GreenFleet 96

ELECTRIFIED HGVs

EXPERT PANEL TELEMATICS

www.greenfleet.net

GREEN BUS FLEETS

ISSUE 96

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

GREENER CITY LIVING The role of electric vehicles, renewable energy and smart grids in the 21st Century city

EXPERT PANEL

ELECTRIC ADOPTION How does the UK’s electric vehicle market and incentive schemes compare with others in Europe?

EVENT PREVIEW

ARRIVE ‘N’ DRIVE

A decade of putting fleet managers behind the wheels of low and zero-emission vehicles

FIRST DRIVE 2016 CITROËN DISPATCH VAN

Decarbonising commercial fleets The inaugural Commercial GreenFleet event took place on 1 July.

Read the review on page 38

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Fuel consumption figures for the Fiat Professional range in mpg (l/100km): Urban 33.6 (8.4) – 60.1 (4.7); Extra Urban 43.5 (6.5) – 80.7 (3.5); Combined 39.2 (7.2) – 72.4 (3.9). CO2 emissions 104 – 189 g/km.

Fuel consumption and CO2 figures based on standard EU tests for comparative purposes and may not reflect real driving results. Factors such as driving style, weather and road conditions may also have a significant effect on fuel consumption. CO2 figures are for comparative purposes in accordance with the VCA van CO2 & fuel consumption database.

EXPERT PANEL TELEMATICS

www.greenfleet.net

GREEN BUS FLEETS

ISSUE 96

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

GREENER CITY LIVING The role of electric vehicles, renewable energy and smart grids in the 21st Century city

EXPERT PANEL

ELECTRIC ADOPTION How does the UK’s electric vehicle market and incentive schemes compare with others in Europe?

EVENT PREVIEW

Comment

ELECTRIFIED HGVs

Decarbonising commercial fleets The inaugural Commercial GreenFleet event took place on 1 July.

Read the review on page 38

ARRIVE ‘N’ DRIVE

A decade of putting fleet managers behind the wheels of low and zero-emission vehicles

FIRST DRIVE 2016 CITROËN DISPATCH VAN

A strategy for green mobility The European Commission has published its strategy for low emission mobility, detailing plans to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles and other alternative fuels.

Whilst the UK’s future with the EU is still unsure following Brexit, what is certain is that the UK still has stringent carbon targets of its own and so greening transportation will remain key on the government’s agenda.

Visit v fleet.t green ative video rm for info tent on t con tal flee nmen enviro agement man

Follow and interact with us on Twitter: @GreenFleetNews

The inaugural Commercial GreenFleet event took place on 1 July. Read the review p38

It’ll be good news to hear then that sales of alternatively fuelled vehicles are up 21.3 per cent compared with the first six months of 2015, according to SMMT data, although they only account for 3.2 per cent of the overall new car market.

In this issue, we ask our second panel of experts – this time with expertise in electric vehicles – to analyse the UK’s EV market and incentive schemes, comparing it to other European countries, such as Norway, which is the world leader in electric cars per capita, and has recently become the fourth country in the world to have 100,000 of them on the roads. Read the article on page 27.

We also tap back into the minds of our telematics expert panel, this time tackling the topic of how telematics has changed to meet the needs of the evolving fleet management profession, on page 17.

Angela Pisanu, editor

! ONLINE ! IN PRINT ! MOBILE ! FACE-TO-FACE If you would like to receive 10 issues of GreenFleet magazine for £200 a year, please contact Public Sector Information Limited, 226 High Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 GreenFleet® would like to thank the following organisations for their support:

PUBLISHED BY PUBLIC SECTOR INFORMATION LIMITED

226 High Rd, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 Fax: 020 8532 0066 Web: www.psi-media.co.uk EDITOR Angela Pisanu FEATURES AND ROAD TEST EDITOR Richard Gooding ASSISTANT EDITOR Tommy Newell PRODUCTION CONTROL Sofie Owen PRODUCTION DESIGN Jacqueline Lawford, Jo Golding WEB PRODUCTION Victoria Leftwich PUBLISHER George Petrou ACCOUNT MANAGER Kylie Glover ADMINISTRATION Vickie Hopkins REPRODUCTION & PRINT Argent Media

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Volume 96 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

3

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Contents

Contents GreenFleet 96 09

07 News

European Commission publishes strategy for low-emission mobility; Tesla’s latest ‘masterplan’; MPs call on government to investigate VW following ‘dieselgate’

38 Commercial GreenFleet GreenFleet looks back at its first commercial vehicle event, which gave delegates the chance to discover the latest green vans and truck technologies

17 Expert panel: Telematics 41 GreenFleet GreenFleet taps into the minds of Arrive ‘N’ Drive 2016 its expert telematics panel to find out if telematics – and the wealth of data it creates – has evolved to meet the changing needs of the profession

17

22 Electric vehicles

Robert Evans, CEO of Cenex, reviews the opportunities to use electric and alternatively-fuelled vehicles as well as green and smart solutions to address climate change, air quality, congestion and energy for transport challenges

26 Expert panel: Electric vehicles

GreenFleet and its panel of experts look at how the UK electric vehicle market and its incentive schemes compare to other European countries with an appetite for green motoring

31 Commercial vehicles

31

The freight sector still has some way to go meet greenhouse gas and emissions targets, but trials of an innovative electrified heavy goods transport system may offer one answer to the low carbon commercial vehicle conundrum

35 Green Bus Fleets

38

Innovation and supportive policy has made buses an important part of the solution to tackling climate change. GreenFleet analyses the LowCVP report on the issue and looks at the wider global picture

On 22 September 2016, Arrive ‘N’ Drive celebrates a decade of putting fleet managers behind the wheels of low and zero-emission vehicles and educating them on the latest green transport issues

46 First drive: Citroën Dispatch

The light commercial van from Citroën has been reimagined for 2016, and includes more efficient Euro 6-standard engines as well as technology borrowed from the French company’s passenger cars

48 Road test: Toyota Avensis Business Plus

The Toyota Avensis has undergone a refresh for 2016. GreenFleet finds increased efficiency, comfort, refinement, space, and technology are among the key attractions for fleet buyers

50 Road test: Vauxhall Astra Tech Line 1.6 CDTi S&S ecoFLEX

The new Vauxhall Astra promises lower emissions, enhanced efficiency, a more dynamic drive, and more technology. Does it deliver these benefits to both business and family car drivers?

52 PHEV diary: month six

As GreenFleet’s sixth month with the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV passes, we ask other owners of the plug-in hybrid SUV to share their experiences

22

46

GreenFleet magazine

www.greenfleet.net Volume 96 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

5

News

STRATEGY

FLEET MANAGEMENT

Grey fleet costs employers more than £5.5bn a year, study finds

European Commission publishes strategy for low-emission mobility The low-emission mobility strategy, published on 20 July, includes plans to speed up the deployment of alternative fuels for transport and pushes forward with electric vehicles.

It explains the initiatives that the Commission is planning, and where it is exploring options. It also shows how certain initiatives are linked and how synergies can be achieved.

Elements of the strategy include increasing the efficiency of the transport system by making the most of digital technologies, smart pricing and further encouraging the shift to lower emission transport modes.

It sets out plans to speed up the deployment of low-emission alternative energy for transport, such as advanced biofuels, electricity, hydrogen and renewable

synthetic fuels, as well as removing obstacles to the electrification of transport.

It also details how Europe is to move towards zero-emission vehicles. While further improvements to the internal combustion engine will be needed, Europe needs to accelerate the transition towards low- and zero-emission vehicles.

It also says how cities and local authorities are crucial for the delivery of this strategy, and reiterates Europe’s commitment in pursuing global efforts to control emissions from international aviation and maritime transport.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/zvr8bos

MANUFACTURING

The full extent of the UK’s ‘grey fleet’ is revealed in a report into private vehicles used for business.

The report, called Getting To Grips With Grey Fleet, was produced by the Energy Saving Trust (EST) and commissioned by the British Vehicle Leasing and Rental Association (BVRLA). It finds the nation’s grey fleet comprises 14 million cars – 40 per cent of all vehicles on the road – and costs employers more than £5.5bn a year in mileage claims and car allowances.

It reveals that some 12 billion business miles are driven each year on Britain’s roads by employee-owned cars.

Using government figures and data from real-life fleets, EST researchers were able to produce a profile of a typical grey fleet vehicle and compare it to other alternatives, including rental cars, car club vehicles and company cars. They found that the average grey fleet car was ‘exhausted’ – being older, more polluting and potentially more dangerous than its counterparts.

According to the report, Britain’s grey fleet is responsible for some of the oldest cars on UK roads, with an average age of 8.2 years. It emits 3.6 million tonnes of CO2 per year and 8,156 tonnes of NOx. The BVRLA is calling for a concerted effort from company bosses and policymakers to tackle these issues. The association is targeting a 50 per cent reduction in grey fleet mileage and costs by 2020, and is urging government ministers to help by highlighting the alternatives to grey fleet use and offering best practice guidance, particularly for public sector organisations.

Porsche to recruit 1,400 specialists to work on Mission E Porsche has announced plans to recruit 1,400 new employees to work on the development and production of its first all-electric sports car, the Mission E. The German manufacturer plans to hire experts in the the fields of digitalisation, e-mobility, smart mobility and vehicle connectivity to work on the Mission E, which is expected to go into production in Zuffenhausen by 2020.

Porsche will also look to recruit production planners familiar with Factory 4.0 and digital production, as well as a number of IT specialists. As a part of the recruitment drive, it is also looking to expand its training and apprenticeship programme, with plans to increase apprentice numbers from 150 to 220.

Over 50 jobs will also be on offer at the newly established Porsche Digital GmbH, who will help to integrate the latest technologies into mobility solutions for the premium vehicle segment.

Andreas Haffner, member of the Porsche AG executive board, said: “One can in fact describe what is going on now as a ‘war for talents’. We are in direct competition with other automakers and suppliers and IT firms in our global search for talented experts.

“Money alone is not enough to attract these creative minds. You also need to offer exciting challenges, an inspiring environment, the greatest possible freedom to create and, now more than ever, attractive programmes for the work-life balance.

“However, with the hiring of more than 1,500 college graduates over the last five years, we have shown that we can offer secure jobs with attractive career opportunities.”

READ MORE

READ MORE

tinyurl.com/gsfnl39

tinyurl.com/juugql5

Volume 96 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

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THE NEW ALFA GIULIETTA WITH ALFA TCT. IT’S THE AUTOMATIC CHOICE. Introducing the New Alfa Giulietta Tecnica with the Alfa TCT’s gearbox offering the comfort of an automatic with responsiveness of a twin clutch, for maximum efficiency and driving pleasure.

Featuring dual zone climate control, front and rear parking sensors and the new Uconnect LIVE service to keep you up to speed with traffic reports, music, news and the latest social network feeds.

TM

CO2 from 99g/km

BIK from 19%

MPG up to 74.3

P11D from £20,845

For more information, call our Business Centre free on 0808 168 7152 or email alfaromeo.fleet@alfaromeo.com

Model shown is the Alfa Giulietta 1.6 JTDM-2 120 hp Alfa TCT Tecnica at £20,900 OTR including Alfa White Paint. Range of official fuel consumption figures for the Giulietta Tecnica range: Urban 55.4 – 60.1 mpg (5.1 – 4.7 I/100km); Extra Urban 74.3 – 88.3 mpg (3.8 – 3.2 I/100km); Combined 65.7 – 74.3 mpg (4.3 – 3.8 I/100km). CO2 emissions 113 – 99 g/km. Fuel consumption and CO2 figures are obtained for comparative purposes in accordance with EC directives/regulations and may not be representative of real-life driving conditions. Factors such as driving style, weather and road conditions may also have a significant effect on fuel consumption.

News

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Nissan to give golden Leaf EVs to 2016 Olympic winners

Tesla’s Elon Musk reveals latest ‘masterplan’ Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla, has published the second part of his ‘masterplan’.

It includes plans for the Tesla range to cover all types of ground vehicles, including electric buses and lorries, and speaks of creating a ‘solar-roof-with-battery product’ that people can have fitted to their homes.

Outlining the move into ‘high passenger-density urban transport’ and trucks, Musk said: “Both are in the early stages of development at and should be ready for unveiling next year. We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport.”

The plans also state that once Tesla’s cars have full autonomous driving capability, owners could add their cars to a shared fleet, so the vehicles can be making money for their owners when they are not using them.

He explains that the main reason for all his plans is to “accelerate the advent of sustainable energy, so that we can imagine far into the future and life is still good. That’s what “sustainable” means. It’s not some silly, hippy thing – it matters for everyone.”

He wrote: ”We must at some point achieve a sustainable energy economy or we will run out of fossil fuels to

burn and civilization will collapse.”

Musk has also confirmed that Tesla’s Gigafactory is ahead of schedule and will begin producing batteries for use in its Model 3 vehicles before the end of the year.

The all-electric manufacturer had initially planned to start production of smaller, cheaper lithium-ion battery cells in 2017, but Musk told reporters on 26 July that it had accelerated plans and brought the production date forward.

The plant is now partially operational, with Musk telling reporters it is now around 14 per cent complete. Development of the factory is vital to meet Tesla’s target of producing 500,000 vehicles a year by 2018, and it will need to stay on track if Tesla is to keep up with orders for the £35,000 Model 3.

1,000 employees are currently working at the Gigafactory, and Musk suggested that by the time it is completed it will employ around 10,000, helping to meet the planned annual battery production target of 35 gigawatt-hours (GWh).

READ MORE tinyurl.com/hcva6ep

GOVERNMENT

Chris Grayling named Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has been named the new Transport Secretary by Prime Minister Theresa May. The appointment came amid a swift cabinet reshuffle within May’s first 24 hours on the job. Grayling joins other notable Brexit campaigners to be given high profile positions, including Boris Johnson, who was named Foreign Secretary, and Liam Fox, who will take on the newly created role of Secretary of State for International Trade.

Grayling, MP for Epsom and Ewell since 2001, will take over from Patrick McLoughlin, who has been appointed as Tory Party chairman and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Grayling previously held the position of Shadow Transport Secretary as part of David Cameron’s Shadow Cabinet while in opposition.

It has also been confirmed that Andrew Jones has been re-appointed as Transport Minister.

His role will now include a number of new responsibilities, including sustainable travel, cycling, walking, transport as part of the Northern Powerhouse agenda, motoring agencies, road and vehicle safety and standards, buses and taxis, traffic management, smart ticketing and High Speed Rail 2 (HS2).

Speaking to the Harrowgate Informer, Jones said he was pleased to be taking on ‘new and exciting responsibilities’, claiming he was ‘particularly interested in the sustainable transport section of the job’.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/hq8tvs8

Nissan has announced that it will reward all Nissan-sponsored athletes who win a gold medal at the Rio Olympic Games with a gold wrapped Leaf electric vehicle (EV).

Olympian and Nissan ambassador Chris Hoy launched the initiative at the Lee Valley Velopark, which will give British athletes such as heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, gymnast Max Whitlock and multi-gold medal winners David Weir and Richard Whitehead the chance to pick up the special edition EV. Chris Marsh, Nissan Motor GB marketing director, said: “Giving our gold medal-winning Nissan athletes a gold Nissan Leaf is our way of celebrating their incredible successes.

“Nissan is fully behind all of the GB athletes heading to Rio but will of course be keeping a close eye out for those we have individually supported over the course of the Games’ cycle on their road to Rio 2016.”

Winning athletes will receive the vehicles on their return from Rio, and the gold wrapped Leafs will be on display at Nissan’s Innovation Station at The O2 in London throughout the whole Games period.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/j3x64wj

NEW CARS

Kia launches its first hybrid in the UK Kia has launched its first hybrid in the UK in the form of the new Niro crossover, which is built on an all-new platform for electrified vehicles.

The Niro starts at £21,295, boasting fuel economy of up to 74.3mpg and CO2 emissions as low as 88g/km. Its release comes as part of wider plans to reduce the environmental impact of Kia’s range, with the Japanese manufacturer hoping the Niro can make a ‘significant contribution’ to its target of reducing the average emissions of its range by 25 per cent before 2020.

It will be available in four models, the ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’ and ‘First Edition’ and every version will come equipped with a number of driver assistance features, including lane keep assist system, hill-start assist control, cruise control and a speed limiter.

The Niro is also the first Kia to feature Android Auto, which connects an Android smartphone to the car’s infotainment system and, through pre-downloaded apps, gives access to a variety of services such as Google Maps navigation, Google Play music, hands-free calls and texts and voice recognition.

READ MORE tinyurl.com/jz5kwto

Volume 96 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

9

This is about business, the looks are a bonus.

FORD KUGA

Auto Start-Stop Technology

There are many features in the Ford Kuga that make it a valuable asset to any business: A 2.0 Diesel engine that generates only 122g/km CO2 Intelligent All-Wheel Drive and Smart Regenerative Charging Opening the tailgate is easy with the Hands-free power tailgate even when your arms are full In slow moving traffic Active City Stop will reduce the likelihood of the car colliding with a vehicle in front if it detects a collision is likely

• • • •

For more information please contact our Business Centre on 0345 723 2323.

P11D

BIK

CO 2

MPG

£20,045 - £33,895

31% - 24%

171 - 122g/km

38.2-60.1

COMBINED

Official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the Ford Kuga range: urban 30.4 - 52.3 (9.3-5.4), extra urban 45.6 -65.7 (6.2- 4.3), combined 38.2- 60.1 (7.4- 4.7). Official C02 emissions 171 -122g/km.

The mpg figures quoted are sourced from official EU-regulated test results (EU Directive and Regulation 692/2008), are provided for comparability purposes and may not reflect your actual driving experience.

Vehicle shown is the Ford Kuga Titanium X Sport in Magnetic at extra charge.

News

EMISSIONS

MPs call on government to investigate VW following ‘dieselgate’ The UK government should consider investigating and prosecuting Volkswagen (VW) for the ‘dieselgate’ scandal that saw the manufacturer cheat emissions tests.

