05 June 2019

Minibus converter EVM has added a new model called Trend into its range of vehicles.

The Trend is based on the new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter range and aims to be a lightweight option for minibus sector operators.

It starts at eight seats and goes up to 16 seats. One of the first examples produced, pictured, is a 143bhp four-cylinder OM651 2.1-litre Euro 6-engined 414CDI with a seven-speed automatic gearbox.

Dark black privacy glass is fitted to the saloon and rear windows, while the interior is kept cool with Mercedes-Benz in-dash and roof-mounted saloon air-conditioning. Heating is also provided by an OEM unit through floor vents with a booster pump.

Front entry is via the OEM door with lowered three-step entry, but a powered plug door is an option. The exterior is completed by EVM side skirts, which, along with the bumpers are colour coded.

The interior has luggage racks, show curtains, 10 USB ports and 16 seats trimmed in half cloth, half virtual leather. Fill virtual leather seats are an option.

The EVM Trend’s unladen weight is 2,750kg, with a gross vehicle weight of 4,100kg and it comes in black, silver or white.

05 June 2019

Bus company Stagecoach says a total of 351 ‘cleaner, greener’ buses and coaches are expected to go into service this year.

They will be introduced on Stagecoach’s regional networks in England, Scotland and Wales, as well as its megabus.com routes in the UK.

More than 300 of the vehicles will be built by Falkirk-based Alexander Dennis (ADL) and its subsidiary Plaxton.

The Perth-based transport giant said ‘virtually all’ of the vehicles met the UK government’s specifications for low carbon emission buses, with a mixture of electric vehicle technology and the latest Euro 6 emissions standard engines.

The planned orders include 48 electric buses which are being part-funded by the UK Government’s Green Bus Fund and – once orders are finalised – will go into service in Manchester and South Wales.

Around three quarters of the new vehicles will be fitted with audio visual display systems which provide next-stop information.

Each of the new vehicles will also be fitted with CCTV, and USB charging points, while most will also have WiFi installed, giving customers free internet access during their journeys.

The new vehicles are expected to go into service this year.

The latest investment includes 131 low-floor double-decker vehicles to go into service across the UK, as well as around 95 single-deck vehicles and 28 midi-buses.

Also included are a fleet of 12 new Alexander Dennis Limited Enviro400 XLB double-decker vehicles for the Cambridge Guided Busway, delivering more capacity than ever before, carrying 100 passengers. There are also 22 coaches for the Group’s UK Bus, Scottish Citylink and megabus.com operations.

Stagecoach chief executive Martin Griffiths said, “This is a huge investment by the private sector in providing better mobility and better air quality in local communities.

“It follows other significant investment that we’ve made in smart ticketing, improved information for customers and digital technology.”

29 May 2019

Ford and Cox Automotive joined forces to drive a plug-in hybrid electric van (PHEV) from John O’Groats to Land’s End to raise money for Mind, the UK’s leading mental health charity.

The partnership used a prototype of Ford’s new Transit Custom plug-in hybrid (PHEV) van and it was the first time a plug-in hybrid van has completed the entire length of the UK.

James Davis from Cox Automotive teamed up with Ford’s Stephen Wright on the six-day fundraiser that started on Sunday, 26 May and arrived at Land’s End on Friday 31 May.

The van, one of 20 pre-production prototypes currently in fleet evaluation, had its entire journey tracked and analysed.

To give clients and team members the chance to pore over Ford’s innovative new PHEV technology, the route took in five Manheim CV auction centres, as well as NextGear Capital’s Chester head offices.

The Ford Transit Custom PHEV also stopped off at ALD Automotive’s head offices in Bristol to celebrate the two organisations’ Ford Lease partnership.

Co-driver James Davis, director of customer insight and strategy at Cox Automotive, said, “Ford and Cox Automotive have enjoyed a long-standing global partnership. From an initial idea I’m so pleased to have developed this event with our friends at Ford. As well as raising awareness and experiencing this fantastic PHEV technology first hand, we’ll be raising money for Mind. I’ve suffered from mental health issues in my life, and in our male-dominated industry we really need to be able to talk and share.”

The Ford Transit Custom PHEV visited Manheim’s auction centres, at Shotts then moved on to Haydock, Shepshed and Bruntingthorpe and Gloucester before its journey end at Land’s End.

Dave Petts, of Take it to the Market Leader Urban Electrified Van (UEV) Programme at Ford, said, “This is a good test of our London Trials prototype vehicle and I’m looking forward to seeing the data generated from the run. The Transit Custom PHEV range extender gives zero emissions for city ULEZ and CAZ zones and the operational flexibility to be able to do this sort of run across the country without any range anxiety.”

If you want to donate to Mind visit the JustGiving page at: https://lnkd.in/eXZP3dH.

30 May 2019

Low, and now ultra-low, emission zones are becoming common place in Europe, with many major cities implementing measures to help tackle air quality. While new diesel and petrol vehicles do not face penalties, electrification will have a huge role to play, and the technology is now readily available in the passenger and light commercial vehicle markets. This is only the tip of the iceberg.

Global demand for road freight continues to grow and 98% are still powered by diesel. However, British driveline engineering specialist, Drive System Design (DSD), believe they have developed a new approach to the design of electrified powertrains that aims to accelerate their adoption in the commercial vehicle market.

“Concerns over high initial costs and vehicle range anxiety are the greatest hurdles to adoption of electric vehicle technology,” said Mike Savage, DSD chief engineer. “For example, a suitable battery pack to provide a 200km+ range for a medium duty truck would currently cost around £45,000 and weigh 1.25 tonnes.

“Optimising the cost and range of a complete powertrain, rather than focusing on individual elements, will enable the development of vehicles that are fine-tuned for nuanced characteristics of different markets,” he continued. “For example, average duty cycle speeds in Europe are far lower than the US, but considerably higher than demanding conditions in India. By matching the powertrain requirements with each market, significant cost savings could be possible without compromising the required operating range.”

DSD has developed optimisation techniques, processes and tools to quantify the impact of various subsystems on the overall powertrain performance using a systems approach. This provides a glimpse of the powertrain’s subsystem relationships and enables analysis of the most influential design considerations. As part of a recent project, the company simulated over 4000 different powertrain permutations to optimise the configuration of a 13-tonne commercial vehicle.

“Using the vehicle’s dynamic requirements and expected operating conditions, hypothetical targets provide a basis from which to calculate necessary power and torque, and vehicle range is determined by calculating the energy consumption during the drive cycle,” explained Savage. “Representative duty cycle and load cases are crucial for true cost optimisation of the powertrain: in this case, inclusion of the effect of gradient changes during a specific drive cycle resulted in a 15% peak power increase requirement.”

Savage suggests that an added benefit of a systems approach is that unexpected or counter-intuitive solutions are often uncovered. The company’s 13-tonne project is a compelling example: “We found that changing to a more expensive, more efficient motor permitted a significant reduction in battery pack size while maintaining desired range,” he said. “The more efficient motor drew less energy from the battery pack, which allowed the use of a reduced capacity unit. Introducing a multi-speed transmission can have a similar result, which can lead to motor downsizing. In each example, the benefit is a lower total cost of the powertrain alongside a weight reduction, which enables a greater payload. Ultimately, this leads to greater fleet operator profitability.”