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Kia alternative green fuel developments

Towards the end of 2010, Kia was one of seven manufacturers to sign an agreement to make hydrogen fuel-cell (FCEV) vehicles commercially available by the middle of this decade.

The car that is regarded as a panacea for a zero-emissions future - one that can make its own electricity on the move, cover long distances between refuelling and emit no CO2 - is coming.Hydrogen cars are just one strand in Kia's alternative-fuel strategy, however. Hybrids are already in production for some markets, and will soon appear in others.

Additional hybrids are currently under development. Battery-electric vehicles are on the way, too.

Alternative-fuel vehicles are nothing new to Kia. Work on them has been going on for more than 20 years. Kia produced its first electric vehicle (EV) - based on the Besta van - as long ago as 1986, and an electric version of the Sportage in 1999.Electric vehicles are best suited to short journeys mainly in towns, where their limited range is not an issue and their charging infrastructure is most likely to be found.

The three-seater Pop concept from the 2010 Paris Motor Show gives clues to the company's thinking.Hybrids, which have a small electric motor for limited low-speed urban journeys and a fossil-fuel engine for highway driving, are an interim solution on the way to the long-distance zero-emissions car, and here, too, Kia is well advanced.

As long ago as 2005 the company put a pilot fleet of Rio hybrids on trial to test the technology.

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