Peugeot to Launch Diesel-Based Hybrid Cars

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Mon Jan 6, 2006  PARIS - PSA Peugeot Citroen will unveil two demonstrator models for diesel-based hybrid cars, which seek to cut emissions and reduce fuel consumption, the carmaker expects to be on the market from 2010.

France's second-biggest carmaker said on Thursday it would show off a Peugeot 307 and a Citroen C4 demonstration car with a hybrid diesel system on Jan. 31.

The announcement coincides with a call by French President Jacques Chirac to develop such cars within 10 years.

Hybrids burn less fuel by adding one or more electric motors to a standard petrol or diesel engine. The batteries help power the vehicle and recharge by capturing energy during braking.

Most hybrids, which were pioneered in the volume car industry by Japanese manufacturers, are currently based on petrol, while in France most new cars use diesel.

Chirac called on Thursday for the development of diesel-based hybrids at an affordable price for consumers.

This would be a way for the country to cut its dependence on hydrocarbons in a time of rising oil prices, and to move towards its goals to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

PSA Chairman Jean-Marie Folz and Education Minister Gilles de Robien will open a research centre for the development of fuel cells at Carrieres-sous-Poissy, northwest of Paris on Monday.

Advocates support fuel cells as a way to develop clean engines that do use petrol or diesel, but generate energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen and emitting only water as exhaust.

Folz has been dismissive about the current generation of petrol-based hybrid cars, saying as recently as the Frankfurt Motor Show in September that current diesel engines where more fuel efficient and emission-friendly than petrol hybrid cars.

Toyota's Prius hybrid model has been a runaway hit and it aims to sell 1 million annually by 2010.

Honda offers Civic Hybrid and Ford markets an Escape Hybrid. Costs, storage space and engine performance issues have limited the take-up of this technology among carmakers.

French parts maker Valeo is pushing starter-alternators and a smart valve technology to boost fuel efficiency as an alternative.

US group General Motors has unveiled an Opel/Astra Diesel concept vehicle with a hybrid system. Diesel hybrids have been used mainly for city buses or submarines, due to the size of the engines and their relatively high cost.