(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on Aug. 14)

Green car race

It is no surprise that major automakers around the world are in a fiercer race
for developing and mass-producing green cars.

There is no doubt that carmakers
can no longer survive without churning out models called hybrids or electric
cars. It is not likely to take long to see internal combustion engines disappear,
replaced by electric motors and rechargeable battery packs.
One of the latest examples of such changes is General Motors' Chevrolet Volt
plug-in hybrid that could get 230 miles per gallon (98 kilometers per liter) in
city driving. Unveiling a series of new models on Tuesday, the U.S. automaker
said its flagship Volt is on track to enter production in late 2010. It hopes the
hybrid will be a ``game-changer.'' If GM's fuel economy rating for Volt is
correct, the hybrid model can save four times more fuel than Japanese carmaker
Toyota's Prius, which gets 50 miles per gallon (21.26 kilometers per liter).
Even if we have to acknowledge that mileage ratings are often tricky to calculate
with the electricity-driven Volt, GM has certainly made a technological
breakthrough to develop the eco-friendly car. The company is a latecomer in the
hybrid car market. It had focused on gas-guzzling trucks and sports utility
vehicles (SUVs) until it was hit by the unprecedented global economic crisis last
year. It is good to see GM come up with a new survival strategy only a month
after it exited a fast-track bankruptcy.
However, GM has still a long way to go to revive its past glory as one of
America's big three automakers. Its Volt model will not automatically guarantee
its success in the hybrid car industry that has long been dominated by Toyota and
Honda of Japan. Competition will unquestionably become more intensified as more
and more automakers the world over are rushing to make hybrids, electricity cars
and hydrogen fuel cell-powered autos with higher energy efficiency. Earlier this
month, Nissan Motor unveiled its first electric car, the Leaf, which is expected
to be on sale in Japan, the United States and Europe next year.
It is worth noting that GM will use Korean-made lithium ion battery packs for its
Volt and other rechargeable electric car models. The battery maker is LG Chem,
the chemical arm of South Korea's LG Group.
Korean automakers have belatedly joined the green car race. Hyundai Motor began
to sell its Avante hybrid last month by combining an electric motor with a
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) engine with a fuel economy rating of 17.8
kilometers per liter. The nation's green car technology is in its incipient
stage. Hyundai and its affiliated Kia Motors Corp. plan to invest 4 trillion won
in the development of green cars, including new hybrids and hydrogen fuel
cell-propelled vehicles, by 2013.
The country has great potential to lead the green car market in the future
because it can combine its advanced IT, electronics and parts-making know-how
with car-making technology. This is a necessary but not sufficient condition for
the success of domestic automakers. First of all, they should step up research
and development to design tech-savvy eco-friendly cars at affordable prices. It
is also necessary to make more incentives, including tax credits, available to
promote the use of green cars.
(END)