2008
On January 14, 2008, Toyota announced they would start selling lithium battery plug-in hybrids by 2010.
January 2008: A privately run waiting list to purchase the Chevrolet Volt reached 10,000 members. The list, administered by Lyle Dennis, was started one year prior.
January 2008: Assistant professor Yi Cui and colleagues at Stanford University's Department of Materials Science and Engineering have made a discovery to use silicon nanowires to give rechargeable lithium ion batteries 10 times more charge.
On February 7, 2008, Valence Technology announced it has entered into a contract with The Tanfield Group Plc (LSE: TAN) to manufacture and supply safe, Lithium Phosphate energy storage systems to power zero emission, all-electric commercial delivery vehicles. The Valence battery systems will be installed in leading-edge vans and trucks produced by Tanfield's UK-based trading division, Smith Electric Vehicles, the world's largest manufacturer of electric vans and trucks.
On March 27, 2008, the California Air Resources Board modified their regulations, requiring automobile manufacturers to produce 58,000 plug-in hybrids for sale to Californians during 2012 through 2014. This requirement is an asked-for alternative to an earlier mandate to produce 25,000 pure zero emission vehicles, reducing that requirement to 5,000.
April 2008: Raser and FEV series hybrid/extended range EV powertrain plan to have the first prototype vehicle ready to demonstrate in the third quarter of this year installed in a full-size SUV.
On June 4, 2008, "GM's Chevy Volt Is a Go" (Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and CEO) -- Production Vehicle, in Showrooms in 2010. On June 5, 2008, Toyota Dealers Sold on Hymotion Plug-In Hybrids. On June 12, 2008, Ford has urged US Government to step up evolution of plug-in hybrids.
On June 26, 2008, Volkswagen announced that they would be introducing production plug-ins based on the Golf compact. Volkswagen uses the term 'TwinDrive' to denote a PHEV.
The production design model of the Chevrolet Volt was officially unveiled on September 16, 2008, as part of General Motors centennial celebration at the Wintergarden headquarters in Detroit. The production model differed greatly in design from the original concept car. The carmaker cited necessary aerodynamic changes needed to reduce the concept car's highdrag coefficient of Cd=0.43 down to a more efficient Cd=0.28.
In September 2008, Mazda was reported to be planning PHEVs. On September 23, 2008, Chrysler announced that they had prototyped a plug-in Jeep Wrangler and a Chrysler Town and Country mini-van, both PHEV-40s with series powertrains, and an all-electric Dodge sports car, and said that one of the three vehicles would go in to production.
On October 3, the U.S. enacted the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 as part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The legislation provides tax credits of $2,500 plus $417 for each kilowatt-hour of battery capacity over 4 kilowatt-hours, up to $7,500 for cars under 10,000 pounds, $10,000 for larger vehicles under 14,000 pounds, $12,500 for bigger trucks under 26,000 pounds, or $15,000 for larger trucks and equipment. The tax credit will be phased out two calendar quarters after the first 250,000 such vehicles are sold, down to 50% for the next six months and 25% for another half year after that.
In mid-October, the Wall Street Journal reported that BYD Auto's PHEV-60 F3DM hatchback will be available by November in China. It will sell for equivalent of USD $22,000 and has a 110 km electric-mode driving range.
As a demonstration project, Ford delivered in 2008 the first flexible-fuel plug-in hybrid SUV to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid, capable of running on gasoline or E85.
On December 15, 2008, BYD Auto's F3DM PHEV-60 hatchback began selling in China as the first production plug-in hybrid, the first ever sold in the world. It costs the equivalent of US$22,000 and has a 100 km (62 mi) electric-mode driving range. During its first year in the market the F3DM plug-in sold only 48 vehicles.
Read more about this topic: History Of Plug-in Hybrids