NHTSA is conducting an $8.75 million study on fire hazards of lithium ion batteries used in electric vehicles. Regulators want to know if the batteries can start fires while being charged or in an accident.
As the federal government plans to tighten emissions regulations and significantly increase CAFE standards, a new study from the Boston Consulting Group says automakers will be able to achieve these new regulations with improving gasoline engine technology. These technologies will take the pressure off automakers to move to electric vehicles. Advanced combustion technologies can cut tailpipe emissions 40 percent in new vehicles at a cost to the consumer of about $2,000 per car. The cost of these technology changes is likely to be half of what was expected three years ago.
Lacey Plache, Edmunds' chief economist, thinks that the US economy?s slow expansion, high jobless rate, and weakness in housing will cause a slower sales return than what?s expected by other analysts. Edmunds expects that US auto sales will top 16 million mark it last reached in 2007, but is unlikely to get there until the second half of the decade.
Major auto parts supplier Bosch Automotive Group is surpassing its previous sales threshold, and the growth is coming from demand for products it manufactures for automakers worldwide to increase the fuel efficiency of the vehicles they sell. Bosch is aiming to reduce fuel consumption in diesel and gasoline vehicles by 30%, and is also looking forward to its electric-drive technologies being in demand.
Aviva is offering a new insurance policy to fleets that already have installed telematics systems. The goal is to reduce accidents, which can lead to lower premiums. Certain criteria must be met, and officials must agree on a target for accident costs.