A new approach to electrified powertrain development, which aims to cut costs by almost a third, has been unveiled by Nissan.
The manufacturer claims the new approach, called X-in-1, will result in a 30% reduction in development and manufacturing costs by 2026, compared to 2019.
Nissan says that core electric vehicle (EV) and electric powertrain components will be shared and modularized.
The manufacturer has developed a three-in-one powertrain prototype, which modularises the motor, inverter and reducer in EVs.
A five-in-one prototype, which additionally modularises the generator and increaser, is planned for use in its e-Power vehicles.
The X-in-1 approach has been developed to enable EV and e-Power core components to be produced on the same line.
Nissan aims to achieve e-Power price parity with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by around 2026.
Senior vice president at Nissan, Toshihiro Hirai, who leads powertrain and EV engineering powertrain development, said: “We make the most of our expertise and know-how from our more-than-a-decade long development and production of electrified technologies.
“Through our innovations in electrified powertrain development, we’ll continue to create new value for customers and deliver 100% motor-driven vehicles – EVs and e-Power – as widely as possible.”
Under its long-term vision, Nissan Ambition 2030, the company aims to bolster its line-up with 27 new electrified models, including 19 EVs, by 2030.
Nissan says it wants to bring the “unique value” of its electrified vehicles to the broadest range of customers by introducing the most suitable models to each market at the appropriate time. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News
Testing of a dozen electric vehicles (EVs) in identical wintry conditions has revealed real-world ranges of up to a third less than official figures suggest.
The cars were driven from fully charged until they stopped. The worst performer – the Funky Cat, launched by Chinese carmaker Ora last year – fell 32.8% short of its official range, covering just 130 miles before stopping, compared with the official figure of 193 miles.
The car that got closest to its official range was the Nissan Ariya; it fell 16% short of its official figure, covering 269 miles rather than the 322 suggested.
The tests, conducted by ‘What Car?’, also showed that the Tesla Model Y came second in terms of getting closest to its official range, recording a shortfall of 17.8% on its official range of 331 miles, but covered the most distance overall, at 272 miles.
Will Nightingale, head of What Car?’s test team, said: “More and more people own or are considering electric cars, and it’s important that they understand the pros and cons of this technology, especially in terms of how far they are likely to go between charges.”
In 2020, the Norwegian Automobile Federation tested 20 BEVs in real-world winter conditions, and found that, on average, the range dropped by around 20%: a scenario which will be all too familiar to fleet operators across the UK.
The winter weather also slows down the speed at which a BEV can be charged and, although fleets can take actions to reduce the negative effect of the cooler conditions, such slowing cannot be eliminated.
Last year, both Centrica and Royal Mail reported seeing up to a 40% drop in range for their BEVs in cold conditions.
“We introduced our first 100 EVs throughout 2018/19, so we’ve had them for a couple of winters now,” says Anna Pearson, fleet innovation and environment manager at Royal Mail.
“The colder and darker conditions mean we have to use the heaters and lights more, and we have seen a drop in range.
“We’ve probably seen a drop of about 25% to 30%. That, obviously, depends on how the vehicle is being driven as well.”
In the What Car? test, all cars were driven at the same time at a test venue chosen to remove any variables that might hinder comparing results.
The 15-mile route simulated real-world driving conditions, taking in 2.6 miles of stop-start urban driving, four miles at a steady 50mph and eight miles at a constant 70mph.
Prior to testing, the tyre pressures were set to the manufacturer recommendation, before the cars were fully charged and left outside overnight for roughly 14 hours in temperatures that ranged from 0 to 2 degrees centigrade.
The cars were then plugged in again to ensure the batteries were full, ‘eco’ (or the closest equivalent) driving mode was selected, and all 12 were driven in convoy, swapping running order regularly to ensure no benefits were conferred by road position, until they ran out of charge.
All cars ran their heating systems to provide an interior temperature independently verified at 19.5 degrees.
