Russia’s first hybrid concept car branded as “Yo” will be demonstrated at a yo-mobile pavilion in downtown Moscow that will be open for general public from January 2 through 11, Alexander Sinkevich, the technical director of the Yo-Auto company project, told Itar-Tass.

According to Sinkevich, the pavilion in Tverskoi boulevard has already been open for two weeks “but only for specialists.” Now it will be open for general public as well.

“During the New Year holidays, access to the pavilion will be free. General public is welcome to examine first three models - a microvan, a cross coupe, and a minitruck,” he said. In his words, these are environment-friendly and energy-saving cars for everyday use in urban conditions powered both by gasoline and liquefied gas.

“The three cars on display have made maiden trips across the plant’s territory, although have not yet appeared in the streets, since they have not yet been certified,” Sinkevich said. “In early 2011, they will be certified and tested in various regions of Russia and, probably, abroad.”

When asked why Russian designers had opted for a hybrid car instead of an electric car to follow the lead of world car manufacturers, Sinkevich said “the project’s authors are against electricity-powered cars.” “If the world motor fleet is replaced with electrical cars, global electricity consumption will go up four-fold, but there are shortages of electricity supplies already now,” he said and added that “the future belongs to hybrid cars.” “Hybrid power units of such cars generate electricity from natural gas, which weighs less, and it take less time to charge the car. Moreover, hybrid cars have a longer fuel distance than electric cars,” he added.

Yo-mobiles’ technical characteristics are as follows: curb weight is 700 kilograms; maximum speed – 120 kilometres an hour; fuel distance – 400 kilometres; fuel consumption – 3.5 per 100 kilometres; driving engine capacity taking into account accumulator power – some 500 kilowatt; while the number of units and components is 2.5 times less than in a traditional car. Russian-designed electrical engines have a capacity from 30 to 1,000 kilowatt depending on the model. The generator’s power-to-weight ration is thrice as big as that of traditional electrical engines, with the efficiency of up to 98 percent. Moreover, all yo-mobiles are equipped with the smart car system featuring a data panel, GLONASS navigation devices, air conditioning, a telephone with a keyboard, and a system controlling all functions, including the Internet and multimedia.

The project has been financed by private investments of the UNEXIM group and its head Mikhail Prokhorov. “A total of 150 million euros have already been invested in the project, and in 2011 the construction of the first plant will start near St. Petersburg that will manufacture 10,000 yo-mobiles a year,” Prokhorov said.

The name is written in Russian by the letter E with two dots over it, which, according to Prokhorov, explicitly points to the country of origin.