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Hyundai, which showed off its Blue-Will plug-in hybrid concept, right, at the 2010 North American International Auto Show, jumped onto the hybrid powertrain bandwagon with a new hybrid Sonata sedan for 2011. PHOTO: JOE BOOMGAARD

By Julie Cridler
Senior Market Analyst, IRN Inc.
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— Special to MiEnergy —

While there are many powertrain options that are being explored, electrification is one that is furthest afield from the traditional gasoline engine, and the concept is taking the industry by storm.

Because of their departure from the norm and the infrastructure requirements that go along with them, pure electric vehicles will take time to reach a level of critical mass in the industry. Nonetheless, all of the major OEMs are pursuing an electrification strategy in varying degrees; so electric powertrains are the wave of the future. Here is a snapshot of what the major OEMs are working on relative to electrification.

Chrysler

Of the Detroit Three, Chrysler has been the least aggressive in terms of positioning themselves to be part of the electric vehicle segment. Early EV ambitions fell by the wayside in the wake of cuts that accompanied the bankruptcy restructuring.

More recently however, the Chrysler Group announced that it would build the Fiat 500EV for the U.S. market in 2012. The powertrain engineering and development for the vehicle will take place at Chrysler’s Auburn Hills headquarters. According to its powertrain strategy, the Chrysler headquarters is the center of electrification development for both Chrysler and Fiat. Going forward, the company is also working on additional partnerships to help promote zero-emission transportation, as well as the development of an EV charging infrastructure.

Ford

Ford’s electrification strategy is markedly different from its peers in the industry. Ford is approaching electrification from a modular approach — where an electric powertrain module is something that can be integrated into existing vehicle platforms. The advantage to this strategy is that the company can build on the momentum of well-known nameplates and they are able to spread development costs over greater volumes. In addition, there is minimal new investment required for assembly operations, as the electric versions of the vehicles can be built on the same assembly lines as the existing gasoline models.

By 2012, Ford will have introduced five electric vehicles; none of them designed from the ground up specifically as electric powertrain models.

General Motors

GM’s electrification strategy is aggressive and the company has spent the last few years positioning itself as an innovator in the electric vehicle segment by building anticipation of the Chevrolet Volt, which was launched at the end of 2010.

From the start, GM understood some of the obstacles that electric powertrain technology would present for consumers, and they designed the Volt to overcome some of those. For example, range anxiety is high on consumers’ lists of concerns regarding electric vehicles. The Volt, therefore, was designed as an electric vehicle with range extending capability via a small gasoline engine.

The initial volumes for the Volt are low — with only 10,000 units expected to be produced in 2011. The low volume expectations indicate that GM understands that the acceptance curve for these unique vehicles will require some time to build. Yet, the OEM is continuing to forge ahead developing the technology. Reportedly, there are next generation vehicles in development that will utilize the Voltec plug-in hybrid powertrain.

As a signal of its importance, shortly after the launch of the Volt, GM announced it would hire 1,000 engineers and researchers in Michigan during 2011-2012 to further the company’s electrification expertise.

Honda

Honda is working on an extended range electric vehicle, but overall the company has historically been much less enthusiastic about the long-term prospect for EVs than other automakers. Honda has plans to launch both a plug-in hybrid electric (mid-size to larger vehicle) along with the Fit EV in the U.S. and Japanese markets in 2012. In addition, Honda recently launched an Electric Vehicle Demonstration program in Torrance, Calif.

Mercedes-Benz took the supercar to electric heights with the debut at the 2011 North American International Auto Show of this matte-yellow SLS AMG E-Cell, an all electric sports car with 525 horsepower and 649 pound-feet of torque from four electric motors using lithium-ion battery technology. The company plans to offer the car for sale in 2012. PHOTO: JOE BOOMGAARD

Nissan

Nissan has been a strong advocate for electric vehicles and has worked to establish its position as a leader in that area with the recent launch of the Leaf — a vehicle designed to meet the everyday driving needs for a large majority. Back in 2007, top management at Nissan came to the conclusion that the company’s future livelihood had to be electric vehicles. Now that the Leaf has been introduced to the market, Nissan has plans to ramp up production to meet demand on a global scale. By the end of March 2011, the company was hoping to increase production to 4,000 units a month at the Oppama facility in Japan — currently the only plant where the Leaf is produced. (The recent tragedies in Japan will likely delay those plans).

In late 2012, Nissan’s Smyrna, Tenn., plant will also begin production of the Leaf, followed by production start-up at the Sunderland, England plant in early 2013.

Toyota

Toyota pioneered the green car era with the Prius hybrid, but the company is not stopping there. In 2012, Toyota plans to launch a plug-in hybrid electric version of the Prius in all major markets. In addition, Toyota invested in and formed a partnership with Tesla Motors. As a result of this collaboration, Toyota will be launching an all-electric version of the RAV4 in 2012.

Along with the efforts of the mainstream automakers, there are a number of smaller start-ups and spin-offs that are also trying to establish a foothold in the electrification movement. The presence of so many of these smaller companies may have served to heighten the awareness of the larger OEMs, spurring them into more urgent action.

Even the major OEMs outside of the top six (i.e. Mitsubishi, Hyundai, BMW etc.) are all working on some level of electrification program. With so many efforts and investments behind electrification, there is no doubt that it will be part of the auto industry future. The real question that remains is how soon we reach critical mass.

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