GM has become the first major US automaker to commit itself publicly to meeting the Obama administration’s 56.2 miles per gallon fuel efficiency goal. The target would be for cars and light trucks to average this level of efficiency by 2025.
When talking to the Associated Press, Mark Reuss, the company’s North American president, called the goal tough but said that GM would “figure out a way” to reach it. The Detroit car giant has also entered into an agreement with Westport Innovations Inc. to develop natural gas technology for light-duty vehicles, Green Car Congress reports.
FedEx Express is adding more than 4,000 fuel-efficient vehicles to its fleet. That number includes Hybrid-electric vehicles, low-weight composite vehicles, upgrading conventional vehicles and 24 new all-electric vehicles. The company’s total electric fleet will now be 43-strong, and all-electric delivery is being expanded to three new cities: New York, Memphis and Chicago.
A statement issued by carmaker Toyota this week said the company was to deliver 75,000 fuel-efficient Priuses to the US by the end of the year, Reuters reports. However, the Japanese automaker moved to withdraw the statement shortly after it had been released, refusing to confirm or deny details within the release. The company has now said it can only confirm that the US will be receiving 36,000 of the cars over the summer, Reuters reports. Prius deliveries have this year been hampered by the Japanese earthquake, the news agency says.
Nissan Motor Co.’s CEO Carlos Ghosn said that he expects the company’s electric vehicle to become profitable within three years. Ghosn also expects it to go on to become one of the most profitable vehicles on the Japanese automaker’s roster. The all-electric Leaf was launched in December in the US but questions of profitability have plagued the car, which has relied on subsidies to lower the retail price, The Wall Street Journal Reports.
Transportation and logistics company Ryder System Inc. has announced it has already secured lease agreements for 87 heavy-duty natural gas trucks from customers looking to take advantage of the fuel cost savings and environmental benefits of alternative fuel powered vehicles. Some 65 of those vehicles are part of Ryder’s natural gas fleet in Southern California, the company says.
PSA Peugeot Citroen is aiming to provide an environmentally friendly car to each of its customer classes, its chief executive Philippe Varin has said, Reuters reports. The agency says the French carmaker is one of the best-placed companies to comply with European Union fuel efficiency targets.