Real Range test – real-world winter range vs official range
Car
Official range (miles)
Winter test range (miles)
Shortfall
Nissan Ariya 87kWh Evolve
322
269
16.4%
Tesla Model Y Long Range
331
272
17.8%
Mini Electric Resolute
141
113
20.2%
Genesis GV60 Premium
321
251
21.8%
BMW i4 eDrive40 M Sport (Pro Pack)
340
261
23.4%
Jaguar I-Pace EV400
261
197
24.6%
Volkswagen ID Buzz Style
255
192
24.8%
MG 4 Long Range Trophy
270
196
27.6%
Cupra Born 58kWh V3
255
182
28.7%
Renault Megane E-Tech Techno
270
189
29.9%
Renault Megane E-Tech Equilibre
275
187
32.1%
Ora Funky Cat First Edition
193
130
32.8%
What Car? previously analysed three of the cars on the same test route and to the same criteria at the height of summer (in July).
These were the Cupra Born, BMW i4 and Tesla Model 3. The only notable difference in car specification was the BMW running on 20-inch wheels in What Car?’s winter test rather than 19-inch units in the summer test.
In the winter test, the average range achieved by the trio was 18% lower than in summer, with the BMW faring worst (261 miles vs 317, a fall of 21.6%) and the Tesla doing best (272 miles vs 304, a fall of 11.8%).
The Cupra covered 182 miles, against 219 in summer, a fall of 20.6%.
Real Range test – winter vs summer
Car
Winter range (miles)
Summer range (miles)
Shortfall
Tesla Model Y Long Range
272
304
11.8%
Cupra Born 58kWh V3
182
219
20.6%
BMW i4 eDrive40 M-Sport Pro Pack
261
317
21.6%
“The car makers are obliged to quote the official range figures, because they are set to a criteria laid out by European legislators,” said Nightingale. “However, we believe that our testing is far more indicative of what a typical British driver is likely to achieve, and therefore gives car buyers a better understanding before they make the switch to electric.
“Despite falling short of their official figures, it’s still clear that many of these electric cars have the advantage of being cheaper to run than petrol or diesel equivalents assuming you can charge at home – even with the price of electricity so high at the moment.
“The most efficient, the Mini Electric, cost just 8.7p per mile to fuel. The most efficient petrol car we’ve ever tested, a Toyota Yaris, costs 11.2p a mile at today’s prices.” By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News
40 years ago, seatbelts became a legal requirement for front seat occupants – a change that heralded in a new era of road safety.
Backed up by the memorable ‘clunk, click, every trip’ motto, the introduction of seatbelts was the single biggest contribution to safety on our roads.
Fast forward to today and their impact is still felt, but seatbelts are no longer the only innovation keeping us safe.
Today’s vehicles feature a mind-boggling array of acronyms for devices and sensors which do what they can to mitigate the severity of accidents.
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are a suite of technological innovations that feed into our vehicles, from cruise control and automatic emergency braking to self-parking systems and intelligent speed adaptation.
But whereas the simplicity of the ‘clunk click’ slogan, and the easily understandable benefit of seat belts, was integral to improving safety by engaging with drivers and helping get the message across it is the sheer breadth of the systems available, and a lack of clarity around how they work, which causes not only confusion among drivers, but also mistrust too.
Red Corporate Driver Training carried out some exclusive research among 1,000 drivers to seek their opinions on ADAS, and it revealed a huge gulf in knowledge about these systems. We have to find a way to change this.
While 86% had heard of reversing and parking sensors, features such as a driver monitor system (ensuring the driver is alert) and intelligent speed adaptation (linking to traffic signs) only scored 40% and 34% awareness, respectively.
It’s a similar story when it comes to using these systems: 38% of respondents use reverse and parking sensors all the time, while a driver monitor system is used all the time by just 2.8% of drivers.
There are about as many reasons why drivers don’t use them as there are ADAS features. More than half (54%) of respondents say they don’t use them because ‘they like to be in control’, while 44% worry about becoming over-reliant on the technology.
There are other reasons. Cost is, of course, a barrier to some, with the price of buying a vehicle with ADAS fitted (and repairing it) a key consideration.
But most vehicles come fitted with many of these systems as standard now anyway.
The issue is mainly drivers’ lack of knowledge which impedes usage
Many don’t even realise it is in the vehicle, some are scared to try it on their own and others blame the vehicle manual for being too vague.
