The car, which uses a third of the fuel of an LPG Commodore or Falcon, could cut weekly fuel bills for the average motorist to less than $10 a week, as drive.com.au reported.
The 2009 Kia LPG hybrid will be launched in Korea next month, and is expected to cost less than $30,000. Hyundai has also released a version of the car, but it currently has no plans to bring it to the Australian market.
The vehicle is the world’s first hybrid to use lithium ion polymer batteries, which are smaller and have higher energy density than the current nickel metal hydride batteries used on the Toyota Prius.
As for the powerplant, its 1.6-liter LPG engine with a 15kW electric motor uses an estimated 4.5 liters of fuel per 100km and emits 99 grams of CO2 per kilometer. For a reduced fuel consumption, the hybrid also uses stop-start technology.
Kia is conducting initial engineering tests on the hybrid, with operation plans to bring a prototype version first to Australia (converted to right-hand drive), and if everything goes well, to have it the local showrooms in 12 to 18 months.
The initial tests are required as the composition of LPG is different in Australia, with varying levels of Butane and Propane around the country.
“Given Australia’s LPG reserves and the widespread LPG refuelling infrastructure it makes obvious sense to consider it,” said Kia Australia spokesman Jonathan Fletcher.“But it will depend on how the business case stacks up and whether we can tune the engine to suit Australian LPG.”
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