Three Awards for Ashwoods Hybrid Drive System

At the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Innovation Awards this year, Exeter-based Ashwoods distinguished itself amongst 420 entries to win three awards for its Hybrid Drive System, which can be fitted to Ford Transit vans. The awards were in the Power/Energy, Sustainability and Transport categories, perfectly reflecting the benefits offered by the system.

Hybrids are a hot topic in the car world but do not seem to have made the same impression in the van industry, despite the obvious benefits for vehicles employed on urban delivery routes.

In fact, while mainstream motor manufacturers have begun to embrace hybrid cars, it has been left to small independent companies like Ashwoods Automotive to develop retrofit hybrid solutions for popular van models.

Ashwoods has developed a highly-effective Hybrid Drive system for the Ford Transit that is currently being used by a number of public sector organisations. The Hybrid Drive system has been shown to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 20% over the European Drive Cycle (NEDC) in formal testing.

Visit www.ashwoods.org for more information.

ESP Compulsory for New Vans from 2014

New EU laws will make ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) compulsory for all new vans sold in the EU from 31st October 2014.

ESP became compulsory for all new car and van models undergoing EU type approval at the beginning of this month and the new law will mean that even older models must be updated if they are to be sold after 31st October 2014.

ESP was invented by Bosch in 1995 and is playing a major role in the European Commission’s road safety strategy. According to Dr. Werner Struth, president of the Bosch Chassis Systems Control division, “ESP can prevent up to 80 percent of all skidding accidents. It is the most important vehicle safety system after the seat belt.”

Most drivers have little or no ability to control a car when it skids, meaning that such incidents often result in major collisions.

The goal of ESP is to prevent skids. It does this by using  intelligent sensors to check 25 times per second whether the driver’s steering input matches the vehicle’s actual direction of travel. If the system detects some discrepancy and identifies that the vehicle is likely to become unstable, ESP intervenes by reducing the engine torque in order to restore stability. If that is not sufficient, then it additionally brakes individual wheels. ESP also incorporates the functions of the anti-lock braking system (ABS) and traction control.

There is no doubt that ESP is a valuable safety feature and I for one would much rather have ESP in my van (or car) than air bags. At present, ESP is fitted to 63% of cars and commercial vehicles under 6 tonnes manufactured in Europe (41% worldwide) and Bosch expects that by 2013, 50% of new cars globally will have ESP.