{"id":8228,"date":"2016-01-13T15:54:34","date_gmt":"2016-01-13T15:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/?p=8228"},"modified":"2016-01-13T15:54:34","modified_gmt":"2016-01-13T15:54:34","slug":"hybrid-power-delivers-20-fuel-saving-on-7-5t-unit-will-it-work-for-vans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/archives\/8228","title":{"rendered":"Hybrid power delivers 20% fuel saving on 7.5t unit — will it work for vans?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hybrid electric-petrol\u00a0cars are becoming increasingly common, to the point where\u00a0they are among the most popular models sold (as with\u00a0some Toyota cars).\u00a0Fuel consumption is genuinely increased\u00a0with no extra operating cost for the owner.<\/p>\n

It seems that a similar situation is starting to exist with\u00a0lorries, at least at the lower end of the weight scale. Temperature-controlled\u00a0distribution specialist Evans European Transport recently acquired its first diesel-electric FUSO Canter. This was used to replace a conventional diesel truck from another manufacturer doing the same work.<\/p>\n

\"Evans

Evans European Transport’s first Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid is delivering significant fuel savings.<\/p><\/div>\n

The\u00a0Canter Eco Hybrid is already delivering 17.5mpg,\u00a0whereas the conventional vehicle only managed 14mpg, according to Evans. That’s a fuel saving of 20%.\u00a0Returns from the Canter are also likely to improve further as the engine loosens up and is run in.<\/p>\n

FUSO trucks are sold by Mercedes-Benz dealers in the UK and are increasingly popular, thanks to their\u00a0above-average payload and low running costs. The\u00a0 Canter 7C15 Eco Hybrid<\/a> is powered by a 110 kW (150hp) diesel engine that works in parallel with a state-of-the-art 40 kW (54hp) electric motor.<\/p>\n

From stationary it uses electric power only, then switches to a combination of diesel and electric operation once a speed of around 6 mph has been reached. Depending on the power demand, the electric motor also supports the diesel at higher speeds; mode switching is seamless, requiring no input from the driver. To optimise fuel-saving an Idle Start-Stop system is fitted as standard.<\/p>\n

The compact, lightweight electric motor and lithium-ion batteries \u2013 covered by a 10-year, unlimited mileage warranty, fully supported by FUSO \u2013 mean the hybrid version weighs just 160 kg more than the standard diesel-powered Canter, resulting in a 5.0 tonne body and payload allowance.<\/p>\n

Given that this technology appears to generate worthwhile savings\u00a0in both cars and lorries,\u00a0it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to make it work in vans.<\/p>\n

A spate<\/a> of trials<\/a> around 2008\/9 suggested that fuel savings of 20-25% could be achieved with\u00a0corresponding CO2 reductions, but things have\u00a0gone quiet since then.\u00a0Hybrid vans<\/a> remain\u00a0thin on the ground. None of the major volume\u00a0manufacturers yet offer one — instead, it’s left to aftermarket converters such as award-winning\u00a0Ashwoods<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Possible reasons for this are greater upfront cost and question marks over residual values. But\u00a0I’d have thought that the experience of the car sector would\u00a0enable\u00a0big fleet and lease operators to work out\u00a0good enough answers to these questions. A 10-year warranty on the electric motor and batteries — as with the FUSO Canter — should also ease concerns.<\/p>\n

Another possibility of course is that low fuel prices mean manufacturers and operators\u00a0no longer\u00a0feel the same urgent need to cut fuel consumption as they did in 2008, when oil prices touched an all-time high of $148 per barrel. Today, the figure is around $31 per barrel and petrol has dipped below a quid for the first\u00a0time in some years.<\/p>\n

We’ll have to see how the market develops, but it’s worth\u00a0considering that if Evans’ hybrid Canter does 60,000 miles per year (I’m guessing here), then the 3.5mpg difference between the diesel truck’s 14mpg and the Canter’s 17.5mpg\u00a0equates to a fuel saving of 20%, or 3,820 litres of diesel per year.<\/p>\n

The financial and environmental implications are considerable over a 3-5 year\u00a0operating cycle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Evans European Transport’s first hybrid 7.5t truck has cut fuel consumption by around 20%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[1823,1779,257],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8228"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8230,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8228\/revisions\/8230"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}