When Fiat's chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne speaks, people listen. Well, maybe not everyone, but at least the ears perk up on the people inside Chrysler with the power to get stuff done. Case in point, a few weeks ago Marchionne spoke in Traverse City, MI. The topic du jour was CNG-powered vehicles, something that Fiat knows a lot about. Marchionne hinted that CNG would be a solid short-term solution for Chrysler as the company moves towards a cleaner future.

This CNG plan of action is now being echoed by Chrysler Powertrain leader Paolo Ferrero. Ferrero says Chrysler may turn to CNG-powered vehicles in the near future while putting electric vehicles off until sometime after 2012. As Ferrero notes, Fiat's full lineup of CNG-powered vehicles would give Chrysler instant access to the greener natural gas technology. Ferrero's attention has now turned to convincing the government to subsidize the infrastructure needed to support CNG-powered vehicles. If the infrastructure rolls into place, Chrysler could be ready to offer CNG vehicles by the end of 2011. The development of said infrastructure would probably take years, meaning that Chrysler may be ready, but the nation probably won't be.

[Source: Detroit News]

Tesla roared out of the gates this week as a publicly traded company, raising some $226 million – of which probably somewhere around $150-160 million is going into the corporate coffers. Of the 13.3 million shares sold, 11.1 million were newly issued with the rest coming from the holdings of earlier private investors. The rest of the IPO funds go to those investors and the fees for the investment banks that conducted the sale.

The big question is what happens next? In its seven year history, Tesla has never had a profitable quarter – even during the peak sales period for the Roadster in the second half of 2009. Over at least the next two years until the current launch date for the Model S, revenue prospects for Tesla look pretty grim as Roadster sales have dipped to an estimated 20-30 a month from their peak of over 100 per month. None of the industry analysts that Green Car Reports spoke to – such as Oliver Hazimeh of PRTM and Aaron Bragman of IHS Global Insight – seemed to think that Tesla has much chance as a standalone company.

While it would seem the prospect of Tesla disappearing completely is now far smaller than it was in late 2008 when it faced a major funding crisis, its chances of survival as a standalone automaker seem unlikely. Based on our own informal chats with people more familiar with such financial matters than us, Tesla's initial stock price seems to be based far more on hype and interest from people hoping to latch onto the next big thing than it is on fundamentals.

When Tesla conducted its road-show for financial analysts prior to the IPO, the content was more about grand plans for the future and changing the world than it was about the numbers. Our sources tell us presentations are typically the exact opposite, dry presentations of the balance sheet and financial projections. The car business (any heavy industry actually) is extremely capital intensive and will never experience the sort of margins found from technology companies like Google, Apple or Microsoft, even if the company operates in Silicon Valley.

Now that Tesla is publicly traded, it will have to start being more transparent about its numbers and we'll be watching the earnings calls carefully. Our financially oriented contacts expect to see some wildly divergent target prices for TSLA in the coming months, depending on whether they were involved in the IPO or not (hint: Goldman Sachs was one of the underwriters). Purely on the fundamentals, TSLA could have a target price as low as $4-5 or as high as $40 or more if confidence is the driving force. Based on what we've seen so far, we'd bet that Tesla will be a division or subsidiary of a much bigger automaker long before it ever turns a full quarter profit. Tell us what you think in the poll and the comments.

By 2015, Tesla will be ...

A profitable independent automakerA wholly owned subsidiary of another automakerJust another car brand headed to the Orphan Car ShowVote

Gallery: 2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5

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[Source: Green Car Reports]

2007 was a big year for the planet. That's when, for the first time ever, more people lived in cities than in rural areas. For car companies, this global trend means finding new ways to move people around in tighter and tighter spaces. General Motors thought up the EN-V concepts and, with Segway, the Puma. Honda has the P-NUT. The current real-world king of small urban vehicles is, of course, the Smart Fortwo, which was way ahead of the curve.

More people in bigger cities leads to transportation problems like congestion and less incentive to drive a car. People want public transportation options to be expanded, and more car sharing services. But the automakers are very keen to keep selling personal mobility vehicles to people no matter where they live and, since electric cars a good fit for urban environments, it makes sense that this new breed of city cars have a zero-emission powertrain. For BMW, this all comes together in Project I, the Megacity Vehicle (MCV, above) and, maybe, a new Megacity sub-brand.

That BMW has been working on something called the Megacity Vehicle is no secret, the company officially announced the car over a year ago and, earlier this year, confirmed that it would release the car in 2013. Still, there was a lot we didn't know about the car and the project. This week, near Munich, with vehicles like the E1 (an early BMW electric vehicle), a carbon-fiber X5 and the Isetta on hand, BMW revealed an overwhelming amount of information about just what we can expect from the MCV and Project I. Read all about it after the jump.

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If you'd like to know what it's like to be on top in the hybrid segment of the automotive industry, just ask Toyota. The company has held the top spot for eons and it certainly doesn't look like Toyota will relinquish the honor in the foreseeable future. Banking on the success of the Toyota Prius, the company has now captured more than 2.5 million hybrid sales and counting. The Prius, the world's best-selling hybrid vehicle by a significant margin, has accounted for more than 1.8 million of Toyota's total hybrid sales.

If memory serves us right, just last year we reported that Toyota eclipsed the 1.7 million mark for hybrid sales. Now, sales already stand at 2.5 million-plus and are growing at a rate of more than 2,000 per day. The strong boost in Toyota's hybrid sales are attributed to the introduction on the current Prius and the release of the Camry Hybrid in additional markets such as Australia and China. At 2,000 per day, Toyota's hybrid sales are still short of the company's target of one million per year, but not by that much.