Others, simply, think they don’t need it, with ‘I feel I’m a great driver’ being a common response when asked about using ADAS.
This is where companies need to assess their approach.
After all, it is pointless to spend extra money on a fleet vehicle equipped with ADAS and then find the systems are not being used because of many of the reasons listed above.
When we asked the respondents what would encourage them to use ADAS, training was the first thing mentioned (either online, in-vehicle or in a classroom) by more than 50%.
This is a stark reminder that while technology improves at an inexorable rate, we mustn’t forget about the people who use it, and just assume that because a vehicle has systems fitted, somehow the issue has been magically solved.
Having the cleverest in-vehicle safety device ever invented is neither use nor ornament if it is not trusted or used by drivers. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News
Metropolitan Police data has revealed that tool theft from a vehicle has increased by 25% in the past year – accounting for a third of all tool thefts recorded in the capital in 2021 and 2022.
There were 34,712 tools stolen in London alone from January 2021 to October 2022. That’s a 62% increase on the 21,445 tools stolen from January 2019 to December 2020.
Tradespeople are 10 times more likely to experience tool theft from a vehicle than they are from a building site or their place of work – with only 14% of cases leading to the suspect being identified.
The Tool Theft in London 2022 report, collated by Herts Tools, come from a freedom of information request to the Metropolitan Police.
The data reveals the impact of tool theft in London, the most affected industries and the types of tools that are targeted most often.
Just 0.3% of all cases (3 cases per 1,000) between January 2021 and October 2022 ended in a charge for the suspect.
A suspect is 20 times less likely to be charged for tool theft from a vehicle than they are for any other theft category.
Stefano Lobban, director at Herts Tools, said: “It’s disappointing to see that the tool theft epidemic is getting worse in London, particularly from vehicles that now often have theft deterrents in place.
“It’s not surprising to see that high-price items such as powered hand tools are still the most sought-after by thieves. Amid the ongoing cost of living crisis, the trade for secondhand (and potentially stolen) tools is booming, tempting more people into stealing tools
“We’re urging those across all trades to double-check they have theft security measures in place, to avoid falling victim to crime.”
How to prevent tool theft
Don’t store tools in your van overnight.
Get a tool safe if you have to leave any tools in your van.
Always lock your van’s doors during the day, to keep opportunistic thieves out.
Park in a busy area covered by CCTV.
Fit an alarm to your van.
Mark tools with your name and postcode.
Use security tags or chips to deter thieves and help recovery if something is stolen.
Apply brightly coloured paint to make them more identifiable and less attractive to thieves.
Electric vehicle (EV) drivers have outlined what amenities they would like access to when charging their plug-in car away from their home.
One in five (21%) electric vehicle drivers look for retail and hospitality amenities at dedicated service stations, according to new research from Deloitte.
It found that top amenities sought by EV drivers whilst charging include coffee and beverages (64%), bathroom access (56%), Wi-Fi connectivity (55%), snacks and light meals (43%), and a lounge or sitting area (42%).
Jamie Hamilton, automotive partner and head of electric vehicles at Deloitte, said: “Traditional amenities such as coffees and bathroom access remain a priority for consumers, however there is growing demand for other retail services that consumer businesses should consider trapping into as drivers wait for their vehicles to charge.”
The Deloitte research also revealed a third (36%) of EV drivers say they are prepared to wait between 21 and 40 minutes to charge from empty to 80% battery capacity, with one in four (25%) prepared to wait between 41 minutes and an hour.
Hamilton continued: “Charge times are improving greatly with the development of battery technology and rapid chargers, but the charging window is widening both the consumer base and current time spent at service stations.
“Consumers are also signalling that they want more services and amenities made available to them during this time, presenting an opportunity for retailers and hospitality businesses to generate new revenue streams.”
The findings, based on responses from over 1,500 UK consumers, also reflected ongoing growth in hybrid working arrangements, with one in ten EV drivers indicating access to a private meeting room as useful while waiting for their vehicle to charge.
Andreas Scriven, head of leisure and hospitality at Deloitte said: “Changing working patterns mean many businesses are adapting their spaces and product offerings for consumers.
“As remote working becomes more prevalent, there will likely be increased consumer demand for ‘third spaces’ to work from when not in the office or at home.
