Russia`s first hybrid car to be shown to general public in Moscow

MOSCOW, January 2 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia's first hybrid concept car
branded as "Yo" will be demonstrated at a yo-mobile pavilion in downtown
Moscow that will be open for general public from January 2 through 11,
Alexander Sinkevich, the technical director of the Yo-Auto company
project, told Itar-Tass.
According to Sinkevich, the pavilion in Tverskoi boulevard has already
been open for two weeks "but only for specialists." Now it will be open
for general public as well.
"During the New Year holidays, access to the pavilion will be free.
General public is welcome to examine first three models - a microvan, a
cross coupe, and a minitruck," he said. In his words, these are
environment-friendly and energy-saving cars for everyday use in urban
conditions powered both by gasoline and liquefied gas.
"The three cars on display have made maiden trips across the plant's
territory, although have not yet appeared in the streets, since they have
not yet been certified," Sinkevich said. "In early 2011, they will be
certified and tested in various regions of Russia and, probably, abroad."
When asked why Russian designers had opted for a hybrid car instead of
an electric car to follow the lead of world car manufacturers, Sinkevich
said "the project's authors are against electricity-powered cars." "If the
world motor fleet is replaced with electrical cars, global electricity
consumption will go up four-fold, but there are shortages of electricity
supplies already now," he said and added that "the future belongs to
hybrid cars." "Hybrid power units of such cars generate electricity from
natural gas, which weighs less, and it take less time to charge the car.
Moreover, hybrid cars have a longer fuel distance than electric cars," he
added.
Yo-mobiles' technical characteristics are as follows: curb weight is
700 kilograms; maximum speed - 120 kilometres an hour; fuel distance - 400
kilometres; fuel consumption - 3.5 per 100 kilometres; driving engine
capacity taking into account accumulator power - some 500 kilowatt; while
the number of units and components is 2.5 times less than in a traditional
car. Russian-designed electrical engines have a capacity from 30 to 1,000
kilowatt depending on the model. The generator's power-to-weight ration is
thrice as big as that of traditional electrical engines, with the
efficiency of up to 98 percent. Moreover, all yo-mobiles are equipped with
the smart car system featuring a data panel, GLONASS navigation devices,
air conditioning, a telephone with a keyboard, and a system controlling
all functions, including the Internet and multimedia.
The project has been financed by private investments of the UNEXIM
group and its head Mikhail Prokhorov. "A total of 150 million euros have
already been invested in the project, and in 2011 the construction of the
first plant will start near St. Petersburg that will manufacture 10,000
yo-mobiles a year," Prokhorov said. The name is written in Russian by the
letter E with two dots over it, which, according to Prokhorov, explicitly
points to the country of origin.