WITH fuel prices reaching record levels never before has such attention been focused on eco motoring. Getting the most out of each precious gallon is now top priority and keeping cars lean and green is the name of the game for every car manufacturer. So called alternative fuels are now big business with auto companies across the globe investing millions. But Korean car maker Kia has gone one step further by spending £29million on the world’s first research centre specifically designed to develop the cars of the future. In conjunction with its sister company Hyundai, the Mabuk environment centre near the Korean capital Seoul is mapping out the shape of the automotive industry for generations to come. Much of the work is shrouded in secrecy but I have just been given a glimpse of how the Korean boffins plan to turn the car industry green from the ground up. Their work centres on building environmentally friendly factories making cars from light weight composites which will run on non-fossil fuels and be completely recyclable. The mission statement is to reduce a car’s carbon footprint to virtually nothing and, in keeping with other major car companies, the Koreans are developing hybrid vehicles and other models which run on hydrogen resulting in zero exhaust emissions. To start the ball rolling, an eco friendly version of Kia’s European built cee’d range of medium sized cars will go into production next year. Powered by a 1.6-litre diesel engine, the eco cee’d is said to be capable of averaging more than 70mpg with CO2 emissions of 104g/km which represent improvements of 17 per cent in fuel economy and eight per cent in emissions over the standard car. The eco versions will be available across the cee’d range which will be expanded next spring to include a three-door hatchback model called the pro_cee’d. All will come with an industry leading seven year warranty, such are the high standards of production at the brand new Kia factory in Slovakia. The eco cee’d will comply with the new Euro 5 emission standard which is not due to come into force until 2011 and will feature other energy saving devices such as a stop-start system, brake energy regeneration and a six-speed gearbox. Kia and Hyundai believe they can steal a march by building new factories using the latest equipment while more established car makers have to make do with re-equipping existing production lines. Another Kia plant is due to open in the US in 2009 – around the same time as Hyundai will be starting European production in the Czech Republic. Hybrid cars, which use an electric motor in conjunction with a conventional engine, will be introduced by both Hyundai and Kia by 2009, although there are no immediate plans for them to go on sale in Europe. These will be versions of the Rio and Accent with the Rio using a 1.4-litre engine – much smaller than the engines used in rival hybrids such as those from Lexus, Toyota and Honda. Fuel cell vehicles, powered by hydrogen to drive an electric motor, are also under development at the Mabuk R&D facility. At the moment there are only around 1,000 fuel cell vehicles in the world and Hyundai-Kia is about to start trials of more than 60 hydrogen powered Sportage and Tucson SUVs in the US and Korea. Other major car firms such as General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Honda and BMW are also taking part in the trials as part of their development programmes for alternative fuel. The Korean green dream is for a fuel cell model to be in production by 2012 with a range of around 400 miles and with a top speed in excess of 100mph. Having driven a prototype fuel cell Kia Sportage around the Mabuk centre the vehicle appears almost as lively as a conventional model. Power take up from stationary is surprisingly rapid, as is the acceleration but the lack of noise from the engine is an eerie experience. Apart from road and wind noise, the vehicle is as silent as a milk float – without the bottles. It may not be a substitute for the ‘real thing’ but as motorists try to be seen to be green this may be the future of everyday transport. | 
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