Hybrids On Tap for PSA, Hyundai

PSA Peugeot Citroen will introduce the first European “Stop and Go” system — also dubbed a “mild-hybrid system” by some auto makers — on the Citroen C3 at the Paris auto show in September.

The system, which restarts the engine at the touch of the accelerator after it has switched off at stoplights and in traffic jams, will improve fuel efficiency 6% on the European driving cycle at a slight additional cost.

Savings on the urban test cycle are 10%, and in real life results can be even better, says Peugeot. No price for the system has been announced, but Peugeot indicates it will be far less than the €1,000 ($1,215) typically charged extra for a diesel engine, which offers a 25% fuel economy boost.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. will begin mass production of hybrid versions of the new '05 MC hatchback, which replaces the Accent/Verna platform next year and be offered in the U.S., says a Hyundai source in Korea.

In Korea, the OEM currently is producing several hundred of its Click (called the Getz in Europe) B-platform vehicles with a hybrid system for fleet testing there.

The hybrid uses a conventional l.5L gas engine, an electricity-generating system, storage-battery system and an electric motor.