xcel
04-16-2007, 12:00 PM
The possibilities of everyone using less fuel are limitless. (http://www.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS/04/16/motoring.downsize/index.html?section=cnn_latest)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Prius_II_Front_End.jpgPaul Hudson - CNN - April 16, 2007
Although widely acknowledged as one of the most eco-friendly mass-market cars you can buy, the Toyota Prius petrol/electric hybrid still has less than a 0.18 percent share of the European market.
LONDON, England -- Downsizing has been around for a while as smaller cars gain the luxuries and refinement once purely the preserve of luxury automobiles.
But the trend has accelerated in recent years with mounting concerns about motoring costs and the internal combustion engine's perceived impact on the planet.
As ever, auto manufacturers have rushed to meet the challenge, with a raft of new models that are relatively small on the outside but with all the luxury and safety features modern consumers demand.
Large cars yield bigger profits, but the industry has looked to low labor-cost countries such as eastern Europe, India and particularly China, where cars can be produced more cheaply and therefore be sold competitively while returning an attractive profit margin.
For example, Korean manufacturer Kia's new factory in Zilina, Slovakia, has been setting a series of production records, with more than 24,000 cars made so far this year after starting production in December 2006.
Kia's original goal was to ramp-up production conservatively, starting with one shift of workers and 5,000 cars a month during the first quarter of 2007 and introducing a second shift to produce 10,000 cars a month from May.
However, the first shift has been operating so efficiently -- building up to 617 cee'd models each day -- that the second shift has been introduced 45 days ahead of schedule. As a result, the target has been revised to 12,000 cars this month, moving up to 14,000 in May.
The most recent statistics for UK car registrations (March 2007) show that demand for sub-compact superminis remains strong, with annual sales up 6.6 per cent in the first quarter of the year. A large proportion of these were diesels, which shows that, in the UK at least, customers are finally accepting that diesel-engined cars can be as refined as petrol ones.
The greater economy and lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) of diesel are contributory factors.
"The growth in diesel and supermini car sales shows that fuel efficiency and greener motoring are now critical concerns for buyers," said Christopher Macgowan, chief executive of the SMMT, the trade body for auto manufacturers in the UK … http://www.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS/04/16/motoring.downsize/index.html?section=cnn_latest
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Prius_II_Front_End.jpgPaul Hudson - CNN - April 16, 2007
Although widely acknowledged as one of the most eco-friendly mass-market cars you can buy, the Toyota Prius petrol/electric hybrid still has less than a 0.18 percent share of the European market.
LONDON, England -- Downsizing has been around for a while as smaller cars gain the luxuries and refinement once purely the preserve of luxury automobiles.
But the trend has accelerated in recent years with mounting concerns about motoring costs and the internal combustion engine's perceived impact on the planet.
As ever, auto manufacturers have rushed to meet the challenge, with a raft of new models that are relatively small on the outside but with all the luxury and safety features modern consumers demand.
Large cars yield bigger profits, but the industry has looked to low labor-cost countries such as eastern Europe, India and particularly China, where cars can be produced more cheaply and therefore be sold competitively while returning an attractive profit margin.
For example, Korean manufacturer Kia's new factory in Zilina, Slovakia, has been setting a series of production records, with more than 24,000 cars made so far this year after starting production in December 2006.
Kia's original goal was to ramp-up production conservatively, starting with one shift of workers and 5,000 cars a month during the first quarter of 2007 and introducing a second shift to produce 10,000 cars a month from May.
However, the first shift has been operating so efficiently -- building up to 617 cee'd models each day -- that the second shift has been introduced 45 days ahead of schedule. As a result, the target has been revised to 12,000 cars this month, moving up to 14,000 in May.
The most recent statistics for UK car registrations (March 2007) show that demand for sub-compact superminis remains strong, with annual sales up 6.6 per cent in the first quarter of the year. A large proportion of these were diesels, which shows that, in the UK at least, customers are finally accepting that diesel-engined cars can be as refined as petrol ones.
The greater economy and lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) of diesel are contributory factors.
"The growth in diesel and supermini car sales shows that fuel efficiency and greener motoring are now critical concerns for buyers," said Christopher Macgowan, chief executive of the SMMT, the trade body for auto manufacturers in the UK … http://www.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS/04/16/motoring.downsize/index.html?section=cnn_latest