Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid sales

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Will Price Rule?
Saturn hopes to beat Honda, Toyota in hybrid arena

By RICHARD TRUETT | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

AutoWeek | Updated: 02/26/07, 8:31 am et

In taking on the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry hybrids, the gasoline-
electric Saturn Aura Green Line will offer a dramatically lower price
and roughly the same high fuel economy rating. But is that enough to
make it a success?

The Aura Green Line is a so-called mild hybrid. Unlike the Camry and
Accord hybrids, the Aura's powertrain isn't capable of driving the car
on electric power alone. And that might matter to environmentally
conscious buyers who want to drive at least part of the time on
electric power only.

Mild hybrids, such as General Motors' pickups and the first generation
of the Honda Civic, have not sold well.

Aura has a belt-alternator-starter hybrid system that provides a light
boost during acceleration, captures energy during braking and restarts
the engine after the vehicle comes to a stop.

Light weight, less filling

But a mild hybrid's advantage is less weight and mechanical complexity
and a much lower price. The hybrid Aura costs just $1,700 more than
the gasoline model, making it the least expensive mid-sized hybrid
sedan.

The Aura goes on sale in early May with a sticker price of $22,695 and
an EPA fuel economy rating of 28 mpg city and 35 on the highway. The
fuel economy figures are the same as the Honda Accord Hybrid, which
has a base price of $31,685. The Camry Hybrid has a base price of
$26,820 and an EPA rating of 40 city/38 highway. All prices include
shipping.

Scott Stapf, director of the Hybrid Owners of America, a Washington
lobbying group, thinks the Aura may do well even though it doesn't
have the technical sophistication of the Camry or Accord. "You still
do have an environmentally sensitive group of consumers who are
worried about emissions and global warming, and just about any hybrid
will cut it," he says.

And then, Stapf says, the Aura could attract buyers looking for a low
sticker price as well as less pain at the pump.

But he says the majority of hybrid buyers generally want more than
just high fuel economy. They want to be on the cutting edge of
technology. The Aura Green Line isn't.

The least expensive

Andre Kazewych, product manager for the Aura Green Line, says Saturn
will pitch the car to potential buyers as the least expensive hybrid
on the market.

"We're not looking at it in terms of tech sophistication but as an
economical way to deliver better fuel efficiency," Kazewych says.

"It's going to offer a lot of people a hybrid option who don't have
one. It should be a strong product in the marketplace," says Kevin
Riddell, an analyst at J.D. Power and Associates in Troy, Mich. He
says the Aura Green Line likely will start as a low-volume car and
steadily build sales momentum.

No national ad campaigns are planned for the Aura Green Line. Saturn
is planning to promote the car heavily on the Internet and might buy
print ads. But Saturn spokesman Randy Fox says the company has other
vehicle introductions and limited resources.

Neither Fox nor Kazewych would say how many Aura Green Lines GM plans
to sell.

John Danielson, sales manager at Saturn of the Lakes in Tavares, Fla.,
says few customers have asked about the Aura Green Line, and no orders
have been taken.

Danielson says the Vue Green Line crossover hasn't sold as well as
expected. Most customers, he says, want the Vue with the Honda V-6.

"If gasoline hits $3 per gallon this summer, that might change," he
says.

The Aura hybrid, made in Kansas City, Kan., is expected to arrive just
about the time dealers run out of the Vue Green Line. Production of
that vehicle ends in March at Saturn's Spring Hill, Tenn., plant.

The new Vue Green Line, which will be produced in Mexico, will be
introduced in the fall.