ECO cars are set to dominate motor shows for the next few years and Hyundai is the latest to join the fray with a solar-powered concept at next month's Korean event.
The car is called Blue-Will and uses several new energy forms and weight-saving techniques although the company has no figures for likely economy, range or emissions.
It is purely the sort of concept car that every manufacturer now feels obliged to develop in order to be seen to be green, whether or not such vehicles actually work.
However, among its various technologies is electric power stored in a lithium ion polymer battery pack, which will make its real-world debut in a new hybrid version of the latest Hyundai Elantra this summer.
In the case of the Korean concept car the electricity is generated by a 1.6-litre direct injection petrol engine coupled to a continuously variable transmission and a 100kw electric motor.
The Blue-Will's body is made largely from recycled plastic bottles and also bio-plastics, which are from plant extract rather than fossil fuels and are bio-degradable.
Additional power for the vehicle comes from the panoramic glass roof, which contains solar cells that generate power for the batteries from the sun but do not impede visibility.
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