DaimlerChrysler, GM to Co-Develop Hybrid System

DaimlerChrysler and General Motors Corp. have finalized a deal to co-develop new hybrid vehicle technology, a GM spokesman said Thursday.

In December, the automakers announced a tentative agreement to develop hybrids as they try to catch up with Japanese rivals on the fuel-saving systems that reduce harmful emissions.

“We now have a binding and definitive agreement on development of a full hybrid system,” the GM spokesman said, adding that it took effect Monday.

The automakers have said they will develop a “two-mode” hybrid technology that boosts both acceleration and fuel economy by 25% and can be used on a wide variety of vehicles.

The deal teams GM, the world’s biggest automaker, and German-American DaimlerChrysler, the global No. 5, against such rivals as Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. that have a head start in the hybrid market.

The two-mode hybrid system, adapted from GM’s transit bus hybrid on the market in some U.S. cities today, uses smaller electric motors that work like a gear set to offer what the partners call superior performance and fuel economy.

That allows the system to use a smaller conventional engine, making it more cost effective than competitors’ hybrids.

GM will first use the system in late 2007 in its Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon full-size sport utility vehicles, the spokesman said. Chrysler will follow with a hybrid version of its Dodge Durango full-size SUV among a range of hybrids.

“We’re bringing expertise from the P12 system as well as 10 years of R&T; vehicles,” said Nick Cappa, a manager of advanced technology communications at DaimlerChrysler’s U.S. headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich. He was referring to research and technology vehicles developed by both Mercedes and Chrysler.

Hybrids burn less fuel by adding one or more electric motors to a conventional gasoline or diesel engine. The batteries help power the vehicle and recharge automatically by capturing energy during braking.