Alternative fuel vehicle sales for October 2007

Alternatively fuelled vehicles showed a general improvement last month over September’s figures, with diesels showing particular improvement compared to last month and October 2006. Some of the highlights:

• Non-petrol vehicle sales were growing faster than petrol vehicle sales compared to 2006, with combined alternative fuel passenger and 4WD vehicle sales representing 13% of the total sales in October 2007, compared with 10% in October 2006.
• Diesel vehicles recorded the strongest growth, with diesel passenger vehicle sales growing by 14% over the previous month and 60% over October 06. Diesel 4WD sales were also higher, with October recording 21% higher sales over September.
• Hybrid vehicles also recorded growth, particularly in the hybrid 4WD market, which grew 128% compared to September. Hybrid sales are now split roughly equally between private and fleet operators, showing an increase in the uptake of hybrids among private owners.
• LPG was the only fuel to record a decrease in sales, likely due to a trailing off of initial interest after the federal government’s LPG incentives were introduced. Non-private or fleet operators are still overwhelmingly the major buyers of LPG passenger vehicles, buying some 50 times as many of the vehicles as private operators.
• No data on ethanol-capable vehicles was available, though Saab is the only company to sell such production cars in Australia.

(Source: FCAI)

Australian GHG emissions rising again

Despite a brief drop in total emissions last year, the latest figures from The Climate Institute show that total greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise. The cause: the continued increase of electricity use, as well as a significant increase in emissions from diesel and automotive LPG in the past twelve months.

The Climate Institute’s chief executive, John Connor, attributes the recent rise largely to fluctuations in consumer fuel purchasing:

“Petrol emissions dipped around the time of the first prices rises but appear to be recovering despite recent price hikes. In the case of LPG, price signals plus direct subsidy assistance appear to be making inroads and consumption of automotive LPG has increased 2.5% between April and May.

“This highlights that while price signals like emissions trading have an important role to play, unless carbon prices are high, pricing alone will not be enough turn our increasing greenhouse pollution levels around in the short term.”

The continued rise in greenhouse gas emissions over the past two years means that Australia continues to edge closer to its unofficial Kyoto target, and may exceed it within twelve months at the current rate of increase.

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I’m sure you all know what to do if you want to help turn these figures around by now: keep your car in good shape, inflate your tyres, use biofuel blends where possible, and above all, drive efficiently! Riding, walking and public transport can potentially save more than buying a hybrid vehicle, and they keep you in better shape.

(Source: The Climate Institute)

Mitsubishi 380 now available in dual-fuel

CARSguide has a full write-up on the new 380, which now has the option of an additional LPG tank to allow it to run on either unleaded or LPG. The all-important fuel consumption figures sit at 15.9 L/100km for the dual-fuel system, compared to 10.9 L/100km for running on petrol only, with the extra fuel system adding $4050 to the base price. Check the link below for a full review and more details.

(Source: CARSguide.com.au)