Toyota Forms Electric Vehicle Joint Venture

Toyota Motor Corporation has formed a joint venture with Mazda Motor Corporation and Denso Corporation to develop basic structural technologies for electric vehicles (EVs) with a view to reducing costs and lead times.

The three companies are establishing a new company that will develop a diverse range of models, from mini-vehicles to passenger vehicles, SUVs and light trucks to ensure flexible and rapid response to market trends.

Called the EV Common Architecture Spirit Co. Ltd, the new company will be owned 90 per cent by Toyota while Mazda and Denso will each have stakes of five per cent.

Toyota, Japan's largest vehicle manufacturer, said the joint technological development project would ensure efficient development processes, and take advantage of existing production facilities.

It would allow Toyota and Mazda to create appealing EVs that embody the unique identities of each brand and avoid the commoditisation of EVs.

Toyota said new regulations that mandate a certain proportion of electric vehicle sales are beginning to emerge as countries adopt increasingly stringent policies to help reduce greenhouse gases.

It said complying with these environmental regulations, while ensuring sustainable growth, required the development of a wide range of powertrains and technologies.

"We regard electric vehicles (EVs) as a key technological field in this process alongside fuel-cell vehicles," Toyota said in a statement.

"With EVs yet to find widespread market acceptance, the huge investments and time required to cover all markets and vehicle segments is a pressing issue for individual automakers when responding to the widely varying demand for vehicles around the world.

"The new company aims to innovate the development process by combining the strengths of each company, including Mazda's bundled product planning and prowess in computer modelling-based development, Denso's electronics technologies, and the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform."

Toyota, Mazda and Denso also aim to create a business structure that is open to participation by other automakers and suppliers.

The new partnership builds on last month's announcement that Toyota and Mazda would work together to develop electric car and advanced safety technologies. As part of that announcement, Toyota agreed to take a five-per-cent stake in Mazda.

The new company will engage in the following:

1. Research into the characteristics (common architecture*) that define optimum performance and functions of EVs from the standpoint of both individual components and the whole vehicle.

2. Verification of component installation and vehicle performance realised by the characteristics achieved in item 1)

3. Examination of the optimum concept for each car classification with regard to each component and each type of vehicle realized by achieving items 1) and 2).

It will initially have approximately 40 employees including selected engineers from the three companies.

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Sunswift Violet ready to compete in World Solar Challenge

Sunswift Violet, a sleek four-seat sedan designed and built by engineering students at UNSW, left Sydney on Wednesday on a 4,300 km drive to Darwin, where it will compete in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.

It is the sixth-generation solar car created by the UNSW Solar Racing Team Sunswift (EV News had the opportunity to test Sunswift eVe back in 2014), built for practicality, speed and endurance, combining cutting-edge technology with modern comfort.

Sunswift Violet will be battling 47 teams from 21 nations in the 3,021 km race from Darwin to Adelaide, which begins on Sunday 8 October 2017.

“Violet looks like a family sedan, but uses as much power as a four-slice toaster,” said Sunswift team leader Simba Kuestler. “She’s got entertainment and air-conditioning systems, including navigation, reverse camera parking sensors, and there’s even wi-fi aboard. And she’s got plenty of front and rear boot space.”

It has a top speed of 130 km/h and a range of 800 km running just on its rooftop solar panels. It also sports modular lithium-ion batteries which store power from the sun; running just on its batteries, it has a range of 400 km. The vehicle relies on around 7kW of horsepower at 110km/h, and two 1.5kW motors that run at 98% efficiency.

With a twill carbon-fibre monocoque chassis, Sunswift Violet weighs less than 400kg. And because good aerodynamics are vital in the quest for energy efficiency – the more slippery the car, the better – Sunswift Violet has a drag coefficient below 0.2, better than the best wind-cheating cars on the market.

While undergoing race testing at the Sydney Motorsport speedway in Eastern Creek late last week, the car experienced a mishap: a bolt on the left-hand front suspension fractured during intense speed braking tests, causing the car to drop onto the roadway and skid for some 30 metres. There were four students aboard at the time, but no-one was hurt.