Following the revelation that VW had been using a ‘defeat device’ to trick emissions tests for a large number of its diesel engines, the Transport Select Committee has criticised the UK government for being ’too slow to act’.

In the fallout of the scandal, VW has agreed to offer significant compensation to vehicle owners in the US, but no such deal has been agreed for owners of affected cars across Europe.

The Committee has described this as ‘deeply unfair’ and accused the Department for Transport (DfT) of trying to ‘pass the buck’ to the European Commission. The Committee makes clear that it believes that the responsibility for prosecution lies with national governments and has called on the DfT to ensure UK customers are not out of pocket.

Louise Ellman, chair of the

Transport Select Committee, said: “Volkswagen Group has acted cynically to cheat emissions tests which exist solely to protect human health. Volkswagen’s evidence to us was just not credible but the government has lacked the will to hold VW accountable for its actions.

There is a real danger that VW will be able to get away with cheating emissions tests in Europe if regulators do not act.

“Vehicle owners have been refused goodwill payments.

That is despite VW inflicting a great deal of uncertainty on its own customers along with the prospect of declining residual values and the inconvenience of having to undergo repairs.

“We are concerned that VW’s fix was developed at the lowest possible cost which might lead to increased costs for motorists down the line.

We have called upon the Vehicle Certification Agency to do everything in its power to ensure that does not happen.”

READ MORE tinyurl.com/h2at8rm

USED CARS

EV stock levels up more than 600 per cent on AA Cars portal The popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) has increased dramatically on the AA’s used car portal ‘AA Cars’, with stock levels rising by more than 600 per cent over the last two years.

AA Cars analysed the number of EVs listed on the portal and found that stock levels for Q2 2016 were 652 per cent higher than Q2 2014, and up 66 per cent compared to the same period in 2015.

The results are encouraging and suggest more people in the UK are adopting low emission vehicles, with stock turnover also found to be 16 per cent higher in 2016 compared to June 2016.

Paul Yates, managing director of AA Cars, comments: “The EV revolution is gripping the country – a fact which is born out by a

surge of new and used electric cars and vans onto the market.

“National statistics suggest that 95 per cent of car journeys in Britain are under 25 miles while a third of families have two or more cars, making electric vehicles an ideal option as a second car. And as old perceptions about the barriers to EV ownership start to dissipate, we expect this upward trend in used electric vehicle stock to continue.

“With a broadly priced range of models now available, there’s never been a better time to buy electric if you’ve ever considered a used EV.” READ MORE tinyurl.com/qf7tlv8

LowCVP’s Andy Eastlake What a Westminster month!

If a week is a long time in politics, then the last month might be described as an epoch. Brexit vote, leadership battles, a new Prime Minister and a wholesale shake up of the government departments and ministers might leave you reeling. And as I write this we have just had the confirmation that transport minister portfolios are changing too.

The merger of the Department of Energy (and Climate Change?) with the Department for Business and much political upheaval elsewhere, left us without a specific titular department for Climate Change, which superficially might seem a concern, however in all our discussions across a range of department officials, it is clear that climate change and air quality remain of critical concern.

So where does this leave us in terms of the prospects for the low carbon vehicle and fuels agenda? Well, it’s clear that if and when we leave the European Union there will be significant differences but, I believe, the overriding direction of travel is very unlikely to change.

UK policy in this area is anchored by the 2008 Climate Act, which provides an example for many other countries in the world about where we are headed. The Climate Act provides a legal framework for reducing carbon emissions to very low levels by 2050 and the specific target for 2028-32 (CB5) has just been approved in the knowledge that further policies and more dramatic carbon reductions, especially in transport, are undoubtedly needed in order to reach it, irrespective of EU requirements.

While the decision to abolish DECC may send a concerning signal on one level, its amalgamation with BEIS (the acronym I hope, is going to sound like ‘beers’ when spoken quickly – that’s one department in which I wouldn’t mind a role!) provides an opportunity to embed the low carbon agenda squarely into our industrial strategy. It is a significant change too, that the new government has clearly signalled the need for an active industrial strategy by embedding the words into the name of the new department.

Speaking at the recent LowCVP Annual Conference, the IPPR’s Michael Jacobs said that while there are many uncertainties, the agenda will continue to be driven by the 2008 Climate Act. In the current unstable political environment, he said, the Government is particularly eager to find areas where it can provide policy certainty and clear direction. So in view of the recent success of the UK automotive sector, the drive for low carbon vehicles and fuels provides a clear opportunity for the Government and business to do more of this.

So whatever your views on ‘Brexit’ and the upheavals that have followed, I urge you to keep the faith and your focus on the low carbon transport future because now more than ever, the undoubted benefits to the UK are needed.

FURTHER INFORMATION For more details on the outputs from the LowCVP’s 2016 Annual Conference see: http://www.lowcvp.org.uk/events/conference16.htm

Volume 96 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

11

Commercial Vehicle News

Greenroad – Leading provider of mobile driver behaviour and fleet performance solutions The growth in internet shopping and home delivery is fuelling the demand for van fleets. There are now more than four million vans registered to run on UK roads and the figure is continuing to rise According to the SMMT, new registrations for the first six months of 2016 were up by three per cent, driven mainly by demand for heavy vans in the 2.5 to 3.5-tonne range.

Legally, the training for van drivers is not as rigorous as for HGV drivers and the proliferation of vans on the roads raises some interesting questions such as how safe are your drivers? Would you know if they were regularly performing risky manoeuvres? What steps are you taking to ensure their driving habits are getting better, not worse?

With telematics, fleet, health and safety and HR managers can gain an insight into why or how accidents happened; they can track when and where a vehicle was and with on-board cameras can swiftly retrieve footage of what was happening immediately before and after an incident. However, modern, more advanced telematics systems can do much, much more.

A mobile system which does not require any hard-wiring, yet is one which bears all the features and benefits of a hard-wired solution, offers total flexibility and provides total ease of use for van fleets. Allowing for a speedy roll out, all drivers have to do is download an app onto a smartphone or tablet, install it, run it, log in and then find the OBD-II (On Board Diagnostics) port on the instrument panel in their cockpit and plug the mobile device in. By monitoring 150 vehicle movements these can detect and record risky manoeuvres such as sharp cornering, swerving, sudden acceleration and harsh braking, sending reports to managers.

The strategic aim, surely, of any organisation – is to improve driver performance in the long term. Rather than waiting for reports to filter back via a manager to a driver, it is useful to deploy a system that allows drivers to take charge of their own improvement. As 90 per cent of accidents are down to driver decisions, a system that gives drivers immediate feedback, in a simple-to-see, non-distracting dashboard tool, whenever they stray from safe, smooth driving, will embed good driving habits on a daily basis and lead to lower fuel bills, lower accident-related costs, fewer incidents and reduced insurance premiums.

A ‘coach in the cab’, supported by a robust after sales service, will boost your bottom line, delivering benefits and insights far beyond those given by a simple telematics system that may tell you where your vehicles are, but not how your drivers behave on the road.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0113 3570090 info@greenroad.com www.greenroad.com

PASSENGER TRANSPORT

Government announces £30m for low emission buses The government has announced £30 million worth of funding to support low emission bus technologies across England.

The funding will give bus operators and local authorities the opportunity to invest in low emission buses and install chargepoints and other infrastructure. A total of 13 successful bidders will be able to add 326 low emission buses to their fleets, and install more than £7 million worth of infrastructure.

West Midland Travel has been awarded more than £3 million to fund 10 hybrid and 19 fully electric buses, while Birmingham City Council and Transport for London have jointly won £2.8 million for 42 state-of-the-art hydrogen fuel cell buses.

The money will also fund a number of biomethane buses, with Nottingham City Transport receiving £4.4 million

for 53 biomethane buses and infrastructure and Merseytravel receiving £4.9 million for a total of 72 biomethane, hybrid or electric buses and associated infrastructure.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: “My message is clear – greener buses are good for passengers and good for British business.

“Low emission buses have already proved to be a real success across the country. They are cost efficient, good for the environment, and there are wider benefits. We have provided more than £2 billion of funding to greener transport schemes since 2011, and by supporting this technology the government is ensuring the UK is driving innovation and investment up and down the country.”

READ MORE tinyurl.com/hp2yq93

ROAD SAFETY

Large variation in truck blind spots causing hundreds of road deaths Large variation in truck blind spots are leading to hundreds of deaths on European roads every year, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by the Loughborough Design School, found that the Man TGS N3 was the worst performing truck, with combined blind spots totalling 2.72m. Comparatively, the DAF CF N3 had combined blind spots of just under a meter, while the Scania P N3 was found to have great direct vision with no blind spots.

In response to the findings, Transport and Environment (T and E) has called for the mandating of low-entry cab designs for new delivery trucks.

New vehicles safety rules are

being drafted by the European Commission and due to come into force by 2028, but T and E believes this is not soon enough.

William Todts, freight director at T and E, said: “It’s shocking that there are such large differences between perfectly similar trucks.

It shows that some truck makers aren’t factoring in cyclist or pedestrian safety when designing new vehicles. The solution is obvious: we need direct vision standards for trucks. With so many people dying, we can’t afford to wait until 2028. This needs to happen much quicker.”

READ MORE tinyurl.com/j2r9n9q Scania CV AB

12

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

Commercial Vehicle News

FREIGHT TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION

ELECTRIC TRUCKS

Mercedes-Benz unveils first fully electric truck for heavy distribution Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its Urban eTruck, the first fully electric truck equipped for heavy distribution operations.

The Urban eTruck is boasts a range of up to 200km and has an admissible total weight of 26 tonnes. It is based on a heavy-duty, three-axle short-radius Mercedes-Benz distribution truck, but features a totally revised drive concept, with the entire conventional drivetrain being replaced by a new electrically driven rear axle with electric motors directly adjacent to the wheel hubs.

Daimler has said that the development of an all-electric truck has being possible due to recent advances in battery cells, with the manufacturer expecting the cost of batteries to drop to as low as 200 euro/kWh by 2025.

Wolfgang Bernhard, responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses at the board of management, said: “Electric drive systems previously only saw extremely limited use in trucks. Nowadays costs, performance and charging times develop further so rapidly that now there is a trend reversal in the distribution sector: the

time is ripe for the electric truck.

In light distribution trucks, our Fuso Canter E-Cell has already been undergoing intensive customer trials since 2014. And with the Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck, we are now electrifying the heavy distribution segment up to 26 tonnes. We intend to establish electric driving as systematically as autonomous and connected driving.”

Stefan Buchner, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks: “With the Mercedes-Benz Urban eTruck, we are underlining our intention to systematically developing the electric drive in trucks to series production maturity.

This means that we will begin to integrate customers, so as to gain valuable joint experience with respect to the operating ranges and the charging infrastructure in daily transport operations. Because we think the entry of this technology into the series production is already conceivable at the beginning of the next decade.”

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LCVs

Euro 6 engines available across Renault LCV range Renault has announced that new Euro 6-compliant engines will be available across its light commercial vehicle (LCV) range.

The new efficient engines will be available in the Kangoo, Trafic and Master as part of Renault’s commitment to the environment and in preparation for the legislation change set to come into place in September.

Renault Kangoos will now come equipped with a NOx trap and the Maxi versions will feature the ‘Energy’ engine, which features stop-start

technology and offers fuel economy of up to 62.8mpg (NEDC combined cycle).

All Euro 6 LCVs will also come equipped with enhanced security, boasting a Thatcham-approved alarm as standard, which is in line with the higher security rating outlined in the new UK insurance criteria applicable to commercial vehicles that came into force at the start of the year.

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Transport sector needs to make progress on carbon emission reduction Rachael Dillon, climate change policy manager, FTA

Government has recently agreed to the Committee on Climate Change’s (CCC) recommendations and set the fifth carbon budget covering 2028 to 2032.

There is an overarching target to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 and five-yearly budgets are required to keep us on track. No sector-specific targets have been set. The new announcement means that carbon emissions must reduce by 57 per cent by 2032 against 1990 levels.

A report out from the CCC shows that emissions have already fallen by 38 per cent but if the pace of reduction slows, there may be a shortfall. Much of the reduction has come from the electricity sector and greater progress is required in other sectors including transport. The Committee states that Brexit will not change the UK’s requirement to reduce emissions nor the required levels of reduction, which were legislated by the UK Parliament.

Transport currently makes up 24 per cent of carbon emissions, making it the largest emitting sector. Emissions need to fall by around 43 per cent by 2030. Policies to achieve a high uptake of electric vehicles by 2030 are expected to make reductions, particularly within the car and van sector. On HGVs, the Committee believes the sector should focus on vehicle efficiency improvements based on ‘real-world’ testing – driver training, more efficient logistics, modal shift to rail and development of ultra-low emission technologies, such as electric and hydrogen options.

The CCC also notes that there is potential for new HGV CO2 intensity to fall by around 24 per cent between 2010 and 2030, with further opportunities to reduce emissions from the existing HGV fleet by deploying retrofit technologies. The European Commission is currently rolling out measures to set heavy duty vehicle standards as has been done already in China, Japan and the USA. We may be heading towards Brexit, but we will still be purchasing vehicles from Europe so these standards will apply.

The Committee also has high hopes for electrification of freight. It suggests an alternative option for long-distance freight is to combine batteries with low emission range-extenders. As ultra-low emission HGV technologies begin to be commercialised, the Government should consider extending existing incentives. The Government has also announced a new Green Truck Fund providing up to £19 million to support the uptake of low carbon technologies and alternatives in the freight sector. This will include both HGVs and vans.

Finally, the Committee welcomes the Government’s Freight Carbon Review and recommends that it is used to identify and put in place measures to deliver cost-effective emissions reduction measures across the freight sector. The Committee also recognises the work of the FTA’s Logistics Carbon Reduction Scheme to help reduce emissions.

FURTHER INFORMATION To join the scheme, visit www.fta.co.uk/lcrs

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Expert Panel: Telematics

EXPERT PANEL TELEMATICS Fleet management has become a more complex and demanding role. So how has telematics – and the wealth of data it creates – evolved to meet the changing needs of the profession?

GreenFleet taps into the minds of its expert telematics panel to find the answers

Yon Copitch, managing director, Traffilog

Nick Walker, managing director, RAC Telematics

Martin Kadhim, director, Lightfoot Partnership

Jack Palmer, senior project manager, TU-Automotive

Having spent more than 20 years in the Location Based Services and security industries, Yon brings a wealth of market experience to the Traffilog team. He joined the company in 2007 and has assisted in the creation of hugely successful distribution partners in the Nordic and Russian regions before becoming managing director

Nick joined the team in 2015 from Masternaut, where he was managing director of their central European business.

In a career that includes 28 years working in mainland Europe and the USA, Nick brought with him a wealth of experience in growing fast-paced technology businesses

Martin has extensive knowledge in IT, advertising and is passionate about the use of technology and psychology to improve driver behaviour, lower costs and reduce harmful emissions. He has been a pioneer in the sector since 2006, playing a key role in the development, evolution and commercial growth of Lightfoot

Jack Palmer is a senior project manager at TU-Automotive, a communications and research hub for the connected and automated vehicle and mobility ecosystem.

Jack oversees the research, marketing, sales and logistics of a portfolio of global events, focusing on this evolving space

The role of the fleet manager has changed significantly over recent years. Duty of care responsibilities, tight budgets, lowering emissions, and evolving technology have made the role much more advanced, strategic and demanding, as well as being more fundamental to the company as a whole.

Telematics was a game-changer for fleet management. All of a sudden, managers had visibility over where their drivers were on the roads, as well as access to vehicle performance. This new data allowed them to make informed decisions about what changes to make for a more efficient, safer and cost effective fleet.

The technology then got smarter. It gave data on how drivers drive, diagnostics systems identified vehicle faults earlier, camera systems improved safety and

security, and routing and scheduling systems streamlined logistics. Then smartphone and tablet apps came along, making fleet technology even more accessible.

Yon Copitch, managing director of Traffilog UK said: “Over the last ten years telematics has changed considerably. No longer is tracking and traditional driver profiling sufficient to satisfy fleet operators’ needs to reduce costs and manage their vehicles.

Today it’s prerequisite for connected vehicles to offer full diagnostics, which allow operators to predict failure and reduce downtime, along with tachograph downloads, vehicle checking and communication.”

Duty of care While the role of fleet management has evolved to become more complex, what still

remains fundamental is the safety of drivers.

The Corporate Manslaughter Act means that employers could be liable should their staff be killed in an accident whilst driving for work. And with DfT statistics stating that around a quarter of road crashes involve a vehicle being driven for work, it is a very real concern for company bosses. The Health and Safety Executive’s guidance on the matter states that: ‘If one of your employees is killed, for example while driving for work, and there is evidence that serious management failures resulted in a “gross breach of a relevant duty of care”, your company or organisation could be at risk of being prosecuted under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.’

Therefore companies must demonstrate that they are actively assessing the risks !

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Better drivers Creating better drivers is crucial to improving safety. Telematics systems send data back to head office on how staff are driving – whether they are speeding, or braking and cornering too harshly. Many systems give real-time feedback to drivers too so they can modify their driving style whilst on the road.

Data on driver performance allows managers to give the appropriate training to staff, and in some cases, provide incentive schemes that reward good driving.

Whilst this access to information may have been seen as ‘big brother’ in the early days, it is now accepted as standard practice.

Nick Walker, managing director at RAC Telematics said: “The management of risk in the fleet as well as the need to improve driver behaviour has become increasingly important over the past few years. Fleet managers have a duty of care obligation towards their drivers, and are looking for cost savings from reduced accident rates, down time and maintenance costs through better driving styles. Telematics has developed to meet

these growing needs and solutions now have extended beyond standard tracking functions to include driver behaviour monitoring and also crash detection and reporting.”

He continued: “Accidents happen, but fleet operators have an obligation to ensure that they have taken measures to train and monitor driver styles and to act where drivers are exposed to risk. Fleet operators also have a duty to watch out for accidents and ensure both the safety of the driver involved and the recovery of the vehicle.”

