By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
Simply put, a hybrid vehicle raises fuel and engine efficiency by using both a petrol or diesel engine and an electric motor. The motor placed between a vehicle's engine and transmission helps the former get the wheels rolling, increasing fuel efficiency.
The new technology is considered the most practical alternative among ``eco friendly'' vehicles.
The first Korean commercial hybrid vehicle is set to debut in July. Hyundai Motor started receiving orders for a liquefied petroleum injection (LPI) hybrid edition of its steady-selling Avante sedan earlier this month. Kia Motors, Hyundai's largest affiliate, will also release an LPI edition of the Forte compact sedan about one month later.
With a 1.6-liter engine, the Avante hybrid model covers 17.8 kilometers on a liter of liquefied petroleum gas. The new Avante model uses LPG instead of gasoline used in previous models, which ran at 15.2 kilometers per liter.
The Korean government fully supports eco-friendly vehicles, deciding recently to give a tax benefit of up to 3.1 million won ($2,462.3) for hybrid vehicles from next month through 2012.
Following the releases this year, Hyundai-Kia plans to debut a mid-sized hybrid sedan next year through its steady-selling Sonata model, as its first ``fully hybrid'' product. In comparison, the Avante hybrid is more akin to a ``quasi-hybrid," without being able to be driven using the electric motor alone.
Hyundai expects the new product to spearhead a ``Korean invasion" of hybrids in the United States' extremely competitive eco-friendly vehicle market.
The Korean manufacturer has developed a roadmap in a bid to speed up its environmental drive. It is looking to start with the mass production of fuel cell cars in 2012, and expand to plug-in hybrid models the following year.
It aims to produce 30,000 hybrid cars next year, raising the number to 500,000 in 2018.