“This also opens up opportunities for hospitality businesses to create dedicated workspaces, perhaps with additional benefits such as coffee and Wi-Fi, and expand product ranges to serve on-the-go workers using their vehicle charging time to work.”
In terms of leisure time, one in five EV drivers also said they would make use of a full-service restaurant whilst their vehicle charged at a public location.
Scriven continued: “Greater electric vehicle adoption has prompted a new market for hospitality services, with battery charging times also doubling as leisure time.
“Those businesses that look to new charge point locations and create the venues and services that consumers are demanding will make the most of the opportunities posed by EV charge time windows.”
The Global Automotive Consumer Study is an annual survey exploring consumer attitudes towards new automotive technology. The study, of driving-age consumers, is fielded in 24 countries and designed to be nationally representative of the overall population in each market.
The 2023 study includes more than 26,000 consumer responses across 24 global markets. The UK sample size was 1,514 and fielded between 21 and 29 September 2022. By Graham Hill Thanks To Fleet News
Competition in the car market thanks to the increased presence of Chinese manufacturers could drive down the prices of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), according to Grant Thornton.
The Chinese new electric vehicle market has increased by 110% in the past year, while the broader passenger car market increased by 14%, figures from the China Association of Vehicle Manufacturers suggest.
BYD was the strongest-performing Chinese carmaker, selling 1.62 million BEV and hybrid models, an increase of 132% year-on-year.
Such strong BEV sales have driven up BYD’s market value, making it the world’s third-largest automotive company by value after Tesla and Toyota.
Chinese OEMs are set to target the European market to keep their growth trend going, says Philip Nothard, insight and strategy director at Cox Automotive.
“Chinese brands are pricing aggressively in their home market and clearly show more willingness to compete on price than the European and American incumbent OEMs such as BMW, Stellantis, Mercedes Benz, Ford, and Tesla,” he explained.
“Currently, retail prices for Chinese brands are not significantly lower than European and American OEMs. However, they are substantially better equipped with full infotainment and ADAS systems.
“In contrast, the European and American OEMs are falling short in providing this as standard equipment for their vehicles.”
In the latest edition of Cox Automotive’s quarterly digital automotive insight update, AutoFocus, Grant Thornton says that Europe is expected to experience an influx of Chinese brands over the next two years, with cut-price product offerings in the premium and mass market, aiming to gain market share quickly.
This, it argues, could push down BEV and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle prices and put European OEMs’ margins under pressure.
Owen Edwards, head of downstream automotive at Grant Thornton UK, said: “During 2022, fewer than 2,000 Jeep vehicles (ICE vehicles) were sold in China, with only one Jeep sold in May 2022.
“This suggests Chinese brands are taking the pricing war not only to BEVs but also to ICE vehicles.
“With China’s advanced battery technology, sourcing of raw materials and more advanced BEV supply chain, Chinese OEMs can manufacture BEVs at €10,000 cheaper than European automakers, representing a significant cost advantage.”
It is unclear whether the EU will react to the influx of Chinese vehicles in the region by imposing further tariffs on imported vehicles to protect their domestic OEMs, says Grant Thornton.
It is clear, however, that Chinese carmakers must consider this possibility when deciding their long-term manufacturing strategies for Europe.
“At present, OEMs’ profitability has remained robust in the face of supply chain disruptions as vehicle shortages meant retail prices for vehicles have remained high, allowing OEMs’ margins in 2021 and early 2022 to hold up well,” continued Edwards.
“However, the rise in raw material prices and further disruptions in the supply chain caused by gas shortages in Europe have meant the profits of many OEMs have started to suffer.
“In 2023, OEMs are likely to stabilise their earnings against a backdrop of lower costs for some raw materials and a less volatile supply and distribution chain.
“As a result, production in US factories is increasing, and production utilisation is heading back to more normalised levels of 76%.”
Nothard says that the growing influence of Chinese brands adds another potential headwind for UK OEMs to counter in 2023.
“It’s also likely that the supply and demand for vehicles could be affected by any trade disruption caused by intensifying protectionism and sanctions,” he added.
