to IMPCO for modification. The Fort Wayne plant constructs the frame and essential components for each unit but IMPCO installs the fuel storage system required for bi-fuel use. GM handles additional customization requested by customers at local dealerships. This elaborate process and heightened production costs lead to a price premium of $11,000 per truck. GM charges a retail price of $29,300 for these models, placing the base cost just under $40,000.

GM has already worked with utility firm Chesapeake Energy on delivery of bi-fuel vehicles by next year. The company has committed to replacing 5,000 fleet vehicles with CNG models in the near future. Chesapeake hopes to purchase GM bi-fuel models as part of this transition. An estimated $11 million could be saved per year in Chesapeake’s fuel costs by using vehicles powered by CNG. GM’s efforts to reduce emissions and fuel consumption outside of passenger vehicles demonstrate the slow but steady pace of change in the auto industry.

The Execution/Strategy matrix used by Pike Research placed Chevy and Renault into the Leaders category. This category rewards automakers that have found the right combination of vehicle development, marketing strategy and vehicle delivery. Chevy received an overall score of 81.4 thanks to the overwhelming popularity of the Volt as well as plans for future plug-in EVs in the next five years. Renault’s plug-in offerings including the Zoe ZE and Kangoo ZE as well as extensive dealership networks in Europe yielded a 77.9 overall score. “Plug-in Electric Vehicles” concludes that Chevy and Renault are not only successful now but positioned for a major leap forward by 2020.

Pike Research slotted the remaining automakers into Contender, Challenger and Follower categories. A handful of automakers including Toyota and Nissan were Contenders based on limited vision while Tesla landed in this spot due to limited financing. The Challengers category included automakers like Smart and BMW with great strategies but limited offerings while Honda has weak strategy but a popular brand. Fisker Automotive is too niche to ascend the ranks while CODA Automotive has experienced sales issues. The Followers category includes Audi and VW due to their weak plug-in strategies as well as almost non-existent execution.

“Plug-in Electric Vehicles” notes that the plug-in EV market will grow but not as robustly as assumed by automakers only two years ago. Total sales this year should amount to about 137,950 with an estimated 1.75 million plug-in EVs sold in 2020. The United States owns the biggest share of this estimated sales figure with 400,073 sold per year by the end of this decade. Pike Research demonstrates that the plug-in segment is a highly competitive and promising avenue for automakers committed to long-term strategy.

Total sales for the Chevy Volt in June reached 561 units with 8,817 units for the first six months of 2012. GM noted that these figures represent increases of 213.7% and 221.2% respectively compared to 2011. Toyota counted 695 units sold for the Prius PHV in June though the Prius family sold 19,150 units for the month. The Japanese automaker contrasted the Prius PHV’s miniscule sales with the 11,514 units sold for the traditional Prius. Nissan trailed the pack by selling 535 units of the LEAF EV, representing a 68.7% decrease from June 2011. The LEAF EV sold 1,708 units last June compared to only 3,148 units delivered through the first six months of 2012.

The rising tide of traditional vehicles among these three automakers help buoy plug-in vehicles in difficult times. GM experienced a 16% increase in monthly sales when comparing June 2011 to June 2012, totaling 248,750 units. This figure represents the pinnacle of GM monthly sales since September 2008. Toyota’s sales in June increased by 60.3% compared to June 2011 with a total of 177,795 units. Nissan experienced a more meager increase of 28.2% year-on-year by selling 92,237 units in June.

GM’s aggressive ad campaign along with fatigue about the Prius and LEAF EV pushed the Volt to the top of the market. An onslaught of Chevy Volt commercials highlighting the vehicle’s positive attributes certainly revived public interest. Consumers have been saturated for nearly a decade with marketing efforts for the Toyota Prius and Nissan has spent considerable resources promoting the LEAF. The sales figures presented for June 2012 show that the plug-in vehicle market is nowhere near strong enough to sustain automakers. Expiring tax credits and a sluggish economy mean that automakers must lower prices on plug-in vehicles to prime the pump in this market niche.

Judges and sponsors put the EcoCar 2012 teams through the paces during six days of rigorous testing. Each team presented parallel hybrid, alt-fuel and all-electric designs to luminaries from the automotive industry. These presentations covered topics ranging from the mechanical aspects of hybrid design to business plans and marketing. Participating teams spent the past year in university laboratories designing hybrid versions of the Chevy Malibu. EcoCar 2 provided simulation software and facilities that allowed students to test hybrid drive systems, batteries and electronics in real-world settings.

Mississippi State University was followed by Ohio State University and the University of Waterloo in the Year One standings. The school received a lion’s share of the $100,000 offered by event sponsors. The EcoCar team at Mississippi State has placed first in three previous competitions and draws from nine years of competitive experience. The EcoCar 2012 Competition judges lauded the victorious team with the Best Facilities Inspection, Best Final Technical Report and Best Controls Presentations. This hybrid design also appeared marketable enough to judges to receive the Best Trade Show Evaluation. Automotive experts also approved by rewarding Mississippi State with the Best Project Initiation Approval Presentation award.

