Tata Motors Europe

Electric vehicle value chain is changing

Currently the key enabling technologies in electric vehicles are motors, batteries and control systems. For the next ten years, add to that energy harvesting, supercapacitors (ultracapacitors) and range extenders that replace internal combustion engines in hybrids, notably fuel cells and mini turbines.

Electric bicycles and ebikes - the next ten years

IDTechEx has issued another report in its series on the various types of electric vehicle - hybrid and pure electric - and their future entitled Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) Industry Worldwide 2011-2021 (www.IDTecHEx.com/LEV). Electric vehicles by land, water and air will be a market of over $210 billion in ten years from now. The segments of this market are very different in certain respects yet they increasingly share some technical challenges and vehicle and component suppliers. This report concerns electric bicycles, ebikes and other Light Electric Vehicles (LEVs) that constitute an important part of the overall EV business. Other reports in the series cover aircraft, marine, buses/taxis, military/police/security and cars.

Boxster E prototypes

The Boxster E, with one electric motor apiece on front and rear axle, runs on purely electric power with four-wheel drive and is equivalent to a Boxster S in terms of driving dynamics. Together with two other Boxster Es, in which an electric motor drives the rear wheels, the prototype is being used to explore the everyday practicality of all-electric vehicles and how they are used, especially in terms of driving and battery charging. What the researchers are after is an understanding of the requirements facing future products, where to go next with Porsche Intelligent Performance and how to integrate electric vehicles into the infrastructure.

BAE Systems exceeds 3500 hybrid bus drive trains

BAE Systems says it has cumulatively delivered more than 3,500 units of its hybrid electric propulsion system called the HybriDrive series, netting it over $350 million and making it one of the most successful suppliers of subsystems in the history of the electric vehicle.

Goodbye 100 mile range electric vehicles

150 miles range is the new benchmark for affordable electric vehicles: the 100 miles range of today's pure electric vehicles will quickly become an embarrassment.

Range extenders for hybrid vehicles - second vs third generation

We are in the decade of the hybrid electric vehicle despite the fact that most off road and underwater vehicles are pure electric.

School bus to use energy harvesting and biofuel

The Georgia Institute of Technology and the Ford Motor Company Fund are partnering on the nation's first conversion of a school bus to a hydraulic hybrid vehicle that runs on recycled biofuel.

Electromobility has a new key enabling technology

Foreign manufacturers of electric cars in China can own only minority shares and they must surrender intellectual property on at least one of what the government considers to be the three key enabling technologies for e-mobility. These are batteries, motors and control electronics. In exchange, foreigners gain access to a market they hope will be large enough to create cash flow that can be repatriated if the dominant partner approves.

Volkswagen steps up its use of plug-in hybrid technology

At the 32nd International Vienna Motor Symposium, the Chairman of the Volkswagen Group, Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, announced that the Volkswagen Group will be going into production with a range of important models with plug-in hybrid technology starting in 2013/14.

Military, Security and Police Electric Vehicles

This article shares some of the research carried out for the new IDTechEx report "Electric Vehicles Military, Security, Police 2011-2021". Electric vehicles are appearing for military, security and police purposes that are on land, on and in the sea and airborne.

Electric Vehicles - But Not As We Know Them

Today's electric family cars are useless in telling us anything about the future. The design and adoption of electric vehicles is subject to sudden change driven by surprising factors. The unique event "Electric Vehicles - Land Sea Air" in Stuttgart, Germany is alone in looking at the big picture in order to clarify what is really going on.

New military supercapacitor funding

ADA Technologies, Inc. has been awarded a $70,000 contract from the U.S. Army to begin Phase 1 of the development of an electrochemical supercapacitor (ultracapacitor) for use in hybrid military vehicles.

More on 2nd vs 3rd Generation Range Extenders

There is no doubt that hybrid electric vehicles by land sea and air are transitioning from having small traction batteries and near useless all electric range of about 15 miles to something nearer to market needs. In prospect is all-electric plug-in range as good or better than today's affordable pure electric land, sea and air vehicles at 100 miles or so (162 km) and use of on-board range extenders that give a total plug-in powered plus on-board energy range that even exceeds that of most of today's conventional vehicles.

Gorillas like Electric Vehicles

The seven largest companies participating in the event, "Electric Vehicles Land Sea Air" in Stuttgart 28-29 June have a total sales value exceeding $570 billion. Clearly the gorillas of industry are intimately involved in electric vehicles.

New GS Yuasa traction battery orders

GS Yuasa Corp has just announced that it has reached a broad agreement to supply lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles now under joint development by PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

Range extenders for hybrid vehicles -2nd vs. 3rd generation

We are in the decade of the hybrid electric vehicle despite the fact that most off road and underwater vehicles are pure electric.

Case Western fuel cell breakthrough

Leaders in practicable fuel cells in electric vehicles by land sea and air include Intelligent Energy of the UK while DLR German Aerospace Center, EADS in Germany and France, ENFICA-FC in Italy, Mercedes in Germany and others are extending fuel cell use to manned aircraft, airport Ground Support Equipment GSE, mainstream cars and more.

Hyundai 90 kW vehicle fuel cell

Hyundai has showcased a hydrogen fuel cell concept Blue2 at Seoul Motor Show. It delivers hydrogen fuel stack power of 90kW.

Hybrids at no price penalty

IDTechEx forecasts of sales of hybrid cars presume that, as the decade progresses, more and more of them will be offered at no price premium.