“In addition, the UK’s Department of Transport is consulting on its Zero Emissions Vehicle policy. This could mandate automotive manufacturers to register a certain number of zero-emission cars and vans in the UK by 2024, in preparation for a 2030 ban on new pure petrol and diesel vehicles.”
Grant Thornton’s complete analysis can be found in Cox Automotive’s AutoFocus insight update. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News
National Highways is “urgently investigating” a two-hour software failure which affected large parts of the smart motorway network on Wednesday (February 22).
The outage froze signs and signals, and deactivated the stopped vehicle detection system from 8.30-10.30am.
The system is crucial to keeping drivers safe on smart motorways as it automatically detects a stopped vehicle. Without it, a vehicle would need to be detected by CCTV or National Highways patrols.
AA president Edmund King told the BBC that the failure meant drivers in vehicles that had broken down in live lanes were “sitting ducks”.
The fault occurred across the M5, M6, M62 and M60 as well as the M1 north of Northampton, but did not impact roads in the East and South East.
The software failure also meant that National Highways was unable to change signals in overhead gantries to close lanes with a red ‘X’ sign where a hazard had been detected.
National Highways blamed a software problem but added that it had not received any reports of incidents or injuries as a result.
Andrew Page-Dove, operational control director at National Highways, told the BBC that engineers had worked to repair the system “as soon as possible” and apologised for any inconvenience caused.
He said following the outage the agency had increased patrols and CCTV monitoring.
A similar outage lasting several hours occurred on October 26, last year.
Problems with the technology used on smart motorways to identify stopped vehicles in live lanes were flagged by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in a safety report, published in Decmeber.
The stopped vehicle detection system is a radar-based technology that is on every all lane running (ALR) smart motorway where the hard shoulder has been permanently converted to a live traffic lane.
The ORR report said that the performance of stopped vehicle detection was falling short of the performance requirements the company set itself.
In January, last year, the Department for Transport (DfT) halted the rollout of new, all-lane running smart motorway schemes until five years of safety data was available. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News
Three electric vehicle (EV) charge point operators (CPOs) have raised the cost of charging at peak times, due to high wholesale electricity costs.
GeniePoint, Ubitricity and Char.gy have all joined Tesla in deploying dynamic pricing across their public networks, offering drivers lower rates for charging at off-peak hours, and higher prices during times of peak demand.
Oliver Archer, lead analyst at Cornwall Insight, said: “Against the backdrop of rising commodity costs, charge point operators are trying to price in a way that supports the best use of their network, while still reflecting high input costs. Dynamic pricing may be a useful tool in this task, if done well. In many cases it will clearly be preferable to pushing up costs across the whole day.
“The challenge lies in setting a tariff that works for CPOs and drivers. Using the public network can already be complex and frustrating, and CPO’s need to ensure that dynamic pricing is seen as an opportunity by customers and not simply another inconvenience. This includes getting the tariff structure right and helping drivers to navigate a network of moving prices from multiple operators. The risk is that difficult decisions prompted by the energy crisis could push us towards dynamic pricing faster than we can help customers adjust to and take advantage of it.”
EV charger dynamic pricingThe price that EV drivers pay at the charger is comprised of several aspects including: the cost of electricity, the cost of installing infrastructure, the operation and maintenance of the charging network, as well as VAT at 20% for public charging.
Energy suppliers also add on non-commodity costs, their own running costs and margin on top of wholesale electricity.
While the CPOs have been motivated to implement dynamic pricing for similar reasons, the structures of their tariffs are varied, with differences between when peak prices occur and what are off-peak and peak rates. Ubitricity has also introduced an element of smart charging, with drivers able to delay charging until after the peak period ends.
Cornwall Insight says the optimum dynamic pricing structure will depend on the contracts between CPOs and energy suppliers, expected demand throughout the day, and the willingness of customers to adjust behaviour around the price. What works in one case may be less appropriate in another, depending on where the chargers are located.
The cost of charging an electric vehicle (EV) at home, on a standard variable tariff, has increased by around 20% this winter. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News
Drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) can boost their battery range by up to 10% when using EV-specific tyres, says Michelin.
However, research conducted by the tyre manufacturer showed that most drivers are unaware that EV-specific tyres are available, with three-quarters (72%) of drivers in the dark.
