Land Rover has announced an investment of £700 million over the next five years to make its cars greener. In a market place wrought with environmental concern amidst soaring oil prices and CO2 emissions, Land Rover acknowledges it has to do more.
Starting with the Freelander diesel models later this year and gradually rolling out across the rest of the range, Land Rover will introduce a stop-start system. According to Product Development Director, Phil Hodgkinson, "Stop start will be introduced on the Freelander diesel later this year, and that alone will reduce the CO2 emissions from 194g/km to 179g/km."
Furthermore, Land Rover will follow up with diesel-electric hybrid powertrains and electric rear axle drive (ERAD) system, dubbed e-terrain technology. Such technology will allow the vehicle to move off without starting the engine as well as supplying extra power over tough terrain. But this is just the beginning.
Hodgkinson added, "As well as new powertrain and transmission technologies we will also be looking to reduce the weight and size of our vehicles and you will also see a steep change in terms of aerodynamics.”
Despite this move towards smaller and aerodynamic friendly design, Hodgkinson said the company had still not made a decision whether the LRX concept unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show at the start of the year will go into production.
Land Rover’s engineers are now conducting real-world tests with some ground-breaking Diesel ERAD Hybrid vehicles, aimed at dramatically cutting CO2 and other emissions while still delivering characteristic Land Rover all-terrain performance. These engineering ‘mules’ are based on Freelander 2 vehicles, but the technology is designed to be scalable and modular, so could be applied across a variety of Land Rover models and powertrains.
This programme is one of a broad range of sustainability-focused engineering programmes that Land Rover is pursuing, brought together by the company under the collective name e_TERRAIN TECHNOLOGIES.
In addition to these Diesel ERAD Hybrids, Land Rover is developing a range of other emissions-busting and fuel-saving technologies that will start appearing on its production vehicles from now and over the next decade. These range from a stop-start function – which will be available next year as standard on all manual diesel Freelander 2 models – to other advanced hybrid systems and lightweight vehicle architectures.
“Our innovative ERAD technology featured in the LRX concept car unveiled earlier this year, and we’re now starting to deliver on our sustainability commitments with full, on-road prototypes,” says Phil Popham, Land Rover’s Managing Director. “These Diesel ERAD Hybrids mark a crucial point for Land Rover, where engineering concept is seen to become reality and our vehicles start to combine their formidable all-terrain capability with our radical new e_TERRAIN TECHNOLOGIES.”
Diesel ERAD Hybrid overview
Land Rover’s Diesel ERAD Hybrid was developed as part of a multi-million-pound project supported by the UK Government’s Energy Saving Trust, under the low carbon research and development programme. The objective is to develop a ‘parallel’ hybrid drive system compatible with all-terrain four-wheel-drive capability. As parallel hybrids, the vehicles can be driven solely by electric power or by the diesel engine, or by a combination of both. The system is designed to reduce CO2 by more than 20 per cent under the NEDC test cycle and to cut it by a substantial 30 per cent in ‘real-life’ urban conditions where hybrid technologies really come into their own.
Under many circumstances, today’s generation of petrol electric hybrids are little more efficient than the best modern diesel engines without hybrid technology. So Land Rover’s ambition is to add the benefits of a full hybrid system to modern, clean and efficient diesel powertrains, giving a win-win situation. To help deliver this, Land Rover has developed its own, unique Electric Rear Axle Drive (ERAD) system, which actually has the potential to enhance the vehicle’s all-terrain capability.
Diesel hybrids for trucks or natural gas hybrids seem the best way to go for trucks until some other drive technology develops, ie hydrogen etc. If rationing of fuel or a war breaks out im the middle east like the 70's we do not have any plan B. American needs to start doing something as Congress is always dead locked too often.
Although this is not yet a very capable solution, the forward thinking is welcomed. However, on the small cars in your fleet you are saving the planet that is being ruined by your larger vehicles?
Finally