Safer Data overload driving es With all this technology m comes vast amounts also co nd with of data which fleet a h managers have to hand-inuel efficient f understand and utilise in e r mo hich w order to make changes – , g n i r e driv w o l which can be a daunting s mean nd n task. Martin Kadhim, r u t n i ts a partnership director from fuel cos ions Lightfoot, said: “All the s s emi data in the world doesn’t, in itself, address the one key area that organisations are desperate to fix – how do we get better, safer and more efficient drivers, without incurring a massive administrative and management burden.”

He continued: “Many fleet operators we speak to are disillusioned with the volume of data they receive and have to act on in order to remain compliant. Certainly, they want information that is useful to them in order to run their fleets effectively, but more

pertinently, they want better, safer drivers.

The alternative is having a technology that isn’t simply about delivering data, but more so works directly and constantly with the drivers, in vehicle, in real-time, all of the time, in order to change behaviours.”

Jack Palmer, senior project manager at TU-Automotive says it is the job of the telematics companies to process and feed back useful data back to its clients: “With so much information enabled by telematics, it is the job of fleet management companies and telematics service providers (TSPs) to filter the data fed back to fleets so actionable changes can be identified.”

Expert Panel: Telematics

" involved with driving for work, such as driver hours and journeys, and put in place a health and safety policy.

Fuel and other savings Fleet costs are the second biggest expense for an organisation after payroll, so any area where savings can be made is welcomed.

Safer driving comes hand-in-hand with more fuel efficient driving, which means companies will also benefit from less fuel costs – and lower emissions. What’s more, less accidents mean less repair costs and insurance claims.

Nick Walker speaks of RAC’s own experience in using telematics for their fleet. He says: “Improved driving behaviour reduces fuel usage (and cost), it reduces repair and maintenance costs, and it also reduces the frequency of accidents. In the RAC fleet alone, we have experienced a 25 per cent reduction in accidents year-on-year through driver behaviour monitoring.

We have also saved money on fuel and insurance.” !

Many modern vehicles go the extra mile for safety and include technology such as pre-collision and lane departure systems to decrease the chances of an accident

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As companies become more innovative in the way they do business, so too will their fleet function. And with technology constantly evolving, it will offer new ways for fleets to operate inventively and efficiently " Technology for better safety Thankfully, vehicles themselves have got a lot safer. As well as standard safety features, many modern vehicles go the extra mile, including technology such as lane keeping systems, automatic braking and blind spot warnings. From April 2018, automatic emergency call, known as eCall, will be fitted as standard to every new car sold in the EU. This system allows new cars to detect how bad a crash is and automatically dial the emergency services – even connecting drivers with an operator if they’re trapped inside the car.

But until then, many telematics solutions are able to detect if the vehicle has been in an accident and notify the back office. What’s more, the tracking element of telematics means bosses know where their drivers are at any time.

Data as evidence Having telematics in place that monitors driver style and journey types can help drive down insurance premiums as costs are worked out based on real performance data.

What’s more, dashboard cameras can provide video footage of any incidents, which can be used as evidence in legal cases. It is also becoming more and more common to contest speeding fines using telematics data as evidence.

Jack Palmer said: “Installing dash cams to monitor activity in and out of the vehicle has a clear ROI when working out liability in the event of the crash. To present footage of what really happened to insurers will be extremely valuable in settling claims payments. That’s an example of a change fleet operators can make today which will save them a lot of time and money further down the road.

“Likewise, the installation/usage of active safety features has been proven to reduce collisions, thus directly effecting uptime and maintenance costs.”

The mobility trend The traditional way of looking at fleet management and transport in general is being challenged by a new concept of ‘mobility’ – taking in the whole picture of travel. As vehicles get more connected, and “plugged into the wider connected mobility ecosystem”, as Jack Palmer describes it, it is possible to think differently about travel.

Who is to say that you need a vehicle to get from A to B. This concept takes into consideration public transport, car sharing, car clubs, traffic, accommodation and parking.

Whilst fleet managers may see this trend as a challenge, they should use it as an opportunity for innovation and use the various telematics solutions that can facilitate such travel planning.

The future As companies become more innovative in the way they do business, so too will their fleet function. And with technology constantly evolving, it will offer new ways for fleets to operate inventively and efficiently.

Yon Copitch explains: “In the UK the telematics industry is growing at a rapid pace. This will continue as companies with major investment in R&D continue to provide new and exciting technology, eventually becoming the central hub of the vehicle providing a bumper-to-bumper solution.”

Jack Palmer advises fleets to consider the changing technological landscape when procuring telematics: “It is very important for fleet operators to look two to three years ahead in what is coming from the tech space so that they can plan for what they can implement.”

And sharing his futuristic vision, he poses the question: “Who is to say that a drone could not complete the last mile of delivery for a logistics company?” # FURTHER INFORMATION www.greenfleet.net Dashboard cameras provide video footage of accidents, which can be used as evidence in legal cases

Yon Copitch The UK telematics industry is growing at a rapid pace, with Traffilog increasing its customer base by 80 per cent year on year. This will continue as companies continue to provide new and exciting technology, eventually becoming the central hub of the vehicle, providing a bumper to bumper solution. Already developing event cameras, CCTV, Wi-Fi and much more, operators choosing the right supplier will find the opportunities to reduce costs become greater.

Expert Panel: Telematics

Expert final thoughts

Nick Walker Risk management is a science and as such there are ongoing refinements to improve accuracy. At RAC we believe we can achieve a greater than 95 per cent accuracy and also improve reporting to also include vehicle condition and weather patterns.

Driver monitoring is also an area which will be improved over time by adding additional parameters or refining scores with experience.

Dashboard cameras will become more important and will be integrated with driver behaviour, crash detection and other aspects of telematics technology.

Martin Kadhim A fleet manager recently compared using telematics to the experience of buying an item of flat-pack furniture: you want a wardrobe but in reality you end up with wood and screws. Telematics is largely the same – yes the data is important, but what fleets really want is better and safer drivers.

This is what we are doing at Lightfoot and we’re getting a very positive reaction. We believe there is enormous potential for solutions that genuinely improve driver behaviour and reduce risk, while empowering drivers.

Jack Palmer As more devices become digitalised and the number of vehicles become connected to the internet, functions that are today unknown will present themselves. Who is to say that a drone could not complete the last mile of delivery for a logistics company? For the moment, the goal is connecting more vehicles and that’s where the real opportunity lies. Once we have a critical mass of connected vehicles, the real innovation starts.

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Electric Vehicles Written by Robert Evans, CEO, Cenex

Greener city living: a smart-systems approach Robert Evans, CEO of Cenex, reviews the opportunities to use electric and alternatively-fuelled vehicles, as well as green and smart solutions, to address climate change, air quality, congestion and energy for transport challenges What are the solutions for greener city living? What role will electric vehicles, renewable energy and smart grids play in the ever-transitioning 21st century city? These are questions that are shaping the thinking of city planners, developers, and the civil engineering and construction sectors, as well as energy utilities and the motor industry.

When it comes to ‘green’ and ‘smart’, many technologies are capable of delivering benefits for those who live and work in cities.

The problems at hand For cities, congestion, air pollution and energy resilience represent strategic pain points. City officials are fully aware of the day-to-day health and quality-of-life impact of poor air quality, as well as the stress-inducing effects of gridlocked roads and overcrowded public transport systems unable to cope with surges in

commuter numbers. Similarly, these cities face the ever-present risk of disruptions in local energy supply, which leads to interruption of power to buildings and homes, as well as traffic lights and other controls that manage transport systems.

These issues are symptomatic of resource constraints in terms of city air and its ability to absorb and disperse air pollution; road-space availability; and power distribution system capacity constraints when faced with rising electricity demand for city-centre building and transport system needs. When it comes to managing scarce resources, the key to efficiency lies in a smart-systems approach, capturing and turning data into the knowledge needed to deliver enhanced capacity utilisation. A smartsystems approach offers cities a means to address strategic pain through business-delivered solutions, combined with informationenabled outreach to engage city dwellers and commuters in supporting green and smarter choices.

For ties, most ci n, air tio conges nd energy na pollutio ce represent resilien pain points, c strategi as disruptions as well cal energy in lo plies sup

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DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

The air-quality management priority Two smart-city technologies offer potential to improve air quality. These are electric vehicles and intelligent traffic management.

Battery-electric and fuel cell-electric vehicles add a zero-emission option to the current diesel and petrol alternatives. Given the health concerns associated with oxides of nitrogen and particulate emissions and the current perception of diesels as high emitters in real-world operations, particular attention is being paid to the opportunities to replace diesel with electric for city centre vehicles, including buses, taxis, car clubs and bicycle schemes, as well as delivery vans.

The opportunity to cut air pollution without adding to congestion is greatest when leveraging shared mobility use cases for battery-electric vehicles, be they for the movement of people or delivery of goods to city centre businesses. The consolidation of travel information for these green options is strongly recommended. Smartphone apps can already provide real-time and journey planning based on mixed-mode transportation, and for the traveller, the current optimisation is typically set up to recommend options by convenient start and arrival times. In a green and smart city, choices will also be offered based on what is best in to avoid pollution and for the environment and/or energy efficiency.

This needn’t be theoretical, as real-time vehicle emissions data can be collected and analysed, along with air pollutant-monitoring data captured from sensors on main transport corridors. Together this data can help feed models that can accurately forecast the rise and fall of pollution in line with traffic movement, including taking weather and traffic forecasts to provide advanced warning of the likelihood of air pollution exceeding World Health Organisation (WHO)-recommended limits. This information and insight provides city officials with the evidence needed to plan for and implement air pollution alerts, giving residents and commuters advanced warning of air

Electric Vehicles

pollution alert days and traffic management measures to restrict vehicle movements, by both vehicle type and location.

Low emission zones (LEZs) are already being implemented as a policy approach focused on air pollution control by discouraging high-emitting vehicles from ‘sensitive’ zones within a city. The current policy approach is to anticipate adoption of progressive standards, whereby the zone-access criteria can gradually be tightened over time to favour ultra-lowand then zero-emission vehicles. The key to cost-effective and timely LEZ implementation lies in having the systems in place to make multi-purpose use of the network of cameras across a city, using automatic number-plate recognition and/or unique (LEZ ‘badge’) identifier recognition to differentiate between high and low emission vehicles and penalise the high emitters by issuing fines.

The ability to link vehicle monitoring to vehicle database information on emissions, along with that to achieve outreach to drivers, paves the way for more short-term changes to access criteria and the provision of alternative transport information. Cities including Paris have already enacted short-term travel restrictions in response to air pollution alert days. Electric-vehicle access to bus lanes is also being planned in some UK cities, including Nottingham and Milton Keynes.

The next generation of smart-mobility systems will help make these interventions easier to plan and implement. They will offer city officials opportunities to seek to curb rising air pollution levels and/or congestion in locations across the city. These may include measures such as initiating smart management of traffic-light sequencing to smooth traffic flows, as well as redirecting public transport and shared mobility services to carry the burden when ‘incident-based’

Low emission zones (LEZs) are already being implemented as a policy approach focused on air pollution control by discouraging high-emitting vehicles from ‘sensitive’ zones within a city changes to travel provision are required. The key to incident management lies in having the enabling intelligent transport system platforms, with outreach to mobility providers and commute information based on both forecast and real-time traffic and travel.

Energy for transport and system resilience To facilitate the increased use of zero-emission electric vehicles, either electrical power or a zero-emission proxy in hydrogen needs to be available ‘on demand’ within a dense city-scape environment.

For taxis, buses and car clubs, the requirement to charge can be met either through physical connection at charge points or through inductive charging.

The plug-in option currently represents the norm, but the UK has sector-leading research projects under way on inductive charging of vehicles, including covering use cases in which buses and taxis can pick up energy at convenient dwell points using wireless energy transfer. This technology has been showcased in the Formula E racing competition with a view to having wider market applicability in city centre operations.

The challenge of a large number of electric vehicles returning to a depot and requiring charging is already having an impact. Freight operators in London have been informed that

they will need to pay for ‘grid strengthening’ if they want to charge their electric vehicles when they want. The grid is typically most stretched between 4 and 7pm, and for those paying for energy on half-hourly use tariffs, it is significantly more expensive. This is likely to be the peak charging time for fleet vehicles returning to depot. By using a bidirectional inverter, electric vehicles returning to base can be discharged of any residual energy (typically 40 per cent) and then recharged in the early hours of the morning, when demand and price are lower. This reduces peak demand, preventing the need for expensive grid reinforcements and further improving the financial case for electric vehicles.

Anticipating the potential of electric vehicles, cities such as Amsterdam are planning the roll-out of large quantities of charge points at the same time as the city promotes using rooftops for solar power to generate electricity to help meet the forecast rise in electricity demand. Given that battery-electric vehicles are both energy consumers and energy-storage devices, the potential is being recognised for a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and ‘vehicle-to-X’ approach, in which electrical power can flow both into and from the batteries of electric vehicles. This means parked electric vehicles can be used as energy-storage buffers. Charging can be managed with electric vehicles also able to feed electricity !

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Electric Vehicles " back into the grid or into building energy management systems, to help meet spikes in local demand.

These projects link to the virtual power plant aggregation of energy generation and storage assets that open pathways to link intermittent supply and demand at prices that would be higher than the pence per kWh typically offered to export back to the grid.

This approach of leveraging the integration of renewable energy generation with electric vehicle use is also seen on a more traditional energy sector scale in the emergence of city-centre energy parks.

s Wireles has g chargin wcased o been shla E with a An example of this u in Form having wider approach can be seen at the Tyseley Energy it view toet applicability Park in Birmingham, where an area of mark ty centre designated industrial in ci ns land is being regenerated operatio into a low emission vehicle refuelling hub with gas,

Without a robust evidence base, city officials will not be able to justify investments in, or use regulatory powers to promote, new green and smart solutions for city services

Business challenge When it comes to ‘green’ and ‘smart’, many technologies can be argued as capable of delivering benefits for those who live and work in cities. However, what is typically less well understood is who will be the sponsoring customer for these technologies and what the business models will be for differing ‘use-case’ scenarios. It would be wrong to assume the city authority will be the sole sponsor of smart and green-city initiatives.

As attractive as smart-city concepts are, without a robust evidence base, city officials will not be able to justify investments in, or use regulatory powers to promote, new green and smart solutions for city services. This is particularly the case when there is no historic precedent and associated budget line against which to plan these types of investments.

Therefore, in the ‘pre-commercial’ world, demonstration projects have an important role to play in helping verify the technical and commercial readiness of different ‘use-case’ propositions, as well as the steps required for effective implementation. Within this landscape of opportunities, specialist research organisations such as Cenex have a role to

play in working with stakeholders to provide insight and access to networks, to support project development and provide technology and business-case validation. Cenex is reaching out to help a range of stakeholders from its traditional client base of city authorities, fleet operators and motor-industry technology providers, connecting these organisations with key stakeholders for urban regeneration projects, including planners and developers, as well as technology companies offering smart-city solutions. To do this, Cenex works across these communities and with universities and government innovation agencies to leverage funding for scoping studies and demonstration projects. The aim is to establish partnerships of willing stakeholders to help create an evidence base through exemplar projects for other towns and cities to replicate. Urban regeneration projects are particularly attractive from a smart-city exemplar project perspective. This is because of the ability to link partners at the planning stage in order to anticipate the phasing of opportunities and embedding of enabling-sensor and camera technologies required to take virtual control of a physical

environment via cloud-based smart-city platforms and associated applications.

These enabling technologies can be embedded into the fabric of buildings prior to sale, as well as roads and other public spaces, before they are open for use. The outcome is lower cost and less complexity for implementation than would be the case when retrofitting an established urban environment, in which property is owned by a plethora of different parties.

The primary early-opportunity areas linking green and smart are with electric vehicles and V2G, but the scope extends to cover future options, including hydrogen technologies and biomethane generated from a city’s digestible food waste.

The key to successful exemplar projects lies first in establishing a partnership approach to blend vision, willingness to invest and innovation support, and then latterly in disseminating the results effectively to aid learning to help create new markets. # FURTHER INFORMATION www.cenex.co.uk

Electric Vehicles

electric and hydrogen available in one site. It is planned that locally-generated electricity will be available to recharge battery-electric vehicles and to generate hydrogen to refuel city buses, and biomethane generated from city food waste could also be provided to run the cities refuse trucks.

Expert Panel: Electric Vehicles

EXPERT PANEL ELECTRIC VEHICLES Whilst still a small percentage of the overall vehicle market, the amount of electric vehicles in the UK is growing rapidly. GreenFleet and its panel of experts look at how the UK electric vehicle market and its incentive schemes compare to other European countries with an appetite for green motoring

Mark Bonnor-Moris, director of business development, Chargemaster Plc Previous to his current role Mark was head of electric vehicle infrastructure (EVI) for UK and Ireland for Siemens.

Mark has now joined the senior management at Chargemaster with a remit to strengthen its market leading position. Mark is well respected within the EVI industry and sits on a number of industry groups and committees

Gary Stirling, operations support manager, Everwarm

Poppy Welch, head of the Go Ultra Low campaign

Gary has grown Everwarm’s electric vehicle charge point sector from strength to strength. He has worked with charge point manufacturers and with various schemes and has been key in developing the current EVCP infrastructure. He has managed installations at high-profile locations including the House of Commons

Poppy started her career in communications at top advertising agency J Walter Thompson, working on the global Vodafone business.

After a number of different roles in advertising, she went client side at Vodafone UK. After leave to have children, she returned to head up the Go Ultra Low campaign at SMMT in July 2015

Motivated by a need to cut emissions and improve air quality, governments around the world are encouraging and incentivising drivers to move towards zero or ultra-low emission electric vehicles.

Vehicle manufacturers are responding by putting more and more electric vehicle models onto the market – and now every major manufacturer has a plug-in vehicle of some kind.

What’s more, in many countries, the infrastructure to charge such vehicles is growing. Indeed Japan now has more electric car charge points than petrol stations.

