Bright unveils 100 mpg hybrid vehicle

Anderson, Ind.-based startup Bright Automotive today unveiled its 100 mile-per-gallon vehicle targeted at the commercial and government fleet market.

The gas-electric plug-in hybrid IDEA vehicle was originally planned for launch at the Electric Vehicle Symposium in Norway in May.

Bright says it was able to acheive the high fuel economy because it designed the vehicle from scratch, using lightweight materials, aerodynamic shapes, low-resistance tires, and highly efficient battery and drivetrain systems (see Stealthy Bright Automotive gives hints about electric car launch). The light truck weighs in at 3,200 pounds and has 1 ton of cargo capacity.

Bright said it expects to begin high volume produce by late 2012 and produce 50,000 of the vehicles annually by 2013.

Bright Automotive's new IDEA hybrid

The IDEA reportedly drives 30 miles on battery power before switching to gasoline.

The company reportedly raised $11 million of a $17 million Series A round as of February. Investors include White Pines Partners of Boston and Duke Energy’s venture capital arm Duke Investments (see Trans-India drops $375M Solar Semiconductor bid).

The company spun out of the Rocky Mountain Institute in January 2008. The work at the institute was funded in part by companies including Google, Alcoa, Johnson Controls and the Turner Foundation.