Global News: Toyota Prius Plug-In Trials in France; Chinese Cars in Israel; Canadian Economy to Shrink

Global News: Toyota Prius Plug-In Trials in France; Chinese Cars in Israel; Canadian Economy to Shrink

In news from around the world Wednesday, Toyota has partnered with French utility company EDF to road test the plug-in Prius, a Chinese vehicle brand is set to launch in Israel, and Merrill Lynch forecasts dramatic retraction of Canada's economy in the first quarter of 2009.

French utility company EDF is setting up hundreds of dynamic charging stations in preparation for a late-2009 trial of roughly 100 next-generation Prius hybrid vehicles. The new Prius batteries can be recharged from the vehicles gasoline motor, or the vehicle can be plugged in to an electrical charging station. In Strasbourg, France, EDF is installing hundreds of charging stations that will link cars and charging stations to exchange information on vehicle identity, charging status and invoicing. More details of the effort are available on Edmunds.com's Green Car Advisor .

Renault, among the many automakers racing to develop market-ready hybrids, has pledged to use some of the government fiscal aid they've received to fund electric vehicle studies. President Nicolas Sarkozy has set a goal of 100,000 low-emission vehicles on the road by 2012.

In Israel, Chinese automaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC), the partner of General Motors and Volkswagen in China, launched as a brand, with the aid of Peugeot Citroen importer David Lubinski. The first Chinese vehicle to go on sale in Israel will be the MG550 executive sedan, based on technology from SAIC subsidiary MG Rover. Lubinski CEO Dori Manor said at the launch, "The introduction of a Chinese car into the Israeli market is a significant milestone in the development of the country's automotive sector. The world is changing and we are seeing new markets and manufacturers developing at a rapid rate spearheaded by China."

In Canada, Merrill Lynch forecasts the economy to contract 9.1 percent in the current quarter and a total decline of 3 percent for the year. The badly ailing automotive sector largely contributes to the forecast, which Merrill released following a report from Statistics Canada that recorded a 23-percent decline in wholesale automotive products for January.

Photo by Toyota

Toyota introduced at this year's Detroit auto show the 2010 Toyota Prius, upon which the plug-in version being tested in France is based.

AutoObserver's Global News report is compiled by Edmunds.com Senior Manager David Greene.

Michelle Krebs:  is Editor-in-Chief of AutoObserver.com. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.