A drive into the future

Last month, I hosted a reception with Inchcape Motors. This is one of the oldest British companies in the automotive business, and here in Romania it is the distributor for Toyota and Lexus. The international automotive industry has great potential to deliver growth for Britain’s economy, and so the reception was to introduce Lexus’ new range of hybrid cars to the market, and I was so impressed with this technology that I took a test drive of the Lexus RX450 over the weekend.

This was my first experience of driving a car powered by an electric engine, but I am sure it will be a common experience for us all in the future. As soon as you start the car, you notice the difference. It is like switching on the TV or computer. No noise of the spark plugs, no burst of exhaust fumes – just the sensation of the automatic lights coming on and the trip computer bringing the car to life. Move from ‘Park’ into ‘Drive’ and the car moves away from the kerb in complete silence. As you drive around town, the car’s petrol engine comes into play – to provide the extra power when you brake or accelerate, and to keep the battery constantly charged. This intelligent interplay between the electric and petrol engines is the key to car’s success. You don’t have to plug the car in to recharge it – it charges as it drives. But with the electric engine doing most of the work, the car uses no more than a trickle of petrol for the longest distances.

This is the new driving experience – how we will all be driving in a low-carbon economy. And this is not science fiction – the future is now. Using both petrol and electric engines with smart computers to get the most efficient combination is a great solution to the challenges of our changing climate.