Electric Land Vehicles

At IDTechEx we believe that there is an excellent solution being proved for the long distance battery vehicle, starting with trucks.

DTechEx attended the Automechanika and the unfortunately named Subcon exhibitions in Birmingham UK 5-7 June 2016.

Trucks have to clean up their act if they are not to become illegal under the impending 2025 and 2030 legislation and those that jump the gun will probably gain market share because that clean up typically comes with fuel saving key to profitability in fleet operations working on wafer thin margins. Everyone agrees about that - but how to do it? Complete disagreement.

The arguments for flying cars are style, convenience and cost saving; the stuff of fiction for 100 years.

The arguments for flying cars are style, convenience and cost saving; the stuff of fiction for 100 years. Park a car and a plane together in your garage.

Sales of hybrid cars in the USA collapsed from 3.2% of car sales in 2013 to under 2% in 2015 as Americans responded to the sharply reduced oil price. However the oil price will recover eventually so commentary that it heralds the death of hybrid vehicles is wide of the mark. Indeed hybrid car sales outside the USA were sharply up.

IDTechEx interviews have established that the move to 48V mild hybrids as the most affordable way to meet impending 2025 and 2030 emissions regulations very much embraces Chinese industry which already offers the key component, the Torque Assist Reversing Alternator TARA also known by other names.

Wikipedia says no. Wikipedia is wrong. It correctly identifies electric vehicles as those propelled by an electric motor for some or all of the time. However, from the first volume production of 48V hybrids in 2017, most will be capable of just that in the form of silent all-electric take-off just like a strong hybrid.

The end game with the 48V hybrid cars that will first appear in volume production in 2017 is having no 12V battery - just a beefy 48V one.

Extreme vehicle concepts have a habit of appearing in a car near you.