Oil rich UAE pushes for hybrid cars

Dubai, Jun 5 (UNI) In a wise move, UAE, which has one tenth of world's oil reserves, has launched hybrid cars which run on eletricity and fuel.

Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, inaugurated the pilot operation of 10 'hybrid' environment-friendly vehicles as taxis in collaboration with General Motors, US.

Fitted with twin engines, the cars run on fuel and electricity.

During the experimental period, the capability of hybrid car batteries, their lifetime and the percentage of fuel saving would be measured for identification, a transport official said.

The Road Transport Authority (RTA) seeks to substitute the existing taxis and public buses with new environment-friendly vehicles using hybrid engines and replacing the existing abra engines with CNG-operated engines.

The hybrids are Chevrolet Tahoe and Malibu models from GM, which are introduced in the region for the first time.

RTA also plans to join hands with Toyota and Honda, which have hybrid models. The vehicles run upto 60 km an hour on single charge and switch to fuel after that and also for higher speeds.

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