The universities involved in EcoCar2 will now receive 2013 Chevy Malibus that will be reconfigured using Year One designs. This ambitious project features more than 25 corporate sponsors including Delphi, Caterpillar, MathWorks and Bosch. Mississippi State, Ohio State and the University of Waterloo received acclaim in Year One but each team has pushed forward the technology needed for affordable and functional hybrid technology. EcoCar 2 should not be viewed as a novelty or frivolous competition but a template that should be replicated globally to expedite green vehicle adoption.

States are essentially divided into three categories within A Roadmap to Climate-Friendly Cars. The 36 states where hybrid vehicles produce fewer emissions than EVs use coal or natural gas for most of their electrical generation. A group of nine states including New York, Illinois and California produce enough clean energy that some EVs produce fewer emissions than hybrids. Climate Central found that Washington, Oregon, Idaho, New Hampshire and Vermont produce sufficient green energy that EVs outperform hybrid vehicles.

Climate Central also looked at hybrids in terms of how they performed against the all-electric Nissan LEAF and gas-electric Chevy Volt throughout the country. The Toyota Prius was the leading hybrid by producing less greenhouse gas emissions than the LEAF in 36 states and the Volt in 45 states. The Honda Civic Hybrid was a distant second by surpassing the LEAF in only 24 states and the Volt in 38 states. A close third goes to the Lexus CT 200h, which emitted less than the LEAF in 22 states and the Volt in 37 states.

A Roadmap to Climate-Friendly Cars concludes not by indicting EV technology but utilities for failing to reduce emissions in power generation. The Nissan LEAF produces an average of 0.9 pounds per mile of emissions in states like Wyoming and Indiana where more than 90% of electricity is produced using coal. This average compares to 0.5 pounds per mile for the Toyota Prius. States including Rhode Island and Nevada that use natural gas for electrical generation lead to greater parity with the LEAF reducing emissions to 0.6 pounds per mile. The clear winner based on Climate Central’s methodology is nuclear power with the LEAF only producing an average of 0.1 pounds per mile in Idaho and Washington. The politics surrounding nuclear energy make a move toward nuclear unlikely but A Roadmap to Climate-Friendly Cars points to the urgent need for cleaner energy transmission.

Mayor Kenoi noted during his presentation that the Chevy Volts will be used by as many departments as possible to test their functionality. County officials in the Office of Housing and Community Development and the Department of Parks and Recreation will be the primary users of the new vehicles. The Mayor’s Office also plans official trips throughout the county to demonstrate the Volt and promote sustainable practices. These initial plug-in vehicles will be tracked for fuel economy, maintenance issues and user interface that should inform future purchases. Each Chevy Volt cost $47,000 though the County of Hawaii received credits equaling $4,500 per vehicle under the state’s EV-Ready initiative.

The County of Hawaii anticipated plug-in vehicle purchases by seeking grants from Better Place for charging infrastructure at the Civic Center. Each Better Place station can handle two plug-in vehicles per visit, thus increasing turnover rates for eco-friendly motorists. The West Hawaii Civic Center also features a solar panel array with a maximum capacity of 250kW. This array can handle all of the energy needs for the building as well as charging requirements for 60 plug-in vehicles. County officials hope that the Civic Center acts as a centerpiece for a regional EV infrastructure involving homes, businesses and public stations.

Rising fuel prices and demanding commutes encouraged the County of Hawaii to invest in plug-in models like the Chevy Volt. The island paid a total of $7 million for gasoline in 2011 with higher fuel bills likely in the future due to rising prices throughout the United States. Public employees can travel up to 200 miles for official trips and daily tasks, which places a premium on fuel efficiency. The County of Hawaii represents an important market for automakers like Chevy that need reliable customers in the present to encourage broader production in the future.

XL Hybrids converted a Chevy Express 2500 with a 2kWh lithium-ion battery pack and a 40kW electric motor to encourage fuel-efficient travel. The firm also added an in-house hybrid control system that works with Chevy’s gas engine and automatic transmission to achieve higher fuel economy. XL Hybrids claims that the hybrid drive system increases the vehicle’s fuel economy rating by 25%. Fuel savings could achieve payback on the upfront premium within three years for outright purchases or in a matter of months for financed purchases according to XL Hybrids.

The hybrid conversion kit developed by XL Hybrids offers advantages beyond the obvious increase in fuel economy. XL Hybrids has created a kit that can be installed within four hours by auto mechanics without experience dealing with green vehicles. This kit does not require the removal of a vehicle’s engine and transmission as the hybrid drive system works in concert with these original components. XL Hybrids also eschewed concerns about charging infrastructure by focusing on hybrid rather than plug-in technology. The converted Chevy Express 25000 could have left the MIT campus in March and gone to work for a delivery company without any additional infrastructure investment.