Europe wants electric On the 20 July 2016, the European Commission published its strategy for low emission mobility. It detailed plans to speed up the deployment of low emission alternative energy for transport, such as

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electricity, hydrogen, advanced biofuels and renewable synthetic fuels, as well as removing obstacles to the electrification of transport. It also outlined plans for Europe to accelerate the transition towards low and zero-emission vehicles.

While the UK’s future with the EU is still uncertain following Brexit, the UK government has its own stringent targets for lowering carbon; the Climate Change Act (2008) requires the UK to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 35 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050 from 1990 levels. Transport accounts for around a quarter of UK greenhouse gas emissions and so it has a critical role to play in the government’s carbon plans.

Poppy Welch, head of the Go Ultra Low campaign, said: “The UK recognises the importance of electric vehicles the country’s low carbon future so has put in place a

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

Sander van der Veen, country manager UK, the New Motion Sander has a strong belief that it is this generation that needs to solve climate change, which is what gets him out of bed every day. Trained as an engineer, his previous experiences include strategy consulting as well as launching a startup in South East Asia. Sander is UK country manager at EV charging company the New Motion

broad spectrum of support. The government has made a manifesto commitment for every car and van on the road to be zero emission by 2050, a target that is more ambitious than most other countries.

Electric vehicles are therefore crucial to the government in achieving this.”

Electric Britain While the UK has seen a scattering of electric vehicles throughout history, modern production electric vehicles only started to gain momentum in 2011. This is when the government introduced its Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) of (then) £5,000 and electric models – such as the Mitsubishi i-Miev, Peugeot Ion and Nissan Leaf – started to grace the roads. Back then there were only nine electric models available from major manufacturers; now there are more than 35, with more models to be launched.

UK incentives At the end of 2015, the government announced that the Plug-in Car Grant would continue until the end of March 2018 but that the maximum available discount would drop from £5,000 to £4,500. The amount saved now ties in with what vehicle category is bought, with the maximum grant applying to vehicles with less than 50g/km and a zero emission range of at least 70 miles. The other two vehicle categories are eligible for a £2,500 grant. The scheme also offers 20 per cent off the cost of a van, up to a maximum of £8,000.

Alongside direct subsidies on the purchase price of an EV, the government has an Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme, allowing buyers to get £500 towards the cost of installing a charging point at their home – albeit reduced from the original figure of £700.

Other incentives include exemption from Vehicle Excise Duty and lower company car tax, as well as being free from the congestion charge in London. Other UK cities offer perks to EV drivers such as free parking and the ability to use bus lanes in cities such as Milton Keynes. This is thanks to the government’s £40m Go Ultra Low City Scheme which supports incentives to encourage electric driving.

Supportive policies Poppy Welch believes it is the support from government and the open-mindedness of the British people that has resulted in such rapid growth of electric vehicles in recent years: “The UK is one of the world’s largest EV markets and ranks as the top major market in Europe, second only to Norway in the continent as a whole. This success is due to a host of supportive policies from government, an open-minded attitude to adopting new vehicles and is helped by the UK being a manufacturing base for electric vehicles, their batteries and components.”

Mark Bonnor-Moris, director of business development for Chargemaster, says the UK’s incentives “are wide-ranging and have been available for a significant period of time compared to many other countries.

They have been targeted at different user groups, such as private, company and commercial EV buyers through both direct grant and taxation incentives.

“The incentives have covered many different types of charging infrastructure – home, destination and rapid charging – resulting in a high penetration of home

chargers and an extensive public charging network. Resource and expertise has been funded and made available to address the concerns of fleet manager and assist with the adoption of EV within large fleets, and public awareness campaigns have been run through the Go Ultra Low programme.”

Speaking about how the UK’s incentive scheme differs from other countries, Sander van der Veen, UK country manager from the New Motion says: “One major difference that stands out is the home charge scheme for charge points that OLEV has been and still is running. In most countries the incentives are targeted purely towards the car rather than the infrastructure.

“As we know, in starting markets this industry always faces a chicken and egg problem: without infrastructure there will be no EV buyers and without EVs on the road nobody wants to invest in infrastructure. The government tried to address both sides at the same time and one of the remnants today is the home charge grant in a reduced form.”

Mark Bonnor-Moris points to the added advantage the green motoring market has brought the UK through increased jobs, skills and innovation: “Increased adoption of EVs helps improve air quality in cities through reduced emissions and by encouraging uptake of EV and charging infrastructure through incentives the UK now has a new industry sector providing long-term jobs and skills for UK plc. As adoption increases, which it inevitably will, the daily lives of millions of people living in city centres will be improved and more and more jobs will be created within this new and innovative industry sector.”

Given that they have a population of just five million, this is quite an achievement.

Norway’s government has achieved this success with an extensive incentive package, including no purchase taxes – which are usually high in Norway; exemption from 25 per cent VAT on purchase; low annual road tax; 50 per cent reduction in company car tax; and No VAT on leasing. Other perks include no charges on toll roads or ferries, free municipal parking, and access to bus lanes.

But what stands out most is that drivers can charge their car for free at the public charge stations, owing to the fact that the country runs on nearly 100 per cent renewable and cheap hydro power.

And to incentivise clean driving even more, the government has put a heavy tax on high polluting cars. This has helped bring the cost of EVs in line with conventional vehicles.

Gary Stirling, operations support manager for Everwarm highlights the gap between countries like Norway and the UK. He says: “I believe the EV market in the UK has seen significant growth over the last few years however there is still a fair bit of work to do if we wish to reach the same uptake as countries such as Norway and Estonia. At the moment there are approximately 80,000 plug in electric vehicles on Britain’s roads which is fantastic when you consider as recently as 2013 there were only 3,586 registered in the UK. However, when you start to compare the UK to other European countries, you start to see how far behind them we really are.

For example, Norway has the 28th largest population in Europe yet has the 4th largest electric vehicle market in the World.”

Norway Norway is the world leader in electric cars per capita and has recently become the fourth country in the world to have 100,000 of them on the roads, behind the US, Japan and China.

European contenders The German government has set a target to have one million electric powered cars on the road by 2020. To help facilitate this, it is spending €1 billion on a package of !

Expert Panel: Electric Vehicles

While it has been a slow burner, the appetite for electric and hybrid vehicles has increased and there are now around 80,000 electric vehicles on the UK’s roads – both PiCG eligible and not. What’s more, there are over 11,000 public charge points in the UK (source: Next Green Car).

For this calendar year until May, among the top-selling European countries for electric vehicles are Norway, which leads with 18,734 units, the UK with 16,056, France is third with 15,267, Germany follows at 8,783, and Sweden saw 4,509 sales. The Netherlands through April is at 3,592 (source: www.hybridcars.com).

Norwayrld o is the welectric n leader i capita and r cars pe urth country is the fo orld to have in the w00 of them 100,0 e roads on th

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" incentives, infrastructure and other schemes. German drivers can get a €4,000 subsidy for electric vehicles and €3,000 for hybrids, which is funded by both the government and car manufacturers. The government has also budgeted €300,000 to speed up building the infrastructure of electric car-charging stations in cities and on autobahn highway stops, as well as another €100,000 for purchasing electric cars for federal government fleets.

France meanwhile is making a bold move to get old polluting diesel vehicles off the road by offering owners up to €10,000 to switch to an electric vehicle and send their old diesel to the scrapyard.

It has been reported that the Netherlands wants to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars from 2025 onwards, although this motion still needs to be passed by the Senate. Up until January 2014, the Dutch government had been incentivising the purchase EV by making them exempt from registration fees and road taxes.

and it’s the industries responsibility to help those fleet managers understand this.”

Infrastructure Despite there being over 11,000 public charge points in the UK, the network is still patchy.

Gary Stirling says: “We need to continue growing the charging infrastructure in the UK. At the moment Estonia has charging facilities every 25 to 37 miles on highways; this is the kind of coverage we need to have in the UK to stimulate the uptake of EVs.” Identifying another problem with the infrastructure, Sander van der Veen says: “Looking at the UK market through the Dutch lens, there is a real need for more transparency and convenience for EV drivers when it comes to where you can charge your car. In the UK, if worst comes to worst you can find yourself driving around with five different charge cards in your pocket, to be able to charge at every charge point. In the Netherlands an EV driver can charge his car on every (public) charge point with his charge card, regardless of the network operator. The reason is that all network operators have agreed to allow roaming on each other’s networks.”

Meanwhile Mark Bonnor-Moris says: “Network providers must provide 100 per cent available and reliable networks and avoid charging EV drivers unreasonable tariffs.

“It would be helpful if workplaces investing in EVs could get clarity from OLEV as to their plans on grants, as the continuing delayed decision on what might or might not be available is delaying investment in infrastructure.”

The nd range ay over int uncerta charging the EV tructure infras as main d are citens – but it concer be down can also ucation to ed

Driver concerns Whilst the amount of electric vehicles in the UK is growing rapidly, it still equates to just around 1.4 per cent of the total new car market.

So what more can be done to convince the public to swap to electric vehicles? The vehicle’s range and uncertainty over the charging infrastructure are often cited as the main concerns – as is the expensive upfront cost. For two of our expert panelists, it boils down to education.

Gary Stirling says: “I speak with people every day who are interested in owning an electric vehicle but it’s always the same two worries that they all share; one is they are concerned about the range they can get from an EV, the second is where they can charge an EV. After speaking with these people and explaining just how vast the charging infrastructure is, it puts a lot of their worries to bed.

“I believe more time is needed to be spent on educating the public on just how practical these cars are. Car manufacturers are getting better and better and with every new EV that is released we see an increase in the range the vehicles are capable of achieving – this is a massive factor which contributes to the public’s willingness to take the step into owning an EV.” Sander van der Veen says: “I think there’s a big role to play for education. Especially on the fleet manager’s side, the industry needs to take the initiative to explain what it means to run an EV fleet. Fleet managers these days are getting pressure both from a cost savings as well as a CSR perspective and in many case find themselves scrambling to fully understand the products and requirements on the market. We’ve seen fleets that, based on telemetry data analysis, would be able to operate to a large extent on battery EVs

The future The National Grid launched a report – Future Energy Scenarios 2016 – which predicts that up to 9.7 million EVs could be on UK roads by 2040. It says that even if the markets stay as they are – the least optimistic forecast – the report predicts that 1.15 million electric vehicles will be on the road within 15 years, with that figure almost reaching 4 million units by 2040. The best case scenario sees 9.7 million electric vehicles by 2040, and around ten times the current figure by 2030.

Sander van der Veen also has an optimistic view of the future of electric mobility, saying: “As with most cases of new technology (think the iPhone), the shift to EV will happen much faster than everyone thinks and before you know it EVs are the new normal, just like you can’t imagine yourself walking around with a feature phone anymore.

The real tipping point for mass uptake is only two to three years out with affordable cars coming to market with over 200 miles of range such as the Tesla Model 3." # FURTHER INFORMATION

Mark Bonnor-Moris Continuing with the direct vehicle grant and company car tax benefits will help continue to stimulate growth. However, once the range of EV reaches 200+ miles these type incentives will be less and less important, as EVs will sell in much higher numbers to a much wider range of customers. Network providers must provide 100 per cent available and reliable networks and avoid charging EV drivers unreasonable tariffs. It would be helpful if workplaces investing in EVs could get clarity from OLEV as to their plans on grants, as the continuing delayed decision on what might or might not be available is delaying investment in infrastructure.

Expert Panel: Elecrric Vehicles

Expert final thoughts

Gary Stirling I believe more time is needed to be spent on educating the public on just how practical these cars are. Car manufacturers are getting better and better and with every new EV that is released we see an increase in the range. This is a massive factor which contributes to the public’s willingness to own an EV. We also need to continue growing the charging infrastructure in the UK, at the moment Estonia has charging facilities every 25 to 37 miles on highways; this is the kind of coverage we need to have in the UK. Poppy Welch The electric car market in the UK is developing fast; last year alone more than 28,000 new electric cars were registered in the UK, more than the previous five years combined.

The market is developing, boosted by early support from government, and will continue to grow as more and more ultra low emission models are released by manufacturers with ever greater capabilities. This progression towards an ultra-low emission future is supported by Go Ultra Low, a campaign to raise awareness of and challenge the misconceptions of electric vehicles.

Sander van der Veen Looking at the UK market through the Dutch lens, there is a real need for more transparency and convenience for EV drivers when it comes to where you can charge your car.

In the UK, you can find yourself driving around with five different charge cards in your pocket, to be able to charge at every charge point. In the Netherlands an EV driver can charge his car on every (public) charge point with his charge card, regardless of the network operator because all network operators have agreed to allow roaming on each other’s networks.

www.greenfleet.net

Volume 96 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

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Feature Heading Commercial Vehicles Written by Richard Gooding

eHighway: the road to low carbon freight heaven?

The freight sector still has some way to go meet greenhouse gas and emissions targets, but trials of an innovative electrified heavy goods transport system may offer one answer to the low carbon commercial vehicle conundrum While electric car sales have surged over recent years, and battery-electric and hybrid cars are now widely in everyday use, the commercial vehicle sector still has much work to do to reduce its carbon footprint.

Numerous initiatives and vehicles have seen progress made in the light commercial vehicle sector, but the low carbon heavy goods market is still in need of technology injections to reduce its environmental impact.

Purely by their size, heavy goods vehicles are more difficult to introduce alternative fuel solutions to, but one freight trial in

Sweden is looking to cut the environmental impact of HGVs without disruption to their service and delivery patterns.

Over-road infrastructure While freight can be shifted to rail networks to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and meet ever stringent climate goals, this will not always be possible. In 2013, Siemens and Scania launched a joint project to electrify road freight transport and make electrically-powered ‘e-highways’ a reality. In contrast to dynamic wireless power transfer

roads which charge vehicles on the move using multiple inductive-loops buried under the road surface (GreenFleet, issue 91), the Siemens and Scania system uses over-road infrastructure to charge HGVs as they drive.

The Scania-adapted ‘eHighway’ trucks are fitted with an ‘intelligent current collector’, similar to pantographs seen on electric trains as well as a hybrid drive system. Similar in concept to electric railway networks, a lane of electrified overhead wires transfer power to the trucks, which Siemens and Scania state has an optimal efficiency level of around 80 per cent. !

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Commercial Vehicles

" Powering the truck as it drives along the road is one feasible solution to the problems of electrified road freight. The sheer size and weight of heavy goods vehicles means that they are problematic when it comes to the on-board storage of electrical energy: Siemens concludes that a typical road truck weighing 40 tonnes would need 20 tonnes to batteries to travel 1,000km (621 miles).

High wheel-to-well efficiency The electrification of road freight transport has other benefits. The direct transfer of electrical current enables the system itself to have a high wheel-to-well efficiency, around 80-85 per cent from the sub-station to the wheel, twice that of conventional diesel engines.

The eHighway also allows for electricity regeneration to either store on-board the truck itself, or to feed back to other vehicles also on the system. This also translates into lower emissions and energy costs. Operating cost reductions are also mooted, thanks to lower expenditure on maintenance.

Siemens also reports that if the system is implemented on routes with sufficient traffic volumes, the savings can cover the cost of investment. By not interfering with the road surface, it states that disruption is kept to a minimum during installation, operation and maintenance of the system.

Why not under-surface technology? Siemens states that asphalt and concrete are very poor conductors, so the negative pole needed for electrically-powered HGVs has to be made part of the overhead contact line system.

The use of long sections of ‘proven’ contact line technology ensures that the lifetime cost of the infrastructure can be kept low, and Siemens says that the truck, energy supply and the electrification system itself have all been tested and declared safe. The general technology has been used for decades in rail, tram and trolleybus networks and has proved that in operation the basic concept is a reliable one.

The ay eHighwfor allows ion to rat regene e on-board tor either s ck itself, or to of the connection, the tru ack to other but also again plays dividends with reduced feed b es also on maintenance costs. l c i h e v m e The eHighway trucks’ t s y the s hybrid system allows

Active pantograph The eHighway works by constantly generating power to the hybrid trucks via sub-stations positioned along the route. A two-pole (positive and negative) ‘bipolar’ contact line system has been specially designed for the project and can generate as secure power supply at speeds of up to 90km/h.

Key to the project is the active pantograph which connects and disconnects the hybrid trucks to the contact line via carbon contact strips. Energy (750V DC) is transferred from the overhead line to the electric motor of the specially-adapted truck. The movable pantograph automatically adjusts its position under the contact line by using clever sensor technology to compensate for lateral movements of the truck as the road surface changes in the eHighway lane. Wear is also said to be minimised across the active pantograph, which not only helps the lifespan

32

for the vehicle to the used electrically when connected within the infrastructure itself. It also switches between fully electric and hybrid operation when the truck has to disconnect from the eHighway network, as well as to cover the first and last mile of each journey.

The hybrid drive also maintains flexibility when it comes to traffic flow: the eHighway truck can overtake in safety when not connected to the system. This is innovative in itself, as trolleybuses can only run operate on fixed routes, whereas the eHighway trucks can break off the system when needed.

The dual nature of the powertrain also lends itself to myriad hybrid configurations (parallel, series, or combinations) with on-board energy storage. Regenerative braking technology sees the electric motors become generators, feeding unused braking energy back into the power grid to be used by other trucks on the eHighway route. Trucks which are both braking and accelerating can exchange energy with other vehicles via the system’s overhead contact line, even those

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

travelling up or downhill. The regeneration also has the added benefit of lowering the power consumption of the whole system.

The ‘hybrid drive’ trucks feature 360bhp 9.0-litre diesel engines (compressed natural gas is another fuel option) which have been configured to run on biofuel, in addition to the 150kW (201bhp) electric motor. The on-board 5kWh lithium-ion battery pack can store 3 kilometres’ (1.8 miles) worth of energy for electric driving when not connected to the eHighway wires. The hybrid HGVs produce zero local emissions.

