The head of Audi continues the trend among German automakers in recent months toward developing marketable electric cars. Rupert Stadler from Audi has said that the venerable German company will create electric cars in Europe by 2018. The rationale given by Stadler for Audi’s new commitment to electric-powered vehicles is the accelerated affordability of electrical components. Audi is following competitors like Mercedes-Benz and BMW toward the lucrative global market for zero-emission vehicles.

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New tests are being announced everyday regarding hybrid buses in different transport sectors. While not new on the scene, hybrid buses are certainly changing the landscape. From private to public transport hybrid buses are becoming available and are being noticed.

Two-week testing began this week at Haneda airport in Tokyo of the Hino hybrid wireless bus. The bus which will transport between airport terminals charges without the need to plug-in as it uses an electromagnetic inductive charging setup. Essentially this is a plug-in hybrid vehicle that doesn’t need to be plugged-in.

While Mercedes-Benz plans their next move to field test the Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid in the public-transport sector, it was announced the beginning of February that this urban bus received the 2008 DEKRA environmental award. Mercedes-Benz has sold an estimated 2600 hybrid buses and has their site set on making a more cost-effective diesel-electric, hybrid urban bus as well. Mercedes-Benz services the US market through its Orion brand.

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As carmakers look to the future and rethink diesel a Kelley Blue Book marketing study suggests they might need to think again even in the advent of the 2008 car showings.

The study shows that about 6% of Americans think diesel cars could be in our future as opposed to the 40% supporting the growth of the hybrid. The minority may visit the 2008 car shows in support of the new diesel offerings from Jeep, Mercedes-Benz and VW. It is hard to say however, if their support will carry carmakers into the future even though the registration of diesel passenger vehicles was up 80% from 2000 to 2005 according to information compiled by Polk.

Along with the favorable Polk data, another report from May 2007 compiled by UBS Limited, Is Diesel Set to Boom in the U.S.?, indicates that diesel will surpass hybrids in the next five years in sales. Can it? Diesel brings back memories of dirt and noise, ooooh that smell. Is the diesel of the future any different?

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