Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) will introduce the vehicle and comment on the role new technology can play in an American automotive recovery at the event to be held on Capitol Hill at the Upper Senate Park. Kraig Higginson, chairman of Raser Technologies, and Gary Rogers, president of FEV will answer questions and tell members of Congress about the vehicle.
“We believe this vehicle may hold the key to solving the most important challenges facing the nation by reducing our dependency on foreign oil, addressing climate change, and reinvigorating American manufacturing with American technology,” added Higginson.
“Americans value the versatility of trucks and SUVs, the number one selling vehicles in America, but we also want to do what’s right for the environment, said Kraig Higginson, “This vehicle demonstrates that through innovation, we can do both.”
The full-size SUV is a four-wheel drive vehicle designed to achieve over 100 mpg in typical local daily driving with near zero emissions by driving up to 40 miles per day in all-electric mode. For extended trips, a small internal combustion engine (range extender) kicks in to recharge the batteries.
“The powertrain in this vehicle can be applied to most trucks & SUVs and is ideal for fleets, contractors and small business owners,” said David West, Raser’s vice president of marketing. It delivers the payload of a pick up truck with better gas fuel economy than a Prius,”
Gary Rogers, president of FEV and a member of the National Research Council’s Committee on the Effectiveness of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) Standards, said “Because most Americans drive less than 40 miles a day, this powertrain technology could have an enormous impact reducing the amount of gasoline consumed every day and support President Obama’s initiative to achieve significant improvements in fuel economy across all sectors of the light-duty fleet, including trucks and SUV’s.”
