DaimlerChrysler, GM team on hybrids
Automakers will jointly develop new hybrid motors to compete with Japanese rivals.
December 13, 2004: 8:08 AM EST
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler and General Motors will jointly develop new hybrid motors to compete against Japanese rivals on the fuel-saving technology that reduces harmful emissions, the companies said Monday.
The goal is to make advanced hybrid propulsion systems that will improve acceleration and fuel economy for GM, Chrysler and Mercedes Car Group vehicles, according to a joint statement.
The accord teams GM (Research), the world's biggest carmaker, and German-American DaimlerChrysler (Research), the global number five, against rivals including Toyota Motor Corp. (Research) and Honda Motor Co. (Research) who have a head start in the hybrid market.
The wide-ranging program will allow opportunities for additional partners, and could become a hybrid source for other auto manufacturers," the statement said.
Variants planned include rear- and front-wheel-drive versions for cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Each company will integrate the new hybrids into its own models.
GM intends to put hybrids into its full-sized Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon SUVs in late 2007.
DaimlerChrysler's U.S. arm Chrysler will offer a range of hybrids, the first of which will be featured in its Dodge Durango SUV, to come on the market shortly after GM's hybrid SUVs.
Daimler's premium Mercedes-Benz brand will focus on high-tech hybrid propulsion systems in rear-wheel drive passenger cars in the luxury segment.
Hybrids link an electric motor to an internal combustion engine so that cars run on battery power at slower speeds. The batteries recharge automatically and capture energy from braking.
Hybrids more popular
Toyota's Prius passenger car has emerged as the most popular hybrid. Customers in the United States often have to wait half a year or longer to get one.
Other models available in the U.S. market are Honda's Civic and Insight, which in 1999 became the first gasoline-electric car to be sold in the United States, and Ford Motor Co.'s (Research) Escape sport utility vehicle.
GM and DaimlerChrysler will work on what they call "two-mode full hybrid" technology.
"Together we will jointly develop what is essentially an electrically variable transmission with two hybrid drive modes," said Tom Stephens, group vice president of GM Powertrain.
"This system will reduce fuel consumption at highway speeds much more effectively than available single mode systems and achieve at least a 25 percent improvement in composite fuel economy in full-size truck applications."
The new system aims to improve performance and fuel economy at highway speeds and increase trailer towing ability. The system's electric motors are designed to fit within the approximate space of a conventional automatic transmission.
The development team will be based in Michigan.
DaimlerChrysler's research and development chief Thomas Weber had told a newspaper in October that its premium Mercedes-Benz brand would launch hybrid cars within five years in key markets such as the United States and Japan.
The world's fifth-biggest carmaker did not think hybrids could dislodge diesel engines in Europe for the time being, he said, but it was ready to produce hybrids in Europe should market conditions change.
