When most Canadians think about Russian cars, images of an old 1987 Lada struggling to safely drive uphill and downhill immediately come to mind. Even today, the Russian auto landscape looks pretty bleak, especially with the country still emerging from a recession.
Then there's the Yo. That's right: the Yo! No, it's not Snoop Dog's new personal ride, but rather a fairly attractive green car project imagined by Mikhail D. Prokhorov, owner of the NBA's New Jersey Nets. He's also the 39th richest man in the world and the second richest in Russia.
Determined to build a competitive car, Prokhorov invested $200 million to launch E-Auto, a hybrid car company that will produce the so-called Yo. The result is a small sedan powered by a pair of electric motors and featuring a small gas engine (also capable of running on natural gas) that generates electricity – a concept similar to the Chevrolet Volt.
In terms of performance, E-Auto projects fuel economy at 67 mpg (3.51 L/100 km) with a range of 680 miles (1,094 kilometres). Top speed is said to be 80 mph (128 km/h).
The Yo sedan, to be sold initially only in Russia starting in mid-2012, will eventually be part of a broader E-Auto portfolio. The company boldly expects to sell 10,000 units a year.
Such initiatives are a far cry from the infamous Lada and will likely allow Russia to restore the reputation of its domestic auto fleet – and perhaps become the envy of American, Japanese and Korean giants, who knows? Of course, that's assuming the Yo will be as good as advertised and the economy will pick up steam.
An executive at GAZ (maker of the Volga) recently told reporters not to forget that ''Russia was the first country to launch a man into space, not the second.'' If the entire country thinks like that, anything's possible!
Source: Bnet
Then there's the Yo. That's right: the Yo! No, it's not Snoop Dog's new personal ride, but rather a fairly attractive green car project imagined by Mikhail D. Prokhorov, owner of the NBA's New Jersey Nets. He's also the 39th richest man in the world and the second richest in Russia.
Determined to build a competitive car, Prokhorov invested $200 million to launch E-Auto, a hybrid car company that will produce the so-called Yo. The result is a small sedan powered by a pair of electric motors and featuring a small gas engine (also capable of running on natural gas) that generates electricity – a concept similar to the Chevrolet Volt.
In terms of performance, E-Auto projects fuel economy at 67 mpg (3.51 L/100 km) with a range of 680 miles (1,094 kilometres). Top speed is said to be 80 mph (128 km/h).
The Yo sedan, to be sold initially only in Russia starting in mid-2012, will eventually be part of a broader E-Auto portfolio. The company boldly expects to sell 10,000 units a year.
Such initiatives are a far cry from the infamous Lada and will likely allow Russia to restore the reputation of its domestic auto fleet – and perhaps become the envy of American, Japanese and Korean giants, who knows? Of course, that's assuming the Yo will be as good as advertised and the economy will pick up steam.
An executive at GAZ (maker of the Volga) recently told reporters not to forget that ''Russia was the first country to launch a man into space, not the second.'' If the entire country thinks like that, anything's possible!
Source: Bnet