Eliminate local emissions The Siemens-Scania collaboration first showed what an electric truck could look like in 2012, and the first eHighway trials started in California two years later. A demonstration project with Volvo Group and its subsidiary Mack Trucks – as well as conversion specialist Transpower – saw overhead lines installed in the area surrounding the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for four trucks to use, with the aim to completely eliminate local emissions, including harmful nitrogen oxides.

A two-mile stretch of road in the city of Carson serves thousands of trucks on a daily basis and so was the perfect candidate for the project. The results will be overseen

by Southern California’s South Coast Air

Key to the project is the active pantograph which connects and disconnects the hybrid trucks to the contact line. Energy is transferred from the overhead line to the electric motor of the truck

Commercial Vehicles

Quality Management District (SCAQMD), which wants to determine whether the eHighway system is suitable for long-term commercial use in the area as it seeks to introduce an emission-free solution – the ‘Zero Emission I-710 Project’ – for a section of Highway 710, which currently carries a high proportion of shuttle truck traffic.

Matthias Schlelein, head of Siemens Division Mobility and Logistics in the USA said: “Our eHighway technology eliminates local emissions and is an economically attractive solution for freight transport on shuttle truck routes. Long Beach and Los Angeles, the two US ports generating the most traffic, can benefit hugely from our technology.”

“This project will help us evaluate the feasibility of a zero-emission cargo movement system using catenary,” said Barry Wallerstein, SCAQMD’s executive officer. “Southern California’s air pollution is so severe that it needs, among other strategies, zero- and near-zero emission goods movement technologies to achieve clean air standards.”

Non-fossil-dependent transport sector The Swedish Transport Administration to the County Council of Gävleborg has also awarded a contract for the eHighway system.

A two-kilometre (1.24km) length of the E16 highway just north of Stockholm will form the next part of the pilot project and connects the industrial regions of Dalarna and Gävleborg.

A pair of Scania G360 hybrid and active pantograph-equipped trucks will use the eHighway. Scania states that the trial is the first of its kind on a public road in the world, the regular traffic running alongside the electrified lane. Alongside rail, the Sweden eHighway will play a potentially essential role in achieving the goal of a non-fossil-dependent transport sector in the country by 2030.

Göran Persson, Head of Infrastructure and Cities at Siemens said: “Sweden’s aim of fossil-free freight transport and access to fossil-free electricity creates a positive political climate for this type of technology. The Swedish Transport Administration’s latest report has also shown that they are reviewing the possibilities for different test areas. This makes Sweden a very interesting market for us. Together with Scania, we are now taking a big step forward in being able to supply a finished product.”

A trebling of global freight transport volumes between 2000 and 2050 is forecast by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and it is thought that railway networks will only be able to handle a third of the projected additional traffic. With the majority set to be transported by road, CO2 emissions and GHGs will inevitably increase, so alternative solutions will have to be found.

The eHighway provides just one vision of an electrified freight network. Described as being twice as efficient as conventional internal combustion engines, the outcome of the Scania and Siemens eHighway trials will be watched with great interest by the freight sector. # FURTHER INFORMATION sie.ag/2auglIX

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Innovation and supportive policy over the last decade has transformed the bus sector from being a part of the problem of poor urban air quality to being an important part of the solution to tackling climate change. GreenFleet analyses the LowCVP report on the issue and looks at the wider global picture Buses have historically contributed up to a third of nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution in areas experiencing heavy traffic (more than a third in parts of London). However, over the last few years, an array of greener, cleaner buses have arrived on UK roads. Air pollution caused by vehicles is not a new issue, although its prominence has risen considerably in the last two years or so. Road transport is the main source of many air pollutants which impact local air quality – with NOx and particulates (PM) of growing concern.

Such pollution negatively effects basic health, as well as adding to the risk of heart and lung disease, and lowering life expectancy.

Following the news of successful bids for an estimated £7 million of Department for Transport (DfT) funding in January this year, 439 buses in England will be fitted with green technology to cut harmful emissions by up to 90 per cent. The Clean Bus Technology Fund 2015 will be awarded to 18 local authorities across England, enabling 439 buses with technology to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions in pollution hotspots.

Clean Bus Technology Fund The move, which will significantly improve air quality in town and city centres with the upgraded buses, is set to complete more than one million greener journeys annually.

The Clean Bus Technology Fund is a core part of the government’s commitment to green transport which has seen £2 billion worth of measures introduced since 2011. The move will also add to the government’s £600 million investment in low-emission technology over the next five years, which aims to make almost every car and van zero emissions by 2050.

One area benefiting from green bus technology is Bristol, which has launched two state-of-the-art, low emission electric buses in partnership with the DfT, Bristol City Council and the University of West of England (UWE). The new vehicles run in areas of low air quality and use Geo-Fencing GPS technology to run on pure electric mode, producing zero emissions. There are only five of such vehicles in the UK, with two in Bristol and three in London also on a trial basis.

The buses run quietly and can be recognised by their striking blue colour and ‘electricity’

branding. Furthermore, the buses can charge once they reach their terminus, UWE’s French Campus, via a special plate in the ground which enables them to charge wirelessly.

George Ferguson, Mayor of Bristol, said: “This adds to Bristol’s growing reputation as a laboratory for change and an environmental innovator. These clean tech vehicles will help to reduce pollution and improve the health of the city, and are part of the continuing impact of our highly successful year as European Green Capital 2015.

“My goal is for Bristol to be one of the healthiest cities in the world and that has to start with us breathing clean air. I am confident this trial of new technology will pave the way for the future of electric buses in Bristol and beyond, adding to the many new sustainable transport initiatives that are currently taking place across the city.”

The Green Bus report Maintaining our ability to move around in ever more congested towns and cities is more critical today than ever before. While a wide range of transport options now exist, there’s no doubt that an effective bus operation can deliver one of the best solutions to the challenges of air quality,

FeatureBus Green Heading Fleets

Following the journey of the green bus

climate change, congestion, convenience and, of course, cost. Bus travel has evolved with the development of the green buses of today. The Journey of the Green Bus explains how the last 20 years have transformed the emissions, efficiency and experience of buses.

Commissioned by Greener Journeys, the LowCVP report, The Journey of the Green Bus describes how innovation and supportive policy over the last decade has transformed the bus sector from being a part of the problem to being an important part of the solution to poor urban air quality, as well as contributing to tackling climate change.

A UK Low Emission Bus is defined as a vehicle which can achieve a reduction of more than 15 per cent well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions compared with a Euro V diesel bus, as well as the Euro VI HD engine standard for pollutant emissions. With latest research by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) showing that at least five regions in the UK are still facing an immense challenge in meeting European air quality standards for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), this report is a welcome aid for the sector.

A new generation of buses is dramatically improving emissions and lowering health risks thanks to advancing technologies and stringent real-world testing. While there is much more to be done, the arrival and expansion of the green bus is making, and will continue to make, a vital contribution to improving air quality in the UK. National Air Quality Awards Passenger Transport Air Quality Award Last year, bus manufacturer Optare won the National Air Quality Awards Passenger Transport Air Quality Award for the development of its electric bus range. The accolade reflects efforts to improve the UK’s air quality, in the charity, private or public sectors and the awards are supported by the Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM), and the British Lung Foundation.

The North Yorkshire company also picked up two awards from the LowCVP: the Heavy Duty Vehicle Manufacturer !

The of Journeyn Bus e the Gre how the s explain years have last 20 rmed the transfo , efficiency ns emissio experience and s of buse

While The Journey of the Green Bus report illustrates how far the UK has come in terms of low carbon buses, Toyota and Hino’s hybrid fuel cell buses are benefiting from continuous development in Japan

36

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The LowCvP revised the definition of the Low Emission Bus (LEB), on behalf of the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and the DfT.

" of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Low Carbon Transport. Optare has 88 electric vehicles in operation in both the UK and across Europe and are said to reduce well-to-wheel carbon footprint by over 50 per cent in comparison with equivalent diesels.

Outside of the UK, the first stop of the green bus journey was made some time ago.

The Far East in particular has seen sizeable developments in the low emission bus sector, with electrically-powered buses notably appearing in many countries. China and Japan have led the market, with Ankai recently securing a deal with Xuzhou Public Transport for 100 electric buses. Its HFF6800GEVB1 electric bus has been gaining in popularity thanks to the current drive in China for an integrated public transport system for both urban as well as rural areas. Ankai hopes to produce around 6,000 of the low emission bus per year, and has also developed a range of low emission models, including pure electric and plug-in hybrid variants.

World’s largest fast-charging station Elsewhere in China, electric-car maker BYD Co Ltd has opened a new commercial vehicle factory in Qingdao, Shandong province which is expected to construct up to 5,000 electrically-powered buses annually.

Meanwhile, industrial aluminium extrusion product developer China Zhongwang and Brilliance Bus (Dalian) Company Limited have collaborated on a new electric bus, largely made from aluminium to improve energy consumption and give a longer range.

Although only two prototypes have been built, mass production is expected. Which is timely, as China State Grid has opened the world’s largest fast-charging station in Beijing. The complex at Xiaoying Terminal has 25 360kW chargers and five 90kW points – the 26,500m2 site is capable of recharging up to 30 buses with Microvast batteries at any one time, which can take as little time as 10 minutes.

Ten minutes may be fast, but it’s nothing compared to electric buses which have recently been put into service in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. These fast-chargers made

by Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive take an unbelievable 10 seconds to fully charge, thanks to super capacitor technology. The bus charges when stationary, with each charge allowing around 3 miles of range. It also regeneratively

converts more than 80 per cent of its braking and slowing energy, cutting energy consumption by up to 50 per cent when compared to a conventionally-engined bus.

Cable-free contactless charger In Tokyo, Toshiba Corporation has developed a cable-free contactless charger for electric vehicles, and has started testing the technology on medium-sized electric buses.

The trials run until December 2016 from the business centre of ANA in Tonomachi, Kawasaki and Haneda Airport. The 45-seat buses which run on the seven-mile route are powered by a Toshiba 52.9kWh lithium-ion SCiB™ rechargeable battery, while the contactless charger replaces conventional electromagnetic induction with a magnetic resonance system which is installed in the road surface. Once the bus is aligned with the charging pad, charging is started with the press of a button. Toshiba quotes a 55-mile range, while charging time is reported to be just 15 minutes.

It’s not just electric buses which are benefiting from continuous development.

Last summer Toyota and Hino Motors Ltd carried out field tests in Tokyo of their fuel cell bus. The aim of the tests was to determine efficiency of the vehicle itself as well as practicality in the real world. This Japanese fuel cell bus is based on a Hino hybrid bus which is fitted with a Toyota Fuel Cell System, similar to that of the company’s Mirai fuel cell car, which is currently in production and is on sale in the UK. A pair of 110kW fuel cell stacks and 110kW (247lb ft/335Nm) motors feature in the collaborative project vehicle along with eight 70MPa high-pressure hydrogen tanks, a NiMH drive battery, and a 9.8kW/ DC300 V vehicle-to-home (V2H) system.

Three-fold low emission rise Back in the UK, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders published similar findings in January to those of the LowCVP. It reported that the UK bus sector has enjoyed a three-fold rise in low emission vehicles, with 53.3 per cent of new buses registered in 2015 deploying the latest low emission Euro VI technology. Encouragingly, fleets boosted the uptake of advanced diesel engines by 307 per cent compared with just two years ago. As with the LowCVP report, the SMMT statement points to improved air quality offered by the

Green Bus Fleets

What is a UK Low Emission Bus?

Optare has 88 electric vehicles in operation in both the UK and Europe

The new definition takes into account the twin goals of cutting greenhouse gas emissions as well as improving air quality at a local level.

Now, a Low Emission Bus is defined as a bus which can achieve a reduction of more than 15 per cent well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions compared with a Euro V diesel bus, and achieve the Euro VI engine standard in terms of other emissions.

The LowCVP UK Bus Test Cycle – which measures both greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions – is part of the LEB accreditation scheme.

The government has also recently announced £30 million worth of funding to support low emission bus technologies. Thirteen successful bidders will be able to add 326 low emission buses to their fleets and improve the supporting infrastructure.

Read more: bit.ly/2asVm9p

latest technology. The latest rise in demand, says SMMT, comes as the regulatory period of grace which has permitted fleet operators to specify older technologies is due to end.

Just over half of operators in London now have vehicles with Euro VI technology, with four out of five buses in both Birmingham and Glasgow now running Euro VI engines. Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “Industry has invested billions of pounds in advanced vehicle technology that delivers real results so it is encouraging to see this rapid uptake of Euro VI in the UK. The UK automotive sector remains committed to working alongside operators, government and local councils to encourage widespread adoption of the latest vehicles that will help dramatically improve the air quality in our towns and cities.”

Significant air quality improvements Euro VI buses and coaches can deliver significant air quality improvements. The cleaner technology drastically reduces Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions which are now seen as harmful to human health, while up to 99 per cent of soot particles can be captured. A decrease in NOx emissions of 95 per cent has been recorded by Transport for London on its 159 bus routes, thanks to the new low emission Euro VI vehicles.

But, wherever in the world they may be, the adoption of the latest low and ultra-low emission buses and technology is essential to improve air quality in towns and cities across the globe. # FURTHER INFORMATION bit.ly/2aeUR4n

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Commercial GreenFleet

Helping to decarbonise commercial fleets We look back at GreenFleet’s first commercial vehicle event, which gave delegates the chance to discover how to reduce emissions and increase efficiency with the latest green vans and truck technologies St Andrew’s Stadium, home of Birmingham City Football Club, played host to GreenFleet’s first commercial vehicle event on 1 July, recognising the growing demand for greener technologies in the commercial vehicle sector.

Designed to showcase the latest green van technologies, delegates from around the West Midlands area gathered to find out more about the alternative technologies on the market that can help combat the region’s air quality issues.

Birmingham was selected as the location following a DEFRA report that identified it as the second worst city in the UK for serious air quality and NOx issues.

Demand for light commercial vehicles (LCV) is steadily rising, with official Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) figures showing more than 28,000 new LCVs hitting British roads in May 2016, meaning it is more important than ever to consider the environmental impacts of LCV fleets.

Commercial GreenFleet brought together industry experts from the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCV), Cenex, Alphabet, Autogas, Peugeot, Isuzu Trucks, Masternaut and Mitsubishi to discuss a number of technologies to reduce emissions and increase efficiency.

These ranged from Euro VI engines to electric powertrains to telematics, as well as funding advice to ensure that fleets benefit financially as they adopt greener alternatives.

Low Emission Van Guide The LowCVP’s Andy Eastlake kicked off proceedings and, along with Keith Budden of Cenex, launched the updated version of their Low Emission Van Guide and accompanying Van Cost and Carbon Calculator (VC3).

The Low Emission Van Guide is aimed at operators of small to medium sized fleets of commercial vehicles (up to 3.5t gross vehicles weight) to help them to make cost and CO2 savings.

It offers useful background information on emissions and tips on what to consider when choosing a low emission vans, including topic sheets on the different options available.

A year after its initial launch, the guide has been updated to reflect the changing market, including new information for hydrogen vans and guidance on how to get involved in the low carbon van community.

It demonstrates the business, environmental and operational case for using low emission commercial vehicles, as well as providing fleet managers will a number of case studies, helping them to better understand the cost savings achievable through the use of low emission fuels and technologies.

Alongside the guide, the VC3 allows users to compare the economic and environmental performance of different

tes Delega und o from ar idlands st M the We athered to area g more about t find ou alternative n the logies o techno arket the m

38

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

van technologies and has been updated to include user-defined payload data, bio-fuel blends and congestion charge information.

Policy and funding Bob Moran, deputy head of the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), was also on hand to provide an update on how UK government policy is driving the push for more zero emission vehicles.

He explained how the legally binding Climate Change Act 2008 requires an 80 per cent emissions reduction by 2050, meaning that huge improvements need to be made over the next few years.

Currently over 25 per cent of the UK’s total green house gas emissions come from transport and with around 90 per cent of transport emissions coming from road vehicles, this is an area where large cuts to emissions are being targeted.

While the freight sector has traditionally been seen as difficult to decarbonise, with emissions staying fairly flat since the 1990s, the government is making moves to try and encourage the uptake of greener technologies.

A number of changes to the Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) were announced in late 2015, but the Plug-in Van Grant (PiVG) went unchanged, meaning prospective buyers can still claim up to 20 per cent of an eligible van, up to a maximum of £8,000 discount.

This discount applies to vehicles such as the Nissan e-NV200, which comes with an NEDC range of up to 106 miles. The government has also pledged to spend at least £600 million between 2015-16 and 2020-21 to support the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, which

New technologies Richard Tindle of Masternaut ran a session entitled ‘Technology to monitor performance’ that went through the ins and outs of vehicle telematics. Masternaut’s customers drive 4,984,000,000 miles a year and spend over 14,000 man years driving. With the help of Masternaut, they typically reduce distances driven by five per cent, meaning that total mileage was reduced by almost 250 million miles last year and time on the road was reduced by around 706 years.

Additionally, Masternaut customers typically reduce fuel consumption by seven per cent, collectively saving around 60,000,000

gallons of fuel, which equates to a CO2 reduction of around 607,000,000kg.

Autogas also presented at the event, with business development manager Paul Oxford explaining how LPG can play a part in reaching emissions targets and improving public health (Autogas van drive, GreenFleet, issue 91).

LPG offers lower emissions than traditional petrol and diesel cars while offering similar driving characteristics.

It has benefits over electric vehicles as refuelling is similar to that of petrol and diesel and there is already extensive refuelling infrastructure across the UK. A number of LCVs are already on the market that run on LPG and the national infrastructure currently totals over 1,400 sites.

Test drives Delegates had the opportunity to test drive a number of different LCVs to get a real feel for the driving experience and performance.

Mitsubishi brought along its modified version of the UK’s best selling plug-in hybrid vehicle, the Outlander PHEV 4Work.

Boasting a 1,500kg towing capacity and 495kg payload, the Outlander PHEV 4work is eligible for the PiVG and exempt from the London congestion charge.

