Auto Makers See Future in Hybrid, Diesel Engines
DETROIT - Sustained consumer interest in cars that use alternative energy sources, such as hybrid and diesel engines, will largely depend on US gasoline prices remaining high, auto industry executives said at the Reuters Autos Summit in Detroit this week.
Hybrids, particularly Toyota Motor Corp.'s iconic Prius, have gained a reputation for hipness among environmentally conscious Americans, in part fueled by famous hybrid owners such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz. Accounting for about 1 percent of new car sales in the United States, a hybrid couples a traditional combustion engine with a battery to allow for lower gasoline use.
Diesel engines can use 20 to 40 percent less fuel than gasoline models and are popular in Europe but remain uncommon on consumer vehicles in the United States, where they are sometimes perceived as dirty and unreliable. Diesel fuel is also often priced higher than gasoline in the United States.
"With hybrid technology focused more on small cars, we believe diesel offers an advantage on larger vehicles," said Dan Bonawitz, vice president of corporate planning and logistics at Honda Motor Co. Ltd. "There's a diminished return on hybrids when you start getting larger frontal areas and more weight and mass."
"I don't know that everybody actually does the math when they say 'I'm going to invest in a hybrid engine,' and that is going to pay back," said Pete Hastings, a vice president in corporate fixed-income research at Morgan Keegan. "There's a bit more emotion in buying these things."
Several executives at the summit said diesel engines have gotten short shrift from the American public.
"The technology that is a winner is diesel engines, which already exist in Europe," said Earl Hesterberg, president and CEO of Group 1 Automotive Inc. . "There's also a different perception of emissions."
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