Commercial Vehicle Powertrains on the Move

Auszug

The commercial vehicle sector is well on the way to achieving a 20-% reduction in CO₂ by 2020 in comparison to 2005. Measures solely targeting the combustion engine, such as downsizing or downspeeding, are increasingly reaching their technological and commercial limits and the efficiency gains are becoming correspondingly smaller. Nevertheless, legal constraints look set to apply after 2020; to force a further reduction in fuel consumption and hence CO₂ emissions. Despite the fact fuel consumption comprises more than a third of logistics costs for long-distance transport, not every efficiency-boosting technology automatically cuts the overall operating cost of a commercial vehicle over its useful life, which is better known as "total cost of ownership". This is why the EU-funded Ecochamps project aims to develop efficient, compact, lightweight, reliable and above all cost-effective hybrid powertrain components and electric auxiliary equipment for hybrid powertrains in passenger cars and commercial vehicles. …