Virginia Treehugger Justin Thomas informs us that Iveco SpA, a unit of Fiat Automobiles, will unveil its new diesel hybrid-electric van at the European Road Transport Show in Amsterdam.
FedEx will introduce 10 new diesel hybrid-electric delivery vehicles to its European fleet, bringing the worldwide total of hybrid vehicles in revenue service at FedEx to more than 100 in North America, Asia and, now, Europe. Fiat’s truck division, Iveco, manufactured these vans for FedEx. From the Fiat press release Green Car Congress states that Iveco has targeted an approximately 30% reduction in fuel consumption, based upon a FedEx operating cycle.
At the customer’s request, Iveco is will to provide a larger capacity battery-pack for all-electric, plug-in zero-emission vehicle operation. Plug-in hybrids are a good thing. As Andrew Frank recently observed at the 2007 Santa Monica Alt Car Expo during his participation in the Plug-In Technology Panel, very few vehicles will be able to meet the stricter than previously expected carbon dioxide emissions standards set by the European Commission, whereas all plug-in hybrids will meet the stricter Euro 5 standards when the source of electric power from the Grid is wind and solar.
“The Daily Hybrid combines a diesel engine with a Bosch motor and electronics and a ZF transmission in an inline parallel configuration. The battery pack is from Johnson Controls.”
The major Pick up and Delivery companies, FedEx and UPS, are using multiple approaches to address fuel consumption and environmental stewardship. Cooperation between European companies such as the effort between Fiat, Bosch and SAFT exemplifies the potential for light and medium duty hydrid drive train developed in Europe or elsewhere.
For instance, the internal combustion engine could be other than a Fiat diesel. There are a number of manufacturers of diesel engines in Europe, to include VW-Audi, PSA, and Nissan-Renault. By 2010 it even could be a Honda diesel.
Or, if truck manufacturers change the configuration from parallel to the more efficient serial hybrid layout, the way bus manufacturers have, then the range extender possibilities increase. It could be an HCCI (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition), such as those being developed by variety of engine manufacturers, to include Fiat, General Motors, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Scania. And, while the Bosch SMG (Starter – Motor – Generator) used in the Iveco Daily Hybrid is nice, with a series hybrid, there is no need for the engine to be stopped and re-started, either by the driver or automatically.
GCC Illustration
In a series hybrid, like the CNG-electric series-hybrids that TransTeq provided for shuttle buses in Denver, there is need for an efficient generator. Such vehicles are becoming more desirable since they save fuel over local routes with a lot of stop and go driving, yet acceleration is immediately available.
Other companies make vehicle management systems that would work in this or other more efficient drive trains. For instance, Scania has developed an engine management system to control fuel injection, dual-stage EGR, charge-air, cooling fan and engine operating temperature, variable-geometry turbo, exhaust braking, emission compliance, exhaust after treatment and engine oil level. They believe that they can meet Euro 5 emission standards with extra high-pressure common rail injection systems that are an improvement over the already low fuel consumption, common rail, turbocharged, inter-cooled diesel engines now popular in Europe.
More efficient development of delivery fleets is a global concern and indications are that for the near future fleet managers are betting on hybrid diesel-electric engines. After public transit buses, pick up and delivery fleets comprise the next major transportation segment to adopt hybrid drives in significant numbers. According to China Times, Iveco also is looking at expanding its co-operation with Shanghai Automotive Industries (SAIC) over bus production in China.
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