Current offerings from XL Hybrids include conversion kits for the Chevy Express 2500 as well as the GMC Savana 2500. These kits should be joined by products designed for Chevy and Ford pickups within the next two years. XL Hybrids takes a different approach than traditional automakers that are developing green vehicles simply to move more units off dealership lots. The Chevy Express 2500 shown at MIT allows commercial fleet operators to keep their current vehicles, reduce fuel consumption and avoid the complexities of maintaining production hybrids.

The latest order from AT&T represents the largest order of CNG technology for General Motors. GM offers CNG drive systems for the Chevy Express 2500 and 3500 vans. Fleet customers choose between a three-tank and four-tank system depending on their cargo requirements. The three-tank CNG system holds sufficient fuel for a 200-mile trip and does not impede the cargo area. GM notes that the four-tank system allows a driver to travel 300 miles but cuts slightly into cargo space. The versatility of the CNG drive system shows that the technology could be scaled down eventually for passenger vehicles.

Each CNG system produced by GM is factory installed in the Chevy Express to ensure efficient driving. The Chevy Express CNG uses a Vortec V8 engine to provide enough power to haul cables, tools and other supplies needed for maintenance work. Owners are protected by a 36-month, 36,000-mile warranty for the vehicle as well as a 60-month, 100,000-mile warranty for the drive system. AT&T will hopefully open the doors for additional fleet purchases by corporations interested in green vehicles from American automakers.

AT&T is pushing the envelope among corporate competitors that are engaged in greening their fleets. The decade-long acquisition of alt-fuel vehicles recently led to the 5,000th AT&T green vehicle entering service. The EPA estimates that a CNG van could reduce carbon emissions by at least 25% compared to a traditional van. The Chevy Express CNG meets EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards, meaning that AT&T could drastically reduce environmental impacts by 2018. This significant investment in green technology could be a drop in the bucket if industrial leaders do not follow the example.

Akerson appeared before the House Oversight Government Reform Committee on January 25th to testify about GM’s response to failed NHTSA tests by the Volt. A trio of Volt batteries started on fire following June 2011 crash tests. The NHTSA did not open their investigation into the matter until November 2011. This committee issued a report that questioned the relationship between the Obama administration and GM given the federal government’s 26% stake in the automaker. Akerson responded by noting that the NHTSA tests for the Volts in question did not reflect realistic driving conditions. He also stated that Volt researchers and drivers have traveled more than 25 million miles in real-world conditions without incident.

Another phase of Akerson’s efforts to boost the Volt is a media blitz that heads off criticism by traditionalists and small-government advocates. GM published a letter from Mr. Akerson in newspapers throughout the United States including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. This letter indicated that the Chevy Volt is not only safe but represents an economic boost to Detroit that makes America competitive in the auto industry. The automaker also plans a series of commercials to change the narrative created by the House investigation.

GM’s efforts to protect its signature hybrid collide with an immovable partisan force during a highly contentious election season. The House Oversight Government Reform Committee called their January 25th hearing “Volt Vehicle Fire: What Did NHSA Know and When Did They Know It?” This title alone shows the bile heaped on GM and advancements in vehicle technology by House Republicans. Mr. Akerson and GM have become a symbol for government excess as well as hyped-up technology by conservatives. Americans must look beyond these simplistic conclusions and see that the Chevy Volt has performed well on the road in the past year. An ignorance of the Volt’s on-the-road record would snuff out homegrown green vehicles that can create jobs, reduce emissions and wean America off fossil fuels.

The Plug-in Car Grant currently offers discounts on 10 vehicle models including the Nissan LEAF, Tata Vista and Citroen CZero. The Department for Transport notes that 1,052 qualifying vehicles were purchased in the United Kingdom though only 892 grant applications had been approved. This disparity comes from the delay between a manufacturer’s application for reimbursement and government approval.  The first round of qualifying vans should be approved by the end of January after a month-long application process. The addition of vans to the Plug-in Car Grant should help families, small businesses and government agencies save significantly on their green vehicle investments.

Manufacturers of plug-in vans must meet rigorous criteria for their models to qualify for the Plug-in Car Grant. Current standards require qualifying vehicles to travel up to 70 miles per charge with a top speed of 60 miles per hour. The Department for Transport requires manufacturers to provide at least a 60,000-mile warranty as well as a five-year battery warranty to protect consumers. Qualifying vans must also meet British and international vehicle safety standards including whole-vehicle crash tests. These criteria not only save consumers from lemons but protect the government’s substantial investment in this market.

The British government has invested $614 million in advancing low-emissions vehicles throughout the country. This investment includes $460 million for incentives like the Plug-in Car Grant, $123 million on advanced vehicle research and development and $46 million for EV charger installation. The Department for Transport notes that the United Kingdom features more than 2,500 plug-in stations including 765 funded during the recent Plugged-in Places project. These stations should be joined by 4,000 charging stations purchased by businesses through the end of this year. The Plug-in Car Grant is a worthwhile program that could become unique as European, American and Asian governments begin to cut back on national budgets.