Blue is the new green?

Holden has its EcoLine brand, BMW has EfficientDynamics and now Hyundai has Blue Drive.

Premiering at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, Hyundai's eco-initiative "will move into high gear" as the South Korean car maker exhibits a range of emission-lowering technologies.

The idea is that Hyundai's new Blue Drive technologies will be deployed across its fleet over time, which will steadily shrink the carbon footprint of its cars while reducing fuel consumption and running costs.

The centrepiece of Blue Drive push in will be the debut of the ix-Metro, a small-sized hybrid concept car that is powered by a three-cylinder turbocharged 1.0-litre petrol engine coupled with an electric motor and a six-speed dual clutch gearbox.

Hyundai expects the ix-Metro to deliver CO2 emissions of just 80g/km, which would be lower than even the new third generation Toyota Prius.

Furthermore, Hyundai will also take the wraps off a new zero emission compact car, the i10 Electric. This vehicle will extend the Blue Drive brand's reach into the electric area, which Hyundai says will be built as a limited series vehicle in 2010 for Korean drivers.

The i10 Electric car outputs 49kW of power, has a potential cruising range of 160 kilometres and has a top speed of 130km/h.

Backing up the ix-Metro concept and the i10 Electric will be two other Blue Drive models, the Elantra LPI (LPG) Hybrid and the Blue Will Plug-In Hybrid Electric concept vehicle.

Expected to be one of the first Blue Drive vehicles on sale in Australia, the well-known Hyundai i30 will be given the eco treatment. Powered by a 1.6-litre turbodiesel mill, the Blue i30 makes use of an engine stop-start system.