Bentley Motors to introduce renewable fuel versions of all production cars by 2012

March 7, 2008

Bentley Motors will introduce renewable fuel versions of all its production cars by 2012, the company said. It added that it expected a 15% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2012 from improved efficiency and a 40 percent reduction from a new powertrain design.

Among other luxury car makers, BMW may introduce a new “green” brand, after concluding that the BMW brand is too closely identified with its “Ultimate Driving Machine” image to encompass an eco-friendly brand message. The company is concerned that it will not excite consumers with its Efficient Dynamics program, unless it has a new brand, because fundamental changes to the primary BMW brand are not under discussion.

BMW makes the Hydrogen 7, which runs on hydrogen and gasoline, but the vehicle is only available on loan and has been reserved for celebrity use.

At the recent International Auto Show, a significant number of new hybrids and concept cars from a wide variety of manufacturers underlines the interest of car makers in “greening” their brands. In total, more than 40 hybrids and flex-fuel vehicles were displayed. Among the innovations, a new Two-Mode hybrid system that would allow cars to operate simultaneously on both electricity and gasoline.

Among the concept car hybrids debuted at the show, Chrysler unveiled a hybrid diesel-electric Jeep Renegade dune buggy. The Jeep can travel 40 miles on its lithium battery before switching to a cleantech diesel engine that can extend range to 400 miles and achieve 110 mpg. Chrysler also debuted a Dodge Zeo electric sports car with a range of 250 miles, and a Chrysler ecoVoyager powered by a plug-in battery and hydrogen fuel cells that has a total range of 300 miles with water vapor as the only emission.

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Written by Jim Lane · Filed Under Consumers & Fleets