The hybrid powertrain gives the SUV an impressive economy of up to 156mpg and emissions as low as 42g/km, with an electric range of up to 32.5 miles, which can be rapid charged to 80 per cent in around 30 minutes. Early adopters include Highways

Sponsored by:

Commercial GreenFleet

will be invested in infrastructure, incentives, research and development and manufacturing.

The government hopes that this investment will keep the UK on track for the target of almost all new cars to be effectively zero emission by 2040.

Sponsors Alphabet also discussed their business mobility solutions and green van financing options at the event.

Electric vehicles make up 4,030 of Alphabet’s fleet, with both the Nissan e-NV200 and the Renault Kangoo ZE giving customers the option to lease the latest low-emission van technology. Offering contract lengths from two to five years and monthly, quarterly and annual payment profiles, as well as a dedicated team to handle all fleet vehicle servicing and mechanical repair requests, Alphabet offers a flexible service for customers looking to make their fleets more efficient.

In association with:

England and the Environment Agency.

Also available on the day was Peugeot’s new Expert van, with emissions from 168-189g/km and a maximum payload of 988-1200kg.

Peugeot also showcased the Bipper, a small van that has a maximum payload of 590kg and CO2 emissions as low as 115g/km, and the Boxer, with a payload of 1115-1900kg and emissions from 158g/km.

The impressive Isuzu Forward was also on display. Powered by the Isuzu turbo intercooled OHC 4 cylinder diesel engine, the Forward is Euro VI compliant, comes equipped with easyshift transmission and can legally tow a trailer and load of up to 3500kg. # FURTHER INFORMATION events.greenfleet.net/commercial

EV80 Panel Van EV80 Chassis Cab

+353 14194500 www.myldv.co.uk mark.barre @ d .ie L . . re and Naas d

ub in

Volume 96 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

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Arrive ‘N’ Drive 2016

A range of electric fleet solutions The Nissan corporate sales team is delighted to be attending GreenFleet Arrive ’N’ Drive, where a range of electric vehicles will be available to test drive and product experts will be on hand to discuss the benefits of electric driving within your fleet.

At this year’s event you can drive the UK built, 100 per cent electric Nissan Leaf with an extended range of up to 155 miles. The Leaf qualifies for seven per cent BIK and sees running costs from just 2p per mile, meaning you can keep control of your costs whilst reducing CO2 emissions.

The 100 per cent electric e-NV200 will also be available to test drive. Designed from the ground up as an electric van, e-NV200 combines the technology seen in the award winning Nissan Leaf with the

space and practicality of the highly acclaimed NV200.

The e-NV200 van, five or seven seat Combi and Evalia bring ultra-low running costs and zero emissions driving to the compact van segment, making it a popular choice for many businesses who want to benefit from a practical business solution.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0800 294 0579 nissan.fleet@nissan.co.uk www.nissan.co.uk/fleet

The UK’s best selling plug-in hybrid electric vehicle The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV continues to lead the market of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, with over 23,000 already sold in the UK since its launch in April 2014.

The Outlander PHEV was the first full sized family 4x4 to utilise both electric and petrol power. You can charge it up from home and then travel up to 32.5 miles on electricity alone. When the battery runs out the car simply switches over to use the petrol engine.

Built with no compromises, the Outlander PHEV delivers outstanding performance. It can deliver a staggering 156mpg, with CO2 emissions of only 42g/km.

This means that you won’t pay any road tax or the London Congestion Charge and if you are a company car driver, the amount you pay in company car tax will be reduced by thousands of pounds a year.

On top of all that, it’s smooth,

quiet and luxurious too.

Recent Outlander PHEV developments include improved styling and interior refinement.

Specification enhancements include a 360-degree camera and heated steering wheel.

FURTHER INFORMATION mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/fleet

New models to cater for New range of a wide range of fleets N1-homologated Fiat Chrysler Automobiles road vehicles is returning to Rockingham this year with several new models.

Among these will be the all-new Alfa Romeo Giulia, available for you to experience first-hand its performance, drivability and engine efficiency.

The new Giulia embodies the core elements which have made Alfa Romeo one of the world’s best-loved automotive brands: distinctive Italian design; innovative powertrains, perfect weight distribution, unique technical solutions and the best weight-to-power ratio.

Featuring a host of safety features, including Forward Collision Warning and Autonomous Emergency Brake with pedestrian detection, the new Giulia was awarded a fivestar Euro NCAP rating with a score of 98 per cent for the adult occupant protection, the highest score ever achieved by any car.

The Fiat Tipo will also be on

40

show, a brand new hatchback offering exceptional roominess and practicality with class leading legroom and boot space coupled with high levels of standard equipment across the entire model range.

And from the Fiat Professional brand, the new Fullback pick-up and Talento mid-size van will also be available, complementing the brand’s range of commercial vehicles designed specifically to meet the needs of the full spectrum of professional users.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0808 168 7152 fiat.fleet@fcagroup.com

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

Bradshaw, UK manufacturer and supplier of specialist electric vehicles since 1975, has launched a range of fully N1 homologated electric road vehicles.

The range offers 10 standard options, from van body vehicles for last mile delivery, cage body options for the waste industry, and a shuttle bus for people transportation.

With a maximum speed of 25mph, an operational range of up to 50 miles and a payload up to 900kg, the many body options cover various inner city applications.

Under N1 homologation test conditions the vehicle achieved an incredible 73 miles. Each model has a safe and comfortable cabin with ABS thermoformed shell, excellent visibility, and all models can be left or right hand drive.

All test data was achieved with sealed maintenance free batteries and combined on-board charger, no need for battery topping up and no gas emissions during recharge.

Simon Clipsham, general manager

at Bradshaw commented: “We are excited to introduce an extensive range of zero emission Electric Road Vehicles.

“We believe it to be the only N1 homologated, commercially viable vehicle of its type, to meet the challenges set by the modern City Centre. Primary markets include the increasing requirement for noise reduction within the waste industry and the growing demand for last mile delivery.”

FURTHER INFORMATION +44 (0)1780 782621 www.bradshawelectric vehicles.co.uk sales@bradshawelectric vehicles.co.uk

On 22 September 2016, Arrive ‘N’ Drive celebrates a decade of putting fleet managers behind the wheels of low and zero-emission vehicles and educating them on the latest green transport issues

Arrive ‘N’ Drive 2016

Arrive ’N’ Drive celebrates its 10th year

Written by

From the original Toyota Prius hybrid back in 2007 to the all electric Nissan e-NV200 in 2015, Arrive ‘N’ Drive at Rockingham has always been at the forefront of showcasing the latest carbon-cutting vehicles and technologies to fleet buyers, as well as educating them on the latest legislative changes and fleet best practice. This year’s event on 22 September will be packed with the latest zero and low-emission vehicles available for test drive, including test track favourites the BMW i3, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Nissan Leaf.

The education theme this year is ‘helping fleets go ultra low’ – looking at standard fleets, blue-light fleets and commercial vehicles.

to receive ‘Go Ultra Low Company’ status – meaning they must commit to reach at least five per cent electric fleet vehicles by 2020.

The education sessions at Arrive ‘N’ Drive will discuss the latest government policy and give advice on how fleets can make ‘ultra low’ fleets a reality.

There will also be a session targeted at the emergency services sector. Whilst the sector needs high-performance vehicles due to the very nature of their work, they are still under pressure to do their bit in lowering fleet emissions. This session will feature a case study from a large police force that has managed to combine the two.

There will also be a workshop for commercial vehicles fleets.

Seen as being the biggest contributors to poor air quality, the UK’s vans and trucks are taking the brunt of the proposed action from government. Discussing topics such as Clean Air Zones, the workshop will highlight what needs to be done, what help is available and also what cleaner vehicles are out there that can make a difference.

ing Discuss ch as u topics sir Zones, Clean Akshop will r the wo what needs t highlighe done and to b lso elp is a h t a h w le availab

Going ‘ultra low’ The government defines an ‘ultra low vehicle’ as one that produces 75g or less of CO2 per kilometre from the tailpipe and is capable of a minimum 10 miles of zero-emission driving. These can be electric or hybrid vehicles. The government is pushing for mass adoption of these vehicles in order to meet stringent carbon targets, and so is offering a raft of incentives – most notably the Plug-in Car Grant of £4,500 and Plug-in Van Grant of £8,000, but also tax incentives and home charging subsidies.

Government and industry are also focused on educating consumers and fleets on the benefits and practicalities of these vehicles via the Go Ultra Low campaign. As a spin off, it has launched an initiative for companies

Beat the Sprig Putting the fun into eco driving, the fleet industry’s most renowned eco-driver – the Sprig – is back to challenge visitors on

their green driving skills. Just a 10 per cent improvement in fuel consumption can save companies a substantial amount of money.

Participants will all drive the same type of vehicle on the same route, and the team or person that achieves the best mpg figure will win a prize. Technology partner Trakm8 will be providing the tracking and data.

Electric Avenue Arrive’n’Drive is once again featuring the very latest in plug-in vehicles, and has a designated test circuit to provide a ‘real world’ experience with acceleration zones and low speed zones to allow delegates to put electric vehicles through their paces.

Organisations that operate recharging technology and infrastructure will also be present with their expert knowledge and advice throughout the day.

Test drives BMW will be bringing its innovative i collection – the i3 and i8. The i collection was born out of extensive real-world trials in the Mini E and Active E so that driver feedback and concerns could be addressed. The i3 has a range of 125 miles in the pure electric version, and 206 miles in the range extender.

As well as its head-turning, futuristic looks, it is made from lightweight carbon fibre, and up to 95 per cent of the vehicle is recyclable.

The Mitsubishi Outlander, the best-selling PHEV in the UK, will also be available to test drive. Using twin electric motors with an efficient 2.0-litre petrol engine, it can achieve a combined range of 541 miles, 32 of which can be achieved just in electric !

Volume 96 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

41

Arrive ‘N’ Drive 2016

! mode. It has combined CO2 emissions of 42g/km and an mpg figure of 156mpg.

Nissan will be offering its best selling electric Leaf to test drivers, which can do up to 155 miles, as well as the electric e-NV200 van, with its best in class cargo space of 4.2m³ and 106-mile range.

Tesla will be present on the day with its model S, a fully electric, five door luxury sedan. The Model S accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in as little as 2.8 seconds, can do over 300 miles on a charge, and has innovative autopilot capabilities.

The Jaguar XE will be another star of the show. With its lightweight aluminium architecture improving agility and fuelefficiency, it is capable of up to 155mph whilst emitting CO2 emissions as low as 99g/km. Jaguar will also be bringing its F-Pace along; an SUV that combines maximum performance with efficiency.

Fiat Group will be showcasing its Jeep Renegade, as well as the Fiat 500X, a five-door version of the ever popular and iconic 500.

Robinsons Motor Group will be presenting a range of Mercedes and Smart vehicles, as will Toyota and Lexus.

leased electric vehicles will be on hand to answer any questions, as will Green Motion who offer green car and van rental.

Route Monkey will be happy to talk through its telematics offering, including its technology for electric vehicle modelling, scheduling and infrastructure planning.

Chevin Fleet Solutions, who provide web-based fleet management software proven to help businesses improve operational efficiency are also on hand with their expertise.

in EV registrations over the past few years, Go Ultra Low claims that the new car market is accelerating towards a point in the future where electric power overtakes petrol and diesel as the dominant fuel type, suggesting that the government forecast of all new cars and vans to be electric by 2040 is achievable.

This shows that electric mobility is here to stay. What better reason to visit Arrive ‘N’ Drive? "

Here to stay According to analysis Go Ultra Low, more than half of all new vehicle registrations could feature an electric powertrain by 2027.

Taking into account data from multiple electric-car sales reports and forecasts, it believes that more than 1.3 million electric vehicles (EVs) could be sold each year by 2027.

Highlighting the dramatic rise

For more information and to sign up visit: www.events.greenfleet.net

Fleet technology and services The indoor exhibition at Rockingham, where breakfast and the buffet lunch is served, will host a range of companies offering supportive fleet services and technology.

Fleet Drive, providers of

42

DEDICATED TO PROMOTING A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT | www.greenfleet.net

FURTHER INFORMATION

The new BMW i3

The Ultimate Driving Machine

BORN TO GO FURTHER. Zero emissions and a dynamic drive make the BMW i3 a true car of tomorrow.

But it doesn’t stop there. The new BMW i3 with improved battery technology has an increased range of up to 50%. When fitted with the optional BMW i3 Range Extender you can go even further – up to 206 miles on one charge.

The new BMW i3 puts you out in front in every way.

For more information please visit www.bmw.co.uk/i3

Official fuel economy figures for the BMW i3: mpg N/A, CO2 emissions 0 g/km, nominal power output (electric motor) 75/102 kW/hp at 4,800 rpm; peak power output (electric motor) 125/170 kW/hp, total average energy consumption per 62 miles/100 km (combined cycle) 12.6 kWh (13.1 kWh with 20″ wheels). Total range: 195 miles (187 miles with 20″ wheels) (combined cycle). Customer orientated range: up to 125 miles. Official fuel economy figures for the BMW i3 with Range Extender: 470.8 mpg (0.6 ltr/100 km), CO2 emissions 12 g/km (13 g/km with 20″ wheels), total average energy consumption per 62 miles/100 km (weighted combined cycle) 11.3 kWh (11.9 kWh with 20″ wheels). Range without use of Range Extender: 150 miles (144 miles with 20″ wheels) (weighted combined cycle). Customer orientated total range (using Range Extender): up to 206 miles. Figures are based on provisional data and may be subject to change. Figures may vary depending on different factors including but not limited to individual driving style, climatic conditions, route characteristics and preconditioning. The BMW i3 is an electric vehicle that requires mains electricity for charging.

BMW (UK) Ltd, Summit ONE, Summit Avenue, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 0FB. Registered in England and Wales 1378137.

Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for credit broking activities.

Compare the tax savings of running a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV as your company car against these market leaders.

OUTLANDER PHEV GX4H AUTO

HONDA CR-V EX AUTO

BMW X3 XDRIVE 30D SE AUTO

AUDI Q5 S-LINE PLUS AUTO

MERCEDES E250 SE 7G-TRONIC

COST OF THE CAR - P11D VALUE

£38,899

£32,125

£40,210

£39,805

£37,675

GOVERNMENT GRANT REDUCTION

£2,500

£0

£0

£0

£0

£32,125

£40,210

£39,805

£37,675

ADJUSTED FINAL PRICE

£36,399

10

CO2 EMISSIONS G/KM

42

179

156

157

147

BENEFIT IN KIND RATE

7%

32%

31%

31%

26%

VEHICLE BENEFIT CHARGE WITHOUT FUEL PROVIDED

£1,089

£4,112

£4,986

£4,936

£3,918

THE EXTRA TAX YOU PAY VS PHEV (40% TAXPAYER)

–

£3,023

£3,897

£3,847

£2,829

£1,711

£6,954

£7,739

£7,689

£6,227

–

£5,243

£6,028

£5,978

£4,516

VEHICLE BENEFIT CHARGE WITH FUEL PROVIDED THE EXTRA TAX YOU PAY VS PHEV (40% TAXPAYER)

Find out more. Search PHEV | Visit mitsubishi-cars.co.uk to find your nearest dealer

PHEV Manufacturer of the Year

PHEV Manufacturer of the Year Outstanding Achievement Award

THE NEW MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER PHEV SAVE £1,000s ON YOUR COMPANY CAR FLEET 1

With luxuriously smooth driving dynamics, the intelligent Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV decides when it’s more efficient to use petrol or electricity, giving it the ability to deliver a staggering 156mpg2. And with ultra-low CO2 emissions there are significant savings that your business can make. You’ll be able to write down 100% of the cost of an Outlander in year one3, saving £1,000s in Corporation Tax4 – and you’ll save money on your associated Class 1a National Insurance Contributions5. Business users will only pay 7% Benefit in Kind taxation6 and the Outlander PHEV is exempt from Road Tax and the London Congestion Charge7. The battery can be charged in just a few hours via a domestic plug socket8, a low-cost home Charge Point9 or one of over 8,500 Charge Points found across the UK. There’s even £2,500 off the list price through the Government Plug-in Car Grant which means an Outlander PHEV will cost you from just £31,74910.

We call this Intelligent Motion.

Compare the corporation tax savings of a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV against a typical company car.

TYPICAL VEHICLE

OUTLANDER PHEV

PROFIT BEFORE TAX (PBT)

£100,000

£100,000

20%

20%

£36,500

£36,39910

8%3

100%

CAPITAL ALLOWANCE (£)

£2,920

£36,399

TAXABLE PROFIT (ON £100,000 PBT)

£97,080

£63,601

CORPORATION TAX (NO VEHICLE PURCHASE)

£20,000

£20,000

CORPORATION TAX (WITH VEHICLE PURCHASE)

£19,416

£12,720

£584

£7,280

TAX RATE LIST PRICE OF VEHICLE CAPITAL ALLOWANCE

SAVING DUE TO CAPITAL ALLOWANCE

THE NEW MITSUBISHI

OUTLANDER PHEV THE UK’s #1 SELLING PLUG-IN HYBRID

FROM £31,749 - £42,999

Including £2,500 Government Plug-in Car Grant10

BUYING A PHEV WILL SAVE YOU A TOTAL OF £6,696 IN CORPORATION TAX (YEAR 1)

1. Outlander PHEV GX4h compared with Honda CR-V, BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Mercedes E-Class – average saving £5,665 for a 40% taxpayer. The savings for business drivers with a company fuel card are higher.

2. Official EU MPG test figure shown as a guide for comparative purposes and is based on the vehicle being charged from mains electricity. This may not reflect real driving results.