Mark Hoffman, UNSW’s Dean of Engineering, said challenges like these were a learning opportunity: “The car is operating at the cutting-edge of what’s possible, and the students are putting it through strenuous testing ahead of a race where they will face intense conditions, so it’s no surprise they will face setbacks,” he said. “That’s what an engineering degree should be about, learning about demanding, real-world challenges.”

Despite the setback, the team of undergraduate students worked late nights and over the weekend to repair the damage and reinforce all the dynamic systems of the car, in order meet their original schedule.

The Sunswift team holds the world land-speed record for an electric vehicle, recognised in 2014 by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, when their previous vehicle – Sunswift eVe – travelled at an average 100 km/h over a distance of 500 km on a single charge. This broke a record that had stood for 26 years, and was recognised with a world record trophy.

Teams competing in this year’s Bridgestone World Solar Challenge come from Belgium, Canada, Chile, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States as well as Australia.

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Opel Ampera-e Covers 750 Kilometers on Single Charge

A TV crew from auto mobil, a show on the VOX channel, wanted to know exactly what the Opel Ampera-e electric range champion was capable of and whether it could drive from the most easterly to the most westerly city in Germany on a single charge. From Görlitz to Aachen - a distance of 750 kilometers.

With an official range of 520 kilometers measured in accordance with the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) Opel’s electric car boasts a considerably larger range than its current closest segment rivals. And the Opel Ampera-e also impresses when tested approximated to the speed profile defined in the WLTP (Worldwide Harmonized Light-Duty Vehicles Test Procedure) driving cycle (shortened test procedure): Based on this development test, the engineers estimate a combined WLTP range of 380 kilometers.

Naturally, the range in everyday use varies and depends on personal driving behavior and on external factors. And this is exactly where VOX auto mobil head of testing Albert Königshausen and presenter Alexander Bloch come into play. The duo set off from Görlitz in a standard Opel Ampera-e at the end of August. Their route took them along country roads towards Aachen.

The two journalists took turns at the wheel and patiently reeled off kilometer after kilometer at speeds mainly between 40 and 50 km/h for no less than 25 hours and 30 minutes, making full use of the brake energy regeneration of the Ampera-e, thus charging the battery under deceleration (recuperation). And then the ‘external factors’ had their say. Diversions extended the route by 20 kilometers and this was exactly the distance that the duo failed to reach the Aachen town sign by. When the 60 kWh lithium-ion battery was finally flat, the distance on the odometer was exactly 754.9 kilometers. On a single charge!

Ampera-e combines practicality with efficiency and temperament

Apart from dazzling with its exceptional range, the 4.16 meter long Ampera-e also offers plenty of space for up to five passengers plus trunk space of 381 liters (1,274 liters when the seats are folded down). This is made possible by the space-saving underbody integration of the large capacity batteries. ‘Das Elektroauto’ also offers Opel-typical outstanding digital connectivity: The Ampera-e comes with latest generation IntelliLink infotainment, which is compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with Opel OnStar.

Elsewhere, the Opel Ampera-e also shines with its electrifying temperament based on the electric motor with its output that is equivalent to 150 kW/204 hp (PS) and instant torque of 360 Nm. This enables it to accelerate from 0 to 50 km/h in just 3.2 seconds and from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds – times rivalling those of sports cars. Mid-range acceleration from 80 to 120 km/h, which is especially important for overtaking maneuvers, is completed in just 4.5 seconds. Top speed is limited to 150 km/h for the benefit of the overall range.

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VW announce $84 billion investment in electric cars

Volkswagen is stepping up its shift to electric cars and plans to invest more than 20 billion euros ($24 billion) in zero-emission vehicles by 2030 to challenge pioneer Tesla in creating a mass market.

The world’s largest automaker by sales said on Monday it would roll out 80 new electric cars across its multi-brand group by 2025, up from a previous goal of 30, and wanted to offer an electric version of each of its 300 group models by 2030.

The German company had previously said it would spend more than 10 billion euros by 2025 on a move to electric vehicles.

“A company like Volkswagen must lead, not follow,” Chief Executive Matthias Mueller told reporters on the eve of the Frankfurt auto show as he unveiled the group’s “roadmap E”.

“We are setting the scene for the final breakthrough for e-mobility.”

