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| On test in Cape Town South Africa, the first etrike from China. |
THERE is a trend among car designers to go smaller.
This is not only in overall size of the vehicle, but also engines,
in most cases going down to small but strong electric motors.
Three new vehicles that underline this trend are Shell’s ultra
efficient city car; China trike builder BSC’s little scooter which is now being
tested in Cape Town; and Mahindra’s first electric car for the UK.
Ugly duckling is also the toughest
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| The e-Trike comes with a full-size spare wheel, unlike most German cars. |
The ugly duckling of the three — BSC’s electric tuktuk —
nevertheless also has the longest proven track record.
AS a leader in rickshaw, or e-tricycle field, BSC has promoted the development of environment-friendly transportation and clean energy in China, and also occupied main market in electric power-drive tricycle.
The trike is available in a wide range, from passenger carriers of different configurations to half-ton carriers, including water tankers and tippers. They are exported to more than 16 countries, including one unit being tested in Cape Town by cigarette maker Hennie Roos.
Roos told Wheels that if all tests work out, he aims to sell the closed passenger unit for about R75,000, mostly to factories and game parks where the quiet operation and zero emissions will be advantages. Roos said the running cost is about 20 cents per kilometre, compared to the average of over R2 for most internal combustion engines today. It charges from a 240 Volt wall socket using a port similar to the ones used for charging cellphones. The battery can be charged up to 80% in two hours, while a full charge takes seven hours. A 48 Volt DC motor makes 350 Watts to drive the loaded scooter to a top speed of 35 km/h, with a range 150 km per charge.
Shell sells city cars on the sea shore
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| From left: Gordon Murray, with engine wizard Osamu Goto and Shell’s Robert Mainwaring |
WHILE Shell expects people will still be making petrol and diesel
cars well into the 2070s, the Dutch petroleum giant is preparing for a leaner
future.
The group last week released a concept of what it described as the
ultra efficient city car.
Designed by Durban-born Gordon Murray and powered by a 0,66-litre
three-cylinder petrol engine adopted from the previous generation
European-market Smart Fortwo, ex-Honda F1 engine wizard Osamu Goto’s Geo
Technology has minimised friction and maximised efficiency of the engine.
“There are quite a lot of impressive low-carbon and zero-carbon
vehicles coming onto the market,” said Shell’s Robert Mainwaring, “but a Tesla
or a BMW i8 can cost £100 000. Our project sets out to show that efficiency is
affordable, especially when it involves a very light car made using a low-cost
manufacturing process.
“We believe we’ve demonstrated that the best lubricants can
interact with car and engine to deliver really good efficiency,” he added. “It’s
very unusual for car designers, engine designers and lubrication technicians to
work with the degree of intimacy they’ve had in this project. The result has
been very encouraging.”
One of the intimacies was the iStream production process that
Murray had designed to dramatically reduce the energy requirements of car
manufacturing. One of the things iStream dispenses with is the outside-in
design, as the designer’s focus definitely streams from the driver out. Hence
the ergonomic upright design, which reminds of Murray’s sensible T25 city car,
which he designed in 2010. Yamaha and British firm TVR are to date the only
companies using iStream.
Shell said in a statement it had also created a motor oil
specifically for the car’s small engine. To access the Shell car, the entire cab
flips forward, giving access to two passenger seats, mounted tandem style inside
the roll cage around which the car is constructed.
Shell said recycled carbon fibre was used for the concept car to
reducing weight and cut assembly costs to only 25% of a steel panel car, while
some components were also 3D- printed as the cheapest, fastest way to create
once-off parts.
This ain't no e2o taxi!
MAHINDRA last week launched the e2o in two trim levels for English
commuters. The entry-level e2o City is priced at £12 995 (R269 608) while the
higher-spec TechX version retails at £15 995 (R331 849).
These are high prices from Mahindra, leading many to ask how
Mahindra hopes to succeed where many have failed before, as English drivers
traditionally feel like South Africans when it comes to electric cars. Better on
the golf course, and all that, old chap. The answer is two-fold. First, sales of
evees have doubled year on year, with UK transport minister Andrew Jones telling
the media he expects the sales to continue growing, as the British government
has now made £600 million available to discount sales until 2020 for over 30
sustainable vehicle sellers in the UK.
The second reason is that the Mahindra e2o is less a vehicle and
more a a touchscreen infotainment centre with a seat, reversing camera and
steering wheel.
At the core of the e2o is a collection of connected features that
were developed to make the car both easier and more enjoyable to drive and
maintain, including on-board sensors normally associated with trucking
telemetrics. Speaking about the e2o’s arrival on British roads, Anand Mahindra,
chairperson of Mahindra Group, said the e2o marks a true milestone for the
Mahindra Group in the UK. He said the average commuter will pay less than R210 a
month to drive the e2o, with the fuel savings helping to pay for the initial
outlay.
“Sustainability is at the heart of Mahindra’s business practices
and with the introduction of the e2o to the UK market, we are offering a product
that perfectly encapsulates our corporate philosophy.”
London Mayor Boris Johnson MP congratulated Mahindra and said he
looked forward to seeing e2os on London’s streets.