3. Outlander PHEV qualifies as low CO2 emissions vehicle for the purpose of Capital Allowances. 8% write down allowance used for comparison. 4. Savings achieved due to lower Profits Chargeable to Corporation Tax (PCTCT). 5. Class 1a NI only payable on 7% of list price compared to 25%+ average. 6. 7% BIK rate for the 2016/17 tax year. 7. Congestion Charge application required, subject to administrative fee. 8. Domestic plug charge: 5 hours, 16 Amp home charge point: 3.5 hours, 80% rapid charge: 30mins. 9. Government subsidised charge points are available from a number of suppliers for a small fee - ask your dealer for more information. 10. Prices shown include the Government Plug-in Car Grant and VAT (at 20%), but exclude First Registration Fee. Model shown is an Outlander PHEV GX4hs at £38,499 including the Government Plug-in Car Grant. On The Road prices range from £31,804 to £43,054 and include VED, First Registration Fee and the Government Plug-in Car Grant. Metallic/pearlescent paint extra. Prices correct at time of going to print. For more information about the Government Plug-in Car Grant please visit www.gov.uk/plug-in-car-van-grants. The Government Plug-in Car Grant is subject to change at any time, without prior notice.

Outlander PHEV range fuel consumption in mpg (ltrs/100km): Full Battery Charge: no fuel used, Depleted Battery Charge: 51.4mpg (5.5), Weighted Average: 156.9mpg (1.8), CO2 emissions: 42 g/km.

First Drive Written by Richard Gooding

e load th t Down a p p a t Flee .net t Green e e reenfl s and e app.g g re ima for mo ntent co

FIRST DRIVE

Citroën Dispatch What is it?

The 2016 Citroën Dispatch is the latest in a long line of light commercial luminaries from the French company, which includes the 1939 TUB (Transport Utilitaire série B) and the now-fashionable Type H of 1947. Launched at the 2016 Commercial Vehicle Show (GreenFleet, issue 94), Citroën’s latest medium-sized panel van has both French and Japanese relatives in the shape of the Peugeot Expert and the Toyota Proace.

Three lengths are available as well as a passenger-carrying SpaceTourer version.

Aimed at fleets who desire a 1,400kg maximum load weight but find a Berlingo or similar-sized LCV just that little bit too small, the Dispatch range starts with the new ‘XS’ variant, which is a unique offering in the light commercial sector. With an overall length of 4.6m-long and a base 4.6m3 load capacity, the new ‘compact’ Dispatch aims to offer all the versatility of a larger van in a smaller footprint.

Longer length 4.95m ‘M’ and 5.3m ‘XL’ models enjoy load capacities up to 5.8m3 and 6.6m3 respectively, and can carry one additional Euro pallet over the pair which can be swallowed by the XS. All versions have

46

a standard height of 1.9m, which Citroën cites as a benefit for urban use where car park restrictions come into play all too often. Overall, nine body configurations are available, business users able to choose between panel van, crew van and platform cab models.

The new Dispatch is a smart-looking light commercial, and embraces styling cues from Citroën’s passenger car ranges both inside and out. Externally, a ‘friendly’ face includes the company’s famed grille chevrons which flow into the headlights, while pronounced wheel arch styling neatly incorporates the fuel filler flap.

an electrically-sliding side door which can be activated by a button on the dashboard or by gesturing your foot under the rear bumper corner. This makes loading a much simpler operation and is a handy and useful touch for awkward hands-full moments.

For added practicality, the optional ‘Moduwork’ system comprises a dual passenger bench seat with fold-up outer seat, a fold-down writing table in the central seat back, as well as storage under central seat. But, most importantly, the full steel bulkhead has a load-through flap under the outer passenger seat to increase overall load length to an impressive 3.3m on XS compact models and 4.0m on XL variants.

Inside the loading area, floor and/or side loading area coverings are available in either wood or a durable non-slip coating, while crew vans enjoy both fixed or folding partition options. The second and third row of seats can be removed entirely for maximum

The latest ro t Eu efficien BlueHDi ard 6-stand are fitted to engines w-for-2016 the ne Dispatch Citroën nge ra

How practical is it?

The 50/50 rear doors on Dispatch panel van and crew vans swing out to 250 degrees for the ultimate in easy access, while a lift-up tailgate is optional. One neat touch the French company has incorporated is

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First Drive

2016 Citroën Dispatch GROSS PAYLOAD: LOAD VOLUME: ENGINE: CO2:

1,400kg 4.6-6.6m3 1,560cc, 1,997cc four-cylinder diesels 133-144g/km

MPG (combined):

51.4-54.3

VED: PRICE (ex-VAT):

£230 £17,495-£26,545

Smallest Dispatch models can swallow a pair of Euro pallets, while larger models can take one more

also be pleased with the running costs: the new engines boast servicing intervals of 25,000 miles or two years (18,600 miles in the case of the BlueHDi 180 S&S EAT6 automatic).

New Dispatch has a car-like cabin, with features such as a seven-inch colour touchscreen

Optional ‘Moduwork’ system includes load-through bulkhead flap to increase overall load length by 1.16m

choice between loadspace and passenger carrying capability on the crew van models.

How clean is it?

The latest efficient Euro 6-standard BlueHDi engines are fitted to the new-for-2016 Citroën Dispatch range. A pair of 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre units are offered, with outputs ranging from 95bhp to 180bhp. The cleanest version, the BlueHDi 115 S&S 6-speed manual, emits 133g/km, while Citroën claims economy of up to 55.3mpg. Both six-speed manual and automated gearboxes can be specified. The new engines offer reductions of up to 14g/km when compared to their Euro 5 predecessors, while a new electro-hydraulic power steering system cuts CO2 emissions still further.

All new Dispatch variants receive an Adblue and Selective Catalyst Reduction (SCR) system for ultimate environmental efficiency. The SCR module reduces up to 90 per cent of NOx emissions – and also cuts CO2 emissions up to four per cent – while a particulate filter eliminates 99.9 per cent of particulates, regardless of their size. Stop/start systems on selected models also add to the environmental credentials. Business users will

How does it drive?

The 2016 Citroën Dispatch is the third-generation of a model range which dates back to 1995, but the latest version couldn’t be more different. As with the jointly-developed Peugeot Expert, the latest Dispatch enjoys many car-derived technologies, thanks to being based on the new PSA Peugeot Citroën ‘EMP2’ platform which underpins models such as the Citroën C4 Picasso. The car-based subframe features at the front of the van – and offers weight savings of up to 20kg – while the rear end is bespoke LCV. We tested BlueHDi 115 S&S 6-speed manual and BlueHDi 150 versions, and both were brisk enough for urban cut and thrust use as well as more relaxed motorway cruising.

As you would expect, the higher-powered version displayed keener acceleration with its 272lb ft (370Nm) of torque (the 115 version has 221lb ft/300Nm) – ideal for those out-of-town overtaking manoeuvres – but both were remarkably refined when cruising around the outskirts of Paris.

As with most new-technology LCVs, engine noise can be heard under acceleration, but the noise is never truly gruff like vans of old. The six-speed manual gearbox is pleasant enough, and while the steering doesn’t offer much in the way of feedback, fleet drivers will like the positive and well-weighted feel which will allow them to exploit the 11.3-12.4m turning circle.

A car-like MacPherson-derived front suspension system gained from using the EMP2 chassis but adapted especially for the new Dispatch ensures safe handling. The variable stiffness springs and shock absorbers fitted to the rear suspension guarantee maximum comfort whether the Dispatch is loaded or unloaded, and both versions we tried certainly benefitted from a comfortable ride. Citroën claims best-in-class acoustic comfort levels and with the all-steel full-height bulkhead, there was certainly no unpleasant ‘empty’ sound from the rear load area.

Passenger car features such as the new capacitive seven-inch colour touchscreen with voice-controlled navigation system (not standard on every model), clear instrument display with heads-up option, and softer, less workman-like plastics offer a comfortable cabin. The 3D connected navigation system features updates provided

by TomTom Traffic, as well as both Mirror Link and Apple CarPlay functionality.

There’s an altogether less van-like ambience. too. The three-seat cabin has lots of leg room, too. The Dispatch’s interior is also practical with 49 (van) and 121 (crew van) litres of storage space dotted around the dashboard and door bins. Digital functionality is enhanced by the standard USB socket.

What does it cost?

The Citroën Dispatch range starts at £17,495 excluding VAT. Entry-level ‘X’ models feature Bluetooth connectivity, central locking, cruise control with speed limiter, DAB radio, electric windows, and electronic stability control. Moving up, ‘Enterprise’ Dispatches start at £18,845 and count air conditioning, Connect 7-inch touchscreen radio system with Bluetooth and Mirror Link, heated door mirrors, rear parking sensors as well as the Moduwork configurable load-through bulkhead. Topping the range, ‘Enterprise Plus’ vans begin at £21,645 and enjoy body-coloured bumpers, front fog lights, LED daytime running lights, 17-inch alloy wheels, and metallic paint.

Extra kit also includes automatic lights and wipers, as well as ‘Park Assist’ 180-degree rear parking camera and sensors.

A wide range of optional driving aid systems are available on the French newcomer including driving time, driver alert, blind spot monitoring, speed limit recommendation, lane departure warning, and parking assistance set-ups. A grip control traction system also enhances road-holding on low-grip surfaces, and while a four-wheel drive version is being marketed, it doesn’t yet appear in UK price lists. The cleanest and least expensive version is the X BlueHDi 115 S&S 6-speed manual which has a 1,000kg payload, 133g/km of CO2 emissions and costs £18,295.

Why does my fleet need one?

With over 1.13m Citroën Dispatch and Peugeot Expert models sold since their introduction in 1995, PSA Peugeot Citroën hopes that both of the new third-generation LCVs will increase its 10 per cent market share by a further six per cent. The new car-derived technology pays dividends with much improved usability, while the new engines offer important gains in efficiency as well as increased refinement. Add in a more stylish appearance, enhanced cabin quality and functionality, as well as improved versatility, and it’s hard to imagine the new Citroën Dispatch doing anything but continue the success story. # FURTHER INFORMATION www.citroen.co.uk

Volume 96 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

47

Road Test

Advanced Avensis A long-standing player in the fleet market, the Toyota Avensis has undergone a refresh for 2016.

GreenFleet finds increased efficiency, comfort, refinement, space, and technology are among the key attractions for fleet buyers What is it?

The Toyota Avensis has offered fleet drivers a mid-sized Japanese car choice for almost 20 years. It replaced the popular Carina E in 1997, and like its Ford Mondeo rival, was available in five-door ‘liftback’, four-door saloon and five-door estate models. Unlike its American-badged competition, though, the Avensis has been (and still is) proudly built in Britain, at Toyota’s Derbyshire factory at Burnaston. Now, only saloon and ‘Touring Sports’ estate versions are available, but with four trim levels to choose from, there’s still plenty of choice, especially with the recently-introduced Business Edition and Business Edition Plus models.

The latest Avensis is the third-generation model, which was introduced in 2009.

Following minor changes in 2012, a more major refresh was introduced in 2015, which brought a revised front grille, new headlights and rear tail lamps, as well as a new interior.

The refresh works well, with the new car 2 adopting the pinched face also applied to the smaller Aygo and Yaris, and the 2016 Avensis looks more stylish for it. The optional Orion Blue metallic paint of our test car gave an appearance similar to that of the Avensis’ stablemate, the hydrogen-powered Mirai.

The comprehensive Toyota Safety Sense package appeared for the first time with the 2015 revisions, and a 1.6-litre diesel engine replaced the previous 2.0 unit for better efficiency and economy. It might be surprising to learn that the Avensis also has a motorsport career, with four independent teams running versions of the Japanese mid-sized saloon in the British Touring Car Championship.

favourite, the car fares well at speeds at which it will spend a great deal of its time.

When cruising at legal limits outside urban areas, it’s a refined and quiet machine.

While excitement may be in short supply, comfort, refinement and technology are not, and it’s here where the big Toyota scores.

The new Avensis’ cabin feels cocooning and extremely comfortable, if a little short on style. The new dashboard takes styling cues from Toyota’s other more recent models, with the infotainment system graphics recognisable from cars such as the new Prius.

While the economy readings can be difficult to read sometimes, the system responds well and the standard satellite navigation system is a worthwhile and clear addition.

How economical is it?

Claimed economy for the Avensis Business Edition Plus is 67.3mpg on the combined cycle, although over our 376-mile test, we averaged 48.4mpg.

The best figure we read off the car’s computer system was 55.5mpg. It is worth noting that in most cases, the claimed economy of the Touring Sports model is lower than that of the more traditional saloon, with the poorest performing version the 1.8-litre petrol-powered estate, for which Toyota quotes 45.6mpg with manual transmission.

The Euro 6 the in engines sis mean en new Avmissions of CO e n 108 and betwee m and BIK 143g/k of 21-28 rates cent per

How does it drive?

The Euro 6 diesel engines in the new Avensis range are, maybe surprisingly, BMW-sourced and the 1.6-litre unit in our test car had adequate performance – 0-62mph comes up in 9.5 seconds – and with 199lb ft (270Nm) of torque available between 1,750 to 2,250rpm, low to mid-range responses are good. But, with the limited rev range window, the six-speed manual gearbox needs to be used frequently to make good progress.

Toyota has tweaked most of the mechanicals, so the car is better to drive than before, too. But while responses are sharp enough, selected rivals such as the Ford Mondeo may prove to be more fun off the motorway. With the Avensis being a fleet

48

What does it cost?

The Avensis Business Edition Plus starts at £23,115 for the 1.8-litre petrol Valvematic 18PV (147bhp) six-speed saloon, with our lower-powered 110bhp 1.6 D-4D test car coming in at £23,955 for the six-speed manual version. Specify the automatic gearbox and the price rises to £24,365 for the petrol-powered car. The top-spec 2.0 D-4D diesel saloon with 141bhp manual is £24,955, while Business Edition Touring Sport models around £1,200 more than their notchback siblings. Our test car featured optional £450 Orion Blue metallic paint.

While Business Edition models are cheaper, there is some useful extra kit on the upgraded Plus specification. Additional features include 17-inch ‘machine-faced’ alloys wheels, leather seats with alcantara inserts, LED headlamps and daytime running lights (with automatic levelling), font fog lamps with cornering function, keyless entry, as well as privacy glass from the B-pillar back.

Shared equipment with the lower-priced

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Business Edition models includes Toyota Touch 2 with Go satellite navigation system, auto lights and wipers, electric, windows, automatic air conditioning, an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system with DAB/ Bluetooth/USB/iPod/AUX connectivity, a colour 4.2-inch TFT multi-information display ahead of the driver, a reversing camera, as well as Toyota’s Safety Sense package (auto high-beam, lane departure alert, (pre-collision, and road sign assist systems).

Among the Avensis Business Edition Plus’ competition, the five-door, 148bhp 2.0-litre Duratorq TDCi diesel-powered Ford Mondeo costs from £24,745 in near-equivalent Titanium specification, while the four-door Volkswagen Passat SE Business is £25,045 with a 2.0-litre 148bhp diesel engine.

Unlike the Toyota and Ford, there is no petrol-powered version of the German car.

The South Korean Hyundai i40 SE Nav Business 1.7 CRDi with 139bhp starts at £23,995, while the 134bhp Vauxhall Insignia Tech Line 1.6 CDTi Start/Stop ecoFLEX costs £22,764, but is cheaper to tax, with emissions of just 99g/km.

Another key rival is the good-looking and practical Skoda Superb – the 108g/km SE Business 1.6 TDI 120 is priced at £22,055.

How much does it cost to tax?

Toyota quotes CO2 emissions of 109g/km for the 1.6 D-4D Business Edition Plus. This means it just slots into VED Band B, which has first-year tax rate of £0, followed by £20 per year thereafter. Interestingly, the smaller-wheeled Avensis 1.6 D-4D models emit 1g/km of CO2 less, while the ‘dirtiest’ model sits squarely into VED Band F, which attracts a first-year and standard rate of £145. Benefit in Kind 2016-2017 rates range from the 21 per cent of our test car to 28 per cent for the 143g/km versions.

Why does my fleet need one?

Approved by environmental transport website Next Green Car, and with an NGC Rating of 36, the Toyota Avensis saloon is one of the greenest cars in the large family class. While the drive might not be as sharp as the new looks, the big Toyota enjoys a five-year/100,000-mile warranty, and is immensely practical with a colossal 509-litre boot. Competitively priced with increased efficiency, and with both more on-board and safety technology, the new Toyota Avensis enjoys the reputation built up and shared by its predecessors: for fleet buyers, it remains a comfortable and dependable choice. # FURTHER INFORMATION www.toyota.co.uk

Toyota Avensis Business Edition Plus 1.6 D-4D ENGINE:

1,598cc, four-cylinder diesel

CO2:

Road Test

Both saloon and ‘Touring Sports’ estate Avensis models are available

109g/km

NOx:

0.018g/km

MPG (combined):

67.3

GF MPG (combined):

48.4

VED:

Band B, £0 first year, £20 thereafter

BIK:

19%

PRICE (OTR):

£23,955 (inc VAT, £24,450 as tested)

The new Avensis’ cabin feels cocooning and extremely comfortable

Downlo ad the GreenF leet app app.g at reenfl eet.ne for more t images and conten t

Volume 96 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

49

Road Test

Astra-economical

Written by Richard Gooding

The new Vauxhall Astra promises lower emissions, enhanced efficiency, a more dynamic drive, and more technology. Richard Gooding finds out if the all-new, British-built hatchback delivers these benefits to both business and family car drivers

50

What is it?

The Astra has been a staple of the Vauxhall range since 1979, when it replaced the Viva. Also know as the Opel Kadett, the first-generation car was the premier compact front-wheel drive from the British company and took on rivals such as the contemporary Volkswagen Golf. The latest version is the seventh-generation car, launched at the 2015 Frankfurt motor show. As the Astra has developed, so has the Golf (also now in its seventh generation) and the Vauxhall hatchback still faces up to its German rival in the competitive family car and fleet markets.