VW’s electric car offensive mirrors pre-Frankfurt show announcements by German rivals.

Daimler said on Monday its Mercedes-Benz luxury brand planned to offer electric motors for all models by 2022, though cautioned the shift to lower-margin electric cars required extra cost savings.

BMW, which launched the i3 electric car in 2013, said on Thursday it was readying its factories to mass produce electric vehicles by 2020 and pledged to have 12 purely battery-powered models on offer by 2025.

The Volkswagen Group will fully electrify its entire model portfolio by 2030. That means: By then at the latest, there will be at least one electric variant of each of the Group’s around 300 models. For all brands and in all markets. “That’s not a non-binding declaration of intent, but a commitment we’ll be measured by as of this day,” stresses Müller.

The company will provide more than €20 billion for direct investment in industrializing electromobility by 2030. The money will be spent on vehicles based on two completely newly developed electric platforms, as well as on the plants and workforce qualification. It will also go toward the charging infrastructure.

“We also won’t let the issue of batteries be taken out of our hands,” emphasizes Müller. He adds that the company will need a battery capacity of more than 150 GWh a year by 2025 solely to fit its own e-fleet with lithium-ion batteries.

To cater for that enormous demand, the Volkswagen Group has initiated an invitation to tender for long-term strategic partnerships for China, Europe and the United States. “We’re talking here about one of the largest procurement projects in our industry’s history, one with a global order volume of more than €50 billion over its term,” states Müller. That was solely for the Group’s high-volume vehicles based on the all-electric architecture.

News of a €10 Billion battery Gigafactory surfaced last year with Salzgitter in the German state of Lower Saxony being a likely location.

VW invested in solid-state battery startup QuantumScape in late 2014 and have publicly stated they expect the technology can deliver 700 km range. VW is also targeting a 66 percent cost reduction by using a single battery module design for all of its electrified vehicles.

The CEO makes it clear that the campaign has ambitious objectives: “We want to make Volkswagen the world’s number 1 when it comes to electromobility by 2025.” One-in-four of all new vehicles from the Group might then be powered solely by electricity. “Depending on how the market develops, we’re talking here about up to three million e-cars a year.”

“Nothing can stop the transformation in our industry. And we’ll lead that transformation,” emphasizes Müller. His mission is to shape the system change in drive technology, boldly, uncompromisingly, yet responsibly. As the CEO notes: “Our goal is to redefine mobility. To make it sustainable, clean and better for our customers worldwide. That’s what drives us. That drives me personally. And it’s what 600,000 employees at the Volkswagen Group and our brands are working to accomplish.”

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Porsche trials full electric 40 ton truck for logistics

More than 600 trucks arrive at the Porsche plant in Leipzig every day as part of the company’s logistics network. Now the first truck with a purely electric drive is being used between the logistics centre and the assembly supply centre. This action is part of the eJIT research project, which involves Porsche Leipzig as well as IAV GmbH, Schnellecke Logistics, Volkswagen Sachsen and the Saxony Automotive Supplier Network. The aim of the pilot project is to test the use of electric trucks under real conditions in multi-shift operation at automotive plants.

The electric truck is charged during the planned waiting times while it is being loaded at the supply centre. The battery is charged while the process is ongoing using a 150-kW fast charger, enabling the truck to be used in three-shift operation. Once fully charged, the truck has a range of around 70 kilometres and a top speed of 85 kilometres per hour. Alongside the project at Porsche Leipzig, a second electric truck is being tested by Volkswagen Sachsen at the Zwickau plant.

The eJIT project is intended to run for a total of three years

A second stage of the project is scheduled for the coming year, with the Porsche plant in Leipzig set to operate a highly automated vehicle from 2018 onwards. The eJIT project is intended to run for a total of three years. The project partners IAV GmbH, Porsche Leipzig, Schnellecke Logistics, Volkswagen Sachsen and the Saxony Automotive Supplier Network have been working together since early 2016 on the electrification of trucks, with the aim of reducing noise and emissions at automotive sites.

The project is part of the technology programme “Information and communication technology for electric mobility III: Integrating commercial e-vehicles in logistics, energy, and mobility infrastructure”, which is run by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and is a continuation of the previous research into the commercial use of electric mobility.

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