L1 shows off green credentials

Some of the greenest vehicles in town are at the Eco Expo Asia fair, which runs at AsiaWorld-Expo until tomorrow evening. The highlight is the Volkswagen L1 (below), which was launched last year as 'the world's most fuel-efficient car', and shipped to Hong Kong 'especially for this event', says Volkswagen Hong Kong spokesman Samson Leung.

The plane-like L1 has a 3.81-metre carbon-fibre, reinforced-plastic body that is as long as the Volkswagen Fox, as squat off-the-road as a Lamborghini Murci?lago and, at 380kg, weighs as much as a 1200cc touring motorcycle.

The L1's wind resistance and width is just 1.2 metres as the marque seats a passenger behind the driver under an aircraft-like glass canopy. The compact is powered by a little two-cylinder 800cc turbodiesel engine, a 10kW electric motor and a seven-speed Direct Shift Gearbox that can achieve 100km/h in 14.3 seconds and a top speed of 'up to 160km/h', the marque says.

Equipped with regenerative braking technology, the L1 also consumes 1.38 litres of diesel per 100km, has a 'theoretical' driving range of about 670km on a 10-litre tank and emits just 36 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre, Volkswagen says. The L1's Michelin Energy Saver tyres were also designed to be larger and narrower to reduce their deformation and roll resistance on the road.

Volkswagen Hong Kong has also shipped in a Hong Kong version of the Milano electric taxi that was launched in Hanover, Germany this year. The 3.73-metre taxi has a single swivel-sliding door that opens far forward on the passenger's side and extends well into the roof to improve passenger access.

The driver sits alone up front to create space for luggage and more legroom under a panoramic glass roof that the marque says gives passengers 'the added viewing perspective of the city's architecture', or Hong Kong's neon.

Passengers have an eight-inch touchscreen that displays the taxi's charges, a credit-card reader and can even describe 'points of interest' in various languages along a route.

The 1,500kg taxi's 85kW electric engine is powered by a lithium-ion battery that promises a top speed of 120 km/h and a range 'of up to 300km'.

Volkswagen adds that the storage battery 'can readily be recharged to up to 80 per cent of its total capacity in just over one hour'.

Other green cars at the expo include three Volkswagen Touareg Hybrids for test drives; an electric bus from the Great Dragon International Corporation; the Proton 500 electric bike from Green Mobility Innovations, and the EVion and Jimma electric cars from Shenzhen Greenwheel Electric Vehicle. Eco Expo Asia showcases the latest innovations in environmental protection industries and is open to the public, with free admission tomorrow.