With old-hat petrol and diesel staging a fierce fightback against an array of
electric vehicles and ever more clever hybrids, the choice is bewildering.
But, whether bold or cautious, the cost-conscious fleet manager must keep an
eye on acceptance in the used-car market to gauge resale values, says Steve
Fowler.
The propulsion revolution is about to transform our car-buying lives, making an
already difficult decision even harder. Today, there are more than 4,000 new
cars to choose from, but that number will increase exponentially over the
coming years. Within the next 12 to 18 months, we'll have the choice of full
electric cars, range-extender electric cars, plug-in hybrids, petrol hybrids,
diesel hybrids, eco-diesels and super-efficient petrol-powered models.
Hydrogen-powered cars, which for the past 10 years seem to have always been 10
years away, may well get here in about - you guessed it - another 10 years.
Sounds like a tough choice, doesn't it? Let's make it a whole lot more
difficult again. Car-makers have discovered how cost-effective it can be to
build myriad different cars using the same technology. It's known in the car
business as platform sharing, and everyone from Aston Martin to Volvo uses it.
VW has been at it for years. Take the VW Golf and its wide range of engines.
Its platform, running gear and even things like the audio system find their way
into Seats, Skodas and Audis. Volkswagen's latest Polo is a fine example of a
posh supermini, but why not make an even posher one? Enter the Audi A1 - set to
be the darling of the downsizer, it's basically a Polo in a fancy frock.
Talking of fancy frocks, there's a new player in the premium car market -
Infiniti. What Lexus is to Toyota, Infiniti is to Nissan; however, Infiniti
will beat even its parent company to the punch next year when it launches its
M-series executive car with a choice of petrol, diesel or hybrid models.
Infiniti says the M37 petrol 'will appeal to the more traditional buyer who
enjoys driving and the soundtrack of a V6 petrol' The M30d diesel 'is for the
long-distance driver and likely to take the bulk of sales', while the M35h
hybrid is 'a performance hybrid with the best performance yet lowest emissions
of the range, to appeal to the company car driver'.
The hybrid has now become acceptable, almost as much a part of motoring
parlance as petrol and diesel. It's no longer seen as just the weird-beard,
eco-campaigner or Hollywood do-gooder's wheels of choice.
But, according to Roddy Graham, chairman of the Institute of Fleet Managers and
commercial director of Leasedrive Velo, they're still not fully integrated.
'They've certainly been accepted by the fleet industry, mostly because of their
excellent whole-life costs, but they're not mainstream,' he says. 'The Toyota
Prius is still a bit quirky, but people will buy into it because it looks like
any other car. The new model is significantly better, too, now that the issue
of the car not offering the expected fuel economy, especially on the motorway,
has been sorted.'
Fuel economy has been the bugbear of hybrid owners for years, with numerous
complaints that the real-life mpg is nothing like that claimed in the
brochures. According to the official EU fuel consumption tests that
manufacturers have to use, the latest Prius should average 72.4 mpg. Most
owners don't get close to that figure. The more usual 50-60 mpg is still a good
return from a full-size family car, although the latest diesels aren't far off
that mark.
In terms of numbers, having a hybrid in your line-up has been a guarantee of
sales success for the manufacturers. In 2006, leasing firm Lloyds Autolease
(now joined with Lex as Lex Autolease) had 166 hybrids on its books. Last year,
that number was 613. Now, there are more than 2,500 hybrid cars in the whole
Lex Autolease fleet.
Says Chris Chandler, principal consultant at Lex Autolease: 'Hybrids have been
adopted by big-name brands, which want to be seen to be as green as possible,
and by private-user choosers who see the benefits of being green with tax
savings.'
Hybrids are certainly the here, the now and the coming soon. In 2011, diesel
hybrids from the likes of Peugeot and Citroen will be joining the range of
petrol-powered hybrids available.
Diesel engines are renowned for their fuel efficiency at high speed and over
long distances, so, in theory, a diesel hybrid will be more efficient as a
high-mileage fleet car.
Toyota argues that petrol engines are cleaner in the local pollutants they
emit, such as particulates, nitrous oxides and hydrocarbons - so a petrol
hybrid is a better bet around town.
Initially at least, Peugeot's diesel hybrid system will be used to power an
electric motor driving the rear wheels of its 3008 crossover, instantly turning
it into a 4x4. Initial estimates suggest an economy figure for a hybrid 3008 of
around 70 mpg and emissions of 100 g/km.
Like the Toyota, the Peugeot system is a full hybrid, meaning that the car can
be driven wholly under electric power, by the internal combustion engine or a
combination of both. Honda's Insight and sexy new CR-Z sports coupe are classed
as mild hybrids, using a battery-powered electric motor to support a petrol
engine, but the car cannot be driven on electric power alone.
Although it is full hybrid models we'll all be talking about next year, mild
hybrids are not to be dismissed. Working with other energy-saving technologies,
they'll provide a relatively cheap and simple way to make existing cars more
efficient.
Stop/start systems, where the engine stops when the car is at a halt, are
becoming de rigueur - even Ferrari will soon be launching its California cabrio
with stop/start. Such systems normally improve economy and reduce emissions by
about 5% - a worthwhile investment for the car maker looking to drop its mo
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Topic: Car Choices (Read 1337 times)