[Source: Toyota]

We all love to see high fuel prices, right? Well, some of us might, but the majority of us would rather not pay through the roof for a gallon of gas. There's definitely a consensus that high gas prices are good for the environment in many ways, but few of us are willing to foot the bill to help out Mother Nature's cause.

But what if you had no choice on the matter and the government imposed some sort of system to ensure that gas prices remain high forever? You'd probably buy a more fuel-efficient vehicle or something of the electric-powered variety, right? Well, that's exactly the thought process behind the suggestions put forth by the UK's Committee on Climate Change.

The committee believes that the government should step in to keep fuel prices permanently high, a move that should force drivers to buy something more efficient. The commission suggests that the government sets minimum prices for both gasoline and diesel fuel. As the committee's chief executive David Kennedy remarked, "We know that people buy more efficient cars if the petrol price remains consistently high." But Kennedy's thoughts are not supported by the UK's Automobile Association president Edmund King.

As King said, the committee's plans are "unrealistic." "People are already moving to more fuel efficient cars so there is no need to punish them by keeping the cost of fuel excessively high," he said. We'd have to side with King's response on this one and suggest that there are other ways to easily convince buyers to make the right choice.

[Source: Autocar | Image: Brownpau - C.C. License 2.0]

The Renault-Nissan alliance has now tallied more than 60 electric vehicle (EV) partnerships with its most recent addition of Taiwan to the ever-growing list of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed with governments, cities and other organizations scattered around the globe. The MoU signed between the Renault-Nissan group and Taiwan's Taichung City is similar to many of the other agreements in that Renault-Nissan will work with the local Taiwanese government to promote the adoption of EVs countrywide.

The country of Taiwan will actively seek out ways to make the deployment of EVs as painless as possible and Nissan-Renault will assist with the creation of an EV promotion plan and will offer EVs to local governments for fleet use. Renault-Nissan's commitment to the advancement of EVs seems to be unmatched by any other major automaker and its bullish goals continue to shape the emerging electric industry. Check out the press release after the break.



[Source: Nissan]

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Mitsubishi and PSA Peugeot Citroen are expanding their collaboration beyond an existing supply deal for electric cars to powertrains and battery packaging. Mitsubishi will supplying a version of its i-MiEV that PSA will sell in Europe as the Peugeot iOn and Citroen C0.

The new efforts will be targeted at applying electric drive to light commercial vehicles. Compact vans like the Ford Transit Connect and the Peugeot Bipper and Partner are a popular for businesses in Europe and are seen as a good application for electric drive. These vehicles typically have a relatively small operating radius and run in urban areas where emissions are more of a problem. As a result, the limited range of near term battery electric vehicles is less of an issue. Check out the full press release after the break.



[Source: Mitsubishi]

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In September, the Prince of Wales will be hosting "A Garden Party To Make A Difference" as part of his Start initiative. One of the highlights of the 12 day event will be the "Eco Car Spectacular" on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace, and to warm up for that glitzy event and perhaps do a little profile-raising on behalf of the EV Cup organizers, Roger Saul and his pal Kevin McCloud took to the top of Kilver Court Viaduct with a Tesla Roadster Sport and a brace of race-prepared Think Citys for a little time trial showdown action.

While TV presenter McCloud managed to edge out his buddy by tenths of a second in both of the vehicles – he is also known for a surprisingly good result in an appearance on Top Gear – perhaps the more interesting part of this stunt was the insight into the modifications made to the Norwegian city cars. Still markedly slower than a Tesla, quite a bit of effort went into improving the performance of the somewhat mild-mannered Think.

As might be expected, weight reduction played a large role with 70 kilograms (154.3 lbs) worth of interior bits being removed. The glass was also replaced with shatterproof Perspex and a little spice was dialed into the motor controller with the suspension lowered a smidge to improve handling. It is not known whether the EV Cup Edition cars carried the Zebra sodium batteries or lithium prismatics from Enerdel. Check out the results for yourself in the nicely produced video after the break.

[Source: Think via The Car Connection]

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The National Development and Reform Commission in China recently added 71 models from 16 different automakers to the approved list of vehicles that qualify for subsidies based on fuel efficiency alone. All of the qualifying vehicles are fitted with engines no larger than 1.6 liters and consume fuel at a rate of at least 20 percent below the average vehicle sold in China. Buyers who purchase a qualified model, such as the Hyundai i30 pictured above, will receive a subsidy of 3,000-yuan, which comes to a laughably small $442 (U.S. at the current exchange rate).

Now if China wants to clean up its air, we doubt that $442 per vehicle is enough to get it done. The commission reports that China's average fuel consumption per vehicle comes in at 2.28 tons, while the much greener country of Japan manages to get by on just 1.1 tons per vehicle. China currently stands as the world's second-largest energy user, and 40 percent of the nation's cities suffer from major air pollution problems. Obviously, China desperately needs to clean up its act, but will a measly $442 get it done? We think not.

[Source: Green Car Advisor]

Just as automakers tease with design sketches that reveal very little, we too can tease by offering up just a smidge of info before our big release. So here goes: the BMW Megacity electric vehicle (EV) will be the first mass-produced EV offered by the Bavarian company known for its truly amazing cars. The Megacity will be powered by a motor with over 100 kilowatts, but its top speed will be limited to 93 miles-per-hour since the vehicle is designed mainly for urban use and the car's designers want to maximize battery life.

The sketch drawn up above comes straight from BMW and hints towards the design direction of the Megacity. Its diminutive size and steeply raked windshield is unlike anything we've ever witnessed bearing the BMW roundel. The Megacity's sleek lines, sharp looks and battery-powered motivation intrigued us to delve deeper and learn everything we could about BMW's little EV. As luck would have it, we're almost ready to dish it all out to you. So get ready, because our Megacity reveal is coming soon.

[Source: BMW]