Vehicle Development News - July 2019
ACE-EV inks landmark deal with Adelaide’s Aldom to build electric cars
Australian electric vehicle developer ACE-EV has sealed a partnership with Adelaide truck body maker Aldom, that will mark the beginning of a light commercial and passenger electric vehicle industry in Australia.
Under the landmark agreement with Aldom Motor Body Builders, the assembly of ACE-EV’s Cargo commercial electric vehicle will commence in the first quarter of 2020.
The company will take on 15-20 new staff and ultimately aims to build 10 cars a week on the new assembly line.
Hybrids are 14 times better than battery electric vehicles at reducing real-world carbon dioxide emissions
Emissions Analytics, a company that works in the area of scientific measurement of real-world emissions, suggests that mass adoption of hybrid vehicles, rather than low-volume take-up of pure battery electric vehicles, is the most effective solution to cutting CO2 in the short term and also in meeting 2030 emission targets.
According to the report, of all electrification strategies, full battery electric vehicles currently offer the least effective CO2 reduction: 21 times worse than mild hybrids and 14 times worse than full hybrids.
The EU’s CO2reduction target for passenger cars by 2030 is 37.5%. Emissions Analytics tests show that, even with current technology, widespread hybrid-isation would achieve more than three-quarters of that target.
China’s father of electric cars says hydrogen is future
A former Audi executive who went on to become China’s science-and-technology minister, Wan Gung convinced leaders two decades ago to bet on the then-untested technology of vehicle electrification, promoting it not only as a way to boost economic growth - but also to tackle China’s dependence on oil imports and its mounting levels of pollution.
His strategy — using government subsidies to bring car-makers and drivers on board — made China home to one of every two Electric Vehicles sold globally today.
Now this visionary is saying that hydrogen is the future.
Wan Gang says that China should get ready for the next game-changing moment.
“We should look into establishing a hydrogen society,” he said, “We need to move further toward fuel cells.”
The adoption of fuel-cell vehicles has been slow in spite of China having an abundant supply of hydrogen. There are only about 1,500 hydrogen powered vehicles in use there today, compared with more than 2 million electric vehicles.
However, China is promoting the adoption of hydrogen vehicles in selected regional trials as it sets up an ecosystem that includes hydrogen production, storage, transportation and refuelling.
Renault addresses last mile deliveries with experimental van
Renault unveiled an experimental electric and connected van designed to improve the efficiency of so-called “last-mile” deliveries in urban areas.
The French carmaker said the EZ-FLEX Is built to meet the needs of delivery-van drivers, with wide access to seats, a large central dashboard and easy access to a range of information.
Test versions of Renault’s EZ-FLEX concept will transfer a range of data to the carmaker to help it better understand how the van is used.