LAMBORGHINI CEO Stephan Winkelmann, speaking with German car magazine Automobilwoche, has hinted that the Italian supercar manufacturer could reveal a hybrid model in 2015.

Utilising a small electric motor paired with a conventional petrol engine, Lamborghini’s hybrid supercar would help the company tackle its goal of cutting emissions by 35 percent.

Winkelmann said the company will spend [...]

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CODE-NAMED INTERNALLY as Project i, BMW is planning to launch a family of ultra-efficient electric vehicles by 2012.

Despite recent talks that BMW and Fiat would form a joint project to develop a range of electric vehicles, the German manufacturer is understood to be working on an all-electric three-door hatch of its own.

Dubbed ‘City’, the new car [...]

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TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION HAS applied for several trademarks with the United States Patent Office, with the Japanese company registering the names “CT 200h”, “CT 300h” and “CT400h”.

The naming convention used suggests these badges are destined for a Lexus product and, with the CT prefix not currently worn by any existing models, odds are high that [...]

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LEXUS LOOKS SET to up the ante in its never-ending quest to upstage its German rivals, with British publication Autocar reporting that the Japanese luxury marque is prepping a 1 Series-fightin’ five-door hatchback for a debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

The hatch is expected to be built on a new platform separate to [...]

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A PORSCHE PROTOTYPE has been spotted undergoing testing with a mysterious bulge and an electrical warning label slapped onto its bonnet, sparking speculation that the German carmaker is accelerating development of a hybrid powertrain.

The photographer who snapped these images reported that the 911 Cabrio-based development car was unusually quiet for a Porsche, and when the [...]

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WHILE BMW holds off on a locally-delivered hybrid and Audi concentrates on high-efficiency diesels, Mercedes-Benz is shaping up to be the first European prestige manufacturer to have a hybrid model on the Australian market.

Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific is reportedly close to locking in the upcoming E300 BlueTEC Hybrid for local sales, with the company estimating that it [...]

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DESPITE THE SUCCESS of diesel engines in Europe and a growing popularity in the US and Australia, Toyota is betting the farm on hybrid technology for future fuel economy gains.

The world’s number one carmaker has halted diesel programs for its volume selling passenger vehicles because of increasing technology and manufacturing costs.

Diesel engines, which typically [...]

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TOYOTA HAS ANNOUNCED plans to manufacture a full hybrid version of its Auris small car (known as the Corolla hatch in Australia) at its Derbyshire plant in the United Kingdom.

While there are no solid plans to bring it here, Toyota Australia has told TMR that the petrol-electric hatchback hasn’t been entirely ruled out for our [...]

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FOLLOWING the news that 2010 will see the launch of both the Honda CR-Z hybrid and a hybrid version of the company’s popular Jazz small car, Honda’s newly-appointed CEO Takanobu Ito has said that he wants hybrid technology to become a primary focus for Japan’s number-two carmaker.

Speaking to a media gathering at Honda’s Japanese [...]

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HONDA IS SET to up the ante in its hybrid rivalry with Toyota next year, today announcing its intent to bring two new petrol-electric models to market before the end of 2010.

The first will be the Honda CR-Z, the spiritual successor to the CRX of the 1990s and the first production hybrid sports car from [...]

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WHILE ITALIAN SCOOTER manufacturer Piaggio is currently the only brand offering a hybrid scooter for sale, it appears they won’t have the petrol-electric motorcycle market to themselves for long.

Peugeot has announced its intent to bring out a hybrid scooter of its own, which will be based on the HYmotion 3 concept and be powered by [...]

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ITALIAN SCOOTER COMPANY Piaggio has taken launched the world’s first commercially-available plug-in hybrid scooter, the MP3 Hybrid.

Based on the company’s innovative three-wheeled large scooter, the MP3, the MP3 Hybrid marries a 2.6kW electric motor and a small lithium-ion battery pack to a conventional 125cc petrol engine.

Able to be plugged into a mains outlet and be [...]

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