Key with both the first-generation and the new model for the fleet market is the choice of a diesel engine. A 1.6-litre unit played an

important part 37 years ago, and it’s the same today. The 1,598cc ‘Whisper Diesel’ which powers today’s car is far removed from that old original unit, though. With emissions as low as 88g/km on some versions, the 1.6-litre CDTi is available in 108, 134 and 158bhp variants. Vauxhall states its efficiency trumps all other engines in the new Astra’s range with a quoted combined economy figure of 91.1mpg for the 108bhp (110PS) ecoFLEX model.

That’s the engine on test here, in mid-range Tech Line trim. Optional 17-inch wheels on our test car make emissions rise to 91g/km.

The styling of the new Astra is much more sports-orientated than that of the old car. Gone (for now) is the GTC three-door, but the five-door model tested here carries echoes of its sportier predecessor, thanks to a rising waistline. A ‘floating’ roof is one of

ll’s Vauxha-litre 6 new 1. Diesel’ er ‘Whisp give some enginesstra models new A ns as low emissio 8g/km as 8

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the new car’s most striking features, made simply by a piece of glass black trim on the C-pillar. Not all car shapes work when painted white, but the new Astra’s does. Altogether, it’s a handsome car, and attracted more than its fair share of admiring glances during the week it spent with us. As well as the five-door, there’s even more family-friendly practicality on offer with the Sports Tourer estate version.

How does it drive?

The new Astra has a low seating position – in part thanks to that rising waistline – and the whole interior ambience brings coupé rather than family hatchback to mind. The door panels come up to your shoulder, creating a cocooning feel, while the quality of the fittings edges ever successfully nearer to its Golf nemesis. The eight-inch colour IntelliLink touchscreen infotainment system is clear and crisp and has most connections drivers should need including DAB, Bluetooth, USB, AUX, navigation, smartphone mirroring as well as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

How economical is it?

The high-pressure, common-rail fuel injection system and the Lean NOx Trap (LNT) catalytic converter help to make the new Astra’s CDTi engines kinder to the environment.

The LNT is an exhaust after-treatment

system upstream of the diesel particulate filter, which captures and removes nitrogen oxides from the exhaust gases without the use of additives such as AdBlue. For our particular test car, Vauxhall quotes a combined cycle economy figure of 83.1mpg – we achieved a real-world average of 66.6.

That’s not the whole story, though. The new Astra is an easy car to achieve economical fuel returns in: over 69 per cent of our recorded figures were over that real-world figure, with the highest value being 73.5mpg. A colour ‘Economy Index’ graphic in the instrument display lets the driver easily see where economy sits at any given time (green being the most efficient values), while a simple bar chart informs of values over recent trips. A ‘Top Consumers’ display also lets drivers know which functions are using the most fuel.

Helping the new Astra’s efficiency is the all-new lightweight vehicle architecture, which sees weight reductions of up to 200kg (depending on model) when compared with its predecessor.

What does it cost?

The basic price of the Vauxhall Astra Tech Line 1.6 CDTi 110 S/S ecoFLEX is £18,345.

Our test car added a few choice optional extras to that list including Vauxhall’s OnStar SOS emergency help system at £395, and those emission-sapping 17-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels which cost the same. The cheapest and most efficient new Astra is New Astra is built in Britain and is a strikingly handsome car

Dow nload Gree the app. nFleet ap p at gree nfl for m ore im eet.net ages and conte nt

1,598cc, four-cylinder diesel

CO2:

91g/km

NOx:

0.052g/km

MPG (combined):

83.1

GF MPG (combined):

66.6

VED:

Band A, £0

BIK:

19%

PRICE (OTR):

£18,195 (inc VAT, £19,345 as tested)

the Design 1.6 CDTi 110 S/S ecoFLEX which starts at £17,495 for the 88g/km version.

Two of the new Astra’s key rivals in the small family car and fleet markets are the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf, and both offer equivalently-engined models. The similarly-equipped Ford Focus Zetec 1.5 TDCi 120 is £20,045 and emits more CO2 at 99g/km (less well-equipped Style models costs £19,395 and also offers 88g/km), while the 89g/km Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion 1.6 TDI costs £21,705. An 108bhp 1.6-litre Match Edition is also available at £22,350 but it only has a five-speed gearbox.

One thing is worth pointing out, though: the new Astra is quite difficult to see out of when it comes to reversing and parking and distance sensors are a £450 option on all models. A basic set of sensors should be standard – Tech Line implies the car has all the on-board technology a driver would need – or a cheaper system made optional. However, all models from SRi upwards have Vauxhall’s ‘OnStar’ emergency and personal service assistance system as standard.

How much does it cost to tax?

All the new Astra’s engines are tuned with the environment in mind, and the ECOTEC range of petrol and diesel units encompasses emissions from as low as 88g/km to 142g/km. This means VED starts at £0 for the 88-99g/km versions, rising to £145 for the 1.6-litre 197bhp turbo petrol model. The 101 and 111, and 112g/km cars will cost £0 first year and £20 and £30 per year thereafter respectively.

Benefit in Kind starts at 18 per cent for the cleanest diesel variants and rises to 25 per cent for the most powerful petrol models.

Interior has quality feel and is largely well-equipped

New Vauxhall Astra is an easy car to drive economically.

‘Economy Index’ graphic informs of average miles per gallon

ENGINE:

Road Test

Just like the latest Corsa, the new Astra is a step up in terms of driving enjoyment when compared to its predecessor. Well-weighted steering just feels ‘right’, as do all the control weights. Handling is towards the fun rather than family end of the scale, too, with crisp turn in and little body roll, and the new Astra feels quite taut for ‘just’ a sensible five-door hatchback. The ride is good, too, and again, while it feels firm, it’s not overly so. Add in some good cushioning of outside world bumps when the going gets rough, and even in the rear, the new Astra is a comfortable car to be in.

The ‘comfort’ seats do exactly as they say, too.

On the move, the new Astra is a refined car, and even under acceleration there’s little noise to be heard. Tyre rumble is noticeable on rougher surfaces, though, and we wonder if the standard 16-inch wheels the Tech Line model comes with would help reduce road noise. With 221lb ft (300Nm) of torque produced between 1,750-2,500rpm, the 1,598cc CDTi engine has plenty of poke, and accelerates well for one so supposedly eco-friendly. Just to round out the stats, maximum speed is 124mph, while the 0-62mph dash is dispensed with in 10.2 seconds.

Vauxhall Astra Tech Line 1.6 CDTi S&S ecoFLEX

Thanks to new ‘Whisper Diesel’ engines, new Astra has emissions as low as 88g/km

Why does my fleet need one?

Awarded the 2016 European Car of the Year prize, the new Astra looks good, is comfortable, drives more athletically, and offers near class-leading efficiency. Competitive prices also play their part, and here, the new family and business challenger from Vauxhall is strong. All things considered, there’s very little not to like, and business users as well as family drivers should find most if not all their needs fulfilled by the seventh-generation Astra. On this outing, Vauxhall has judged its new C-segment hatchback just right: it’s a confident and very capable contender. # FURTHER INFORMATION www.vauxhall.co.uk

Volume 96 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

51

PHEV Diary Written by Richard Gooding

MONTH SIX

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV GreenFleet’s sixth month with the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV sees it once again beat all previous monthly mileage totals, and as it reaches its penultimate report, other owners share their experiences with the big plug-in hybrid SUV I thought WV65 YUO’s mileage bar had been well and truly reached last month, but once again, this period has seen it rise still further.

Almost 2,000 miles have passed under the big Mitsubishi’s 18-inch alloy wheels since the last report. The advent of the warmer temperatures and weather has seen the all-electric range edge closer to the quoted 32 miles, though, although if the car is left standing for a while, the energy (and therefore range) drains away a little. However, as in report five (GreenFleet issue 95), there have been a couple of occasions where I have arrived home using no fuel at all, the car running under electric mode for the whole of my 25-ish mile journey. On the flip side, once again a disproportionate amount of longer journeys saw the 2.0-litre petrol engine used more than it probably should be, with the resulting fuel costs of £113.08 disappointingly higher than I’d anticipated.

With nothing major to report this month – bar the mileage reaching the 10,000 milestone – I thought I’d canvass the thoughts of owners of the Outlander PHEV to see just how it stacks up for people out in the real world. The popular and useful Speak EV forum (speakev.com) provides a good place for EV and PHEV drivers to discuss their cars, and it was largely here I gathered responses to a few key questions.

Thanks to all the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV owners who took the time to reply.

“First toe in the water of EV ownership” It would seem that the Outlander PHEV is a vehicle which replaces one or even maybe

52

two cars for some drivers. For others, it suburban, in EV mode. Myself and my was a simple case of a low-tax, company partner both work from home, so daily car which held much appeal. Space and commutes are short – less than five miles – ‘eco-friendliness’ played a part for many, and usually total around 10-15 per day.” too, and the Mitsubishi also lets drivers dip It seems that EV-only mode is a common their toe in EV waters, as ‘BeeJay’ of Marlow thing with Outlander PHEV owners. Larry explained: “I replaced a Range Rover and a Goff commented: “I actually got a warning Peugeot 107 with one car that had nearly telling me to use some petrol. I use the the utility of the Range Rover, with the car for journeys to the office and only run economy of the 107, and allowed me to put on electricity. I’d run it so long without my first toe in the water of EV ownership.” making the engine cut in, that the car Shaun Hampton-Matthews commented actually told me to use some fuel as the that his Outlander PHEV chose itself: “As a quality of it might be degrading.” Other company car driver, I was set to order another drivers, such as ‘lthomasrx’ commute a VW Tiguan until a PHEV-owning colleague distance similar to mine on faster roads, pointed out the tax benefits. I did test drive stretches of urban areas either end. the car and was pleasantly surprised at Selected owners can charge the the quality and feel. A car benefit car at their place of work, too, tax reduction of over £250 per which undoubtedly helps the e Th month sealed the deal.” economy. ‘BeeJay’ again: f Over the course of its “I commute to my office dvent o ther a a past five-and-a-half which is 24 miles away, e w r months with GreenFleet, where I can plug in and warme een the ‘our’ Outlander PHEV has s HEV’s EV on most days make GX4hs has largely been it without the engine er P used for commutes starting up. I also take Outland edge closer of between 25-30 the car on longer trips range e quoted miles, which usually to Devon (220 miles each to th iles sees the EV-range expire way), and once a week m 2 3 before the journey’s end. drive into central London, However, others use it on a when I get a charge if I can.” much more local basis. Lynda Gauld Peter Galbavy uses his Outlander for example uses her car mainly around PHEV almost exclusively around the capital: urban environments: “I have driven “The vast majority of my journeys are round around 6,400 miles in nine months and trips from home in North London into town, 90 per cent of those have been urban/ all within the charge range. Commuting is

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Destination charging, workplace charge points Conveniently, that brings us on to charging.

Most of the informal GreenFleet-canvassed Outlander owners charge up at home in the evening or overnight. Only a couple of owners said that they use the public network – and only then very occasionally – contrary to Ecotricity’s claims that its new £6 for 30 minutes charging model was brought in because Mitsubishi Outlander PHEVs are “clogging up the rapid charger network” (read more: bit.ly/2adbc6s). Others use destination charging if available, or refill the battery with workplace charge points.

The majority of our informal owner sample charge every day if they can. Shaun Hampton-Matthews’ car is charged almost all the time: “I plug the car in when returning home, so it often charges during the day.

I only use the supplied charger plugged into an outdoor 13A domestic socket.”

Some owners, such as ‘SolarBoy’ of Waterlooville are enterprising with their charges: “I have a 6kW East/West Solar panel and a dedicated 32A EV charger.

When the sun is out during late spring/ summer I can charge at the Outlander’s full 16 amps just using solar power and still run my home office. Even in winter enough energy is created during the month to cover the electricity used to charge.”

Lifetime economy While a combined cycle 156mpg might be an impressive fuel economy return, we’ve all learned over the past few months that quoted figures are an inexact (and unrealistic) science. I have beaten Mitsubishi’s figure twice through judicious charging, but what do other drivers achieve? Compared to her old SAAB, Lynda Gauld saves around £138 per month and gets a regular 150mpg: “We have averaged around £28 per month in charging costs, and we are on the fifth tank of petrol. We average around 45mpg on motorway and A-road trips.”

‘SolarBoy’ stated: “Lifetime economy is just above 87mpg. On a typical day we’d not use any petrol. I use pre-heating whilst plugged in to pre-heat the vehicle during the winter, and this is absolute genius.”

For others, like ‘lthomasrx’, the Outlander’s economy is an easy thing to assess: “I purchased the car in May 2015 and my overall average since purchase is 62.09mpg.

What is more convincing for me that I made the right choice is the fuel cost per mile – my 2.0-litre diesel Nissan Xtrail over three years averaged 17p per mile, the Outlander PHEV averages 10p per mile.” Ray Hanks from Manchester measured his economy over a set three-and-a-half-week period: “We achieved a staggering 229mpg. But, in truth, such measurements are academic.

With our driving patterns, we ran the car for six weeks without the fuel gauge moving at all. We could call that 1,000mpg but when in full EV mode there is no significant

fuel consumption, so the measurement becomes irrelevant.” ‘Wobblydeb’ meanwhile states that, “Lifetime economy is 70mpg over 3,500 miles. We do not have home charging, but are managing to do about 50 per cent of our miles on electric only.”

Jim Wardrope is another owner who rarely feels the petrol engine kick in: “For short trips, the mpg is almost infinite as the charge gets us most of our usual destinations. On a 125-mile journey between Sheffield to Cumbria, the fuel consumption is 40mpg, but that is starting with a full battery charge.” Shaun Hampton-Matthews reports that the car’s infotainment system economy read-outs are accurate: “It shows my petrol fuel economy as 33mpg. I have been keeping a note of the fuel I’ve used and the combined cycle figure is nearer 40.

Both figures tally with the car’s system.”

Generally, our selected owners report economy as low as 29mpg, and as high as 150mpg, with usage cycles being critical to the results. The average in this small group seems to hover around the 60-70mpg mark.

Collective praise Finally, I wanted to know what the owners generally think of the car. They were almost all collectively in praise of the Outlander PHEV. ‘BeeJay’ liked almost everything: “It’s faultlessly reliable, reasonably comfortable, relatively quiet (even on motorways), and the adaptive radar cruise control is awesome.”

‘SolarBoy’ is equally generous with his praise: “I love to drive this car. The steering

ENGINE:

1,998cc four-cylinder petrol with 2 x 60kW electric motors and 12kWh battery

CO2:

PHEV Diary

feasible because of the London Congestion Charge discount and unused parking spaces at work as no-one else drives in,” he said.

Logbook: month six 2016 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV GX4hs

42g/km

RANGE

32.5 miles (electric only), 541 miles (hybrid mode)

PRICE (OTR):

£38,499 (inc VAT, after government PiCG grant, £39,549 as tested)

DATE ACQUIRED:

February 2016

MILES THIS MONTH:

1,987

OUR MPG:

152.9

OFFICIAL MPG: OUR ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION:

156 3.76 miles/kWh

FUEL COSTS THIS MONTH: £113.08 COSTS THIS MONTH:

£0

PHEVs and seem happy, especially when other factors such as the drive and the lower running costs are taken into consideration.

“Comfortable and well-built” Porsche driver Larry Goff in particular has been impressed with his 2014 model: “It’s comfortable and well-built. I’ve come from cars such as Mercedes and

“In a world full of disappointment and lack of quality, EV driving and this excellent car seems to be bucking that trend” is responsive, and it is easy and relaxing to drive. I feel safe, protected, and the LED headlights are amazing. If you need to put your foot down, mid-range acceleration is phenomenal. Grip is amazing, too, even in the wet.” He goes on: “I am a petrol head and my first car was a Ford Capri 2.0 S. I loved my Capri but think I love the Outlander PHEV more. I drive everyone bonkers by continually talking about electric cars!” I can see where he’s coming from...

Elsewhere, the on-board and motive tech appeals to ‘Wobblydeb’: “We absolutely love the technology, and believe that electric is definitely the way forward. The Outlander PHEV is lovely to drive and surprisingly easy to manoeuvre in town thanks to the parking cameras and good turning circle.”

Dislikes? The fiddly and awkward-to-use MMCS infotainment system comes in for some criticism from our non-scientific selection of drivers (and is something we’ve talked about before: bit.ly/2adRhXQ). The only other gripe is that the car maybe doesn’t feel as well built as other 4x4s, with easily scratched paint being a notable issue. Having said that, though, owners have replaced such cars as Jaguars, Land Rovers, Mercedes, Volvos, and even Porsches with Outlander

Porsches and did wonder how it would compare, but overall, I’m impressed.”

Ray Hanks is almost evangelical is his love for the big Mitsubishi: “I thought I’d miss the 3.0-litre Jaguar I gave up to get the PHEV but that’s a distant memory.

Right now, we plan to replace the PHEV with another at the end of the lease. In a world full of disappointment and lack of quality, EV driving and this excellent car seems to be bucking that trend.”

So, from our small and informal sample, it appears it’s not just GreenFleet which thinks the plug-in hybrid Mitsubishi is a great all-rounder and an excellent ‘bridge’ to a proper, battery-electric vehicle. We’ll leave the final word to Ray Hanks: “This has got to be the way of the future and the Outlander PHEV has to be a prime example of the great choices on offer. Networks of charging points will start to be better organised with a more cohesive way of using them. The big winner is clearly going to be the ozone and our health.” # FURTHER INFORMATION Visit bit.ly/29Xyz2Y to read a selection of our Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV owners’ comments in full.

Volume 96 | GREENFLEET MAGAZINE

53

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QUITTING LETS NICK BREATHE EASY

Aiming to halve corporate emissions and save £140,000* on contract hire and fuel.

By quitting a conventional fleet for petrol full hybrids, Nick is helping to cut Itec’s CO2, NOx and particulate emissions by 50%. Thanks to lower BIK, drivers will also pocket average tax savings worth £1,200 each over the next three years. And, as contract hire and fuel costs will also fall by £140,000, Nick can breathe easy too.

Read Nick’s story at toyotalexusfleet.co.uk

* Saving based on switching original VW diesel fleet to Toyota and Lexus hybrids.