John Howe, managing director for UK and Ireland at Michelin, says that EV-specific tyres “can enhance battery range, allowing drivers to travel further per charge”, but also “last longer on an electric car than a standard tyre”.
Further research also revealed that the increase to battery range is viewed by respondents as the main benefit of EV-specific tyres (35% of drivers), with the second most important benefit proving to be that EV-specific tyres last longer on an EV than a standard tyre (one in five respondents).
Howe continued: “A great deal of innovation and research goes into producing a tyre that can increase the range of an electric car.
“It requires the incorporation of several new tyre technologies to lower rolling resistance, increase efficiency and optimise the handling characteristics of electric cars.
“However, to truly get the most out of an EV, drivers should ensure they are making use of every opportunity available to them. To this end, we have provided our expert-recommended Top Tips for increasing EV battery range.”
MICHELIN’S TOP TIPS FOR INCREASED EV RANGE
1. DRIVE MORE SLOWLY AND SMOOTHLY
Electric cars are notoriously faster off the line than their petrol or diesel equivalents, but it is wise to limit full throttle accelerations to not only stay safe on winter roads, but also to extend your EV’s range. Where possible, keep your speed under 60 mph; as speeds increase, drag and rolling resistance increases too. Utilise your car’s “Eco” mode, if it has one.
2. USE EV-SPECIFIC TYRES
Electric cars can perform with a suitable standard tyre – they don’t have to be EV-specific tyres. However, if you are keen to maximise range, reduce noise levels or embrace the full performance of your car, EV-specific tyres can allow you to travel further on a full charge. Whichever tyres you choose, make sure they are inflated according to the manufacturer’s guidance, as improperly inflated tyres can reduce range, accelerate wear and pose a safety risk.
3. MAKE THE MOST OF REGENERATIVE BRAKING
Use your EV’s regenerative braking function as you come to a stop to harness the energy generated as the car slows down. By using the brake pedal less and using regenerative braking instead, you can extend the range of your car.
4. ONLY USE THE HEATER WHEN YOU NEED IT
The heating system can drain your EV’s battery – switch it off if you don’t need it. Some EVs allow the driver to pre-heat the car while it’s plugged in, but even this can consume energy before your journey has begun, so be mindful of this when aiming for the maximum range from your EV in winter.
5. TRAVEL LIGHT AND REMOVE THE ROOF RACK
Reducing a vehicle’s weight will improve efficiency and therefore range. So, remove any unnecessary items from the back seats or the boot, especially if they are weighty. Roof racks and other accessories will cause additional aerodynamic drag which will reduce your EV’s range, especially at high speeds when drag increases significantly.
6. CHECK THE LABELS ON YOUR TYRES
On new tyres, the EU Labelling can indicate the specific qualities that a tyre possesses. For example, choosing a tyre rated A or B for rolling resistance will help you to maximise the range of your EV.
A quarter (25%) of electric vehicle owners also own or regularly drive a car with an internal combustion engine (ICE), according to Zap Map.
It’s annual EV Charging Survey revealed that among those drivers who also have a petrol or diesel vehicle, electric is chosen for the vast majority of journeys.
The type of journey electric is most likely to be favoured for is a local daily trip such as going shopping, the school run or eating out, for which 85% of the time dual fuel drivers will take the EV.
For commutes, 71% these drivers use their EV, and even for journeys of over 100 miles 67% will stick with electric. Even for UK based holidays, likely to involve long cross-country journeys reliant on the public charging network, a majority of 55% will leave the fossil fuel car at home.
Melanie Shufflebotham, COO & co-founder of Zap-Map, said: “Our survey has shown for several years now that once you go electric, you don’t go back. This year we’ve gone further to show that drivers who haven’t quite let their conventional car go yet still choose to drive their electric. Even for those long cross-country journeys where a charge stop is likely to be necessary.
“It’s an endorsement for EVs that even when the option is open to take the fossil fuel car, drivers are very happy to stick with electric.”
The Zap-Map survey showed that 49% of EV owners drive just one full battery-electric vehicle, 8% two or more and 2% own or regularly use one battery electric and one plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News
