commercial vehicle megatrends magazine – q4 2012

megatrendsIssue 1: November 2012

COMMERCIALVEHICLE

M A G A Z I N E

London’s black cabsturn green with NV

IAA 2012 and the changingglobal CV landscape

Behr necessities: a closer lookinside the Troy Wind Tunnel

Eaton’s alternativepowertrain potential

Also in this issue: Vazir Fatehi, P3, talks improving freight efficiency and boostingprofits - Wade Long, Volvo Trucks, on combining old values with new progress - DanArcy discusses new lubricant categories

commercial vehicle megatrends

Commercial Vehicle Megatrends | www.automotiveworld.com November 2012


1CommercialVehicle Megatrends | www.automotiveworld.com |September 2012

Taxi!The race to supply London with taxis is on.Black cab manufacturer Manganese Bronze hasentered administration, leaving a large gap inan admittedly closed market. However, blackMercedes-BenzVito taxis have been onLondon’s roads for around four years now,steadily gaining market share.And this summer,Nissan unveiled a new contender, the NV200LondonTaxi, which Londoners can beginhailing from next year.

Cracking London’s black cab market, was,according to Nissan’s Andy Palmer, one of thekey targets in the development of the NV200,the light commercial vehicle which has alsobeen selected as NewYork City’s taxi for thenext ten years. Read our feature on page 14to find out just how important the taxi marketis becoming to Nissan.

To tie in with the theme of AutomotiveWorld’sCommercial Vehicle Megatrends USA 2012,whichwas held in Detroit earlier this year, this issueof Commercial Vehicle Megatrends looks atsome of the solutions the industry is focusingon to improve freight efficiency.

Behr’s facility inTroy is home to the company’slargest test facility outside Germany, andincludes the bigest and “most capable climaticwind tunnel of its kind in NorthAmerica.Thefacility can accommodate any vehicle frompassenger cars to buses, Class 8 trucks, off-highway and military vehicles.And, for one dayearlier this year, it also accommodated CVM.

No stranger to wind tunnels is MitchGreenberg of SmartTruck, who on page 18explains to CVM why poor aerodynamics canbe such a drag. Improving aerodynamics is oneof the many ways of increasing efficiency -another is the use of appropriate lubricants.Shell’s DanArcy chairs the PC-11 NewCategory DevelopmentTeam, and on page 4he outlines the challenges involved in creatinga new category.

Hybridisation and natural gas technology arebig talking points - for the truck industry, andfor Eaton.At Commercial Vehicle MegatrendsUSA 2012, we talked to Nandu Srinivasanand Craig Jacobs about the viability ofthese technologies in the commercial vehiclesector.

A separate conversation withVolvo’sWadeLong, however, revealed that he is lessoptimistic about the potential for hybridtechnology in heavy duty applications, andwants the industry to look at alternative fuelsother than just natural gas. He tells us hebelieves diesel will remain dominant for manyyears to come, and the industry needs to comeup with other solutions to improve efficiency.

Considerable improvements in dieselefficiency have already been made. Returning

to Nissan, the OEM is preparing to go beyondjust offering a frugal diesel taxi solution forLondon, by saying it can deliver a full electricversion in April 2014.

With such considerable advances already havingbeen made in the quest for greater freightefficiency, the opportunities available to take thebusiness to the next level are numerous;we areconfident that this issue of CommercialVehicleMegatrends will give you some insight into thedirections the industry is taking.

We hope you enjoy this issue of CommercialVehicle Megatrends and, as always, we welcomeyour thoughts and suggestions; email us [email protected]

Martin KahlEditor

Editor's welcomeContents

Editor's welcome 1

Conference review 2We review the trends making an impact at this year’s Commercial VehicleMegatrends USA event

Interview: Dan Arcy 4Global OEMTechnical Manager, ShellDan Arcy talks about how new lubricant developments are driving fuel efficiency

Behr necessities: a closer look inside theTroyWindTunnel 8How one supplier has established itself in the North American market

Driver of change or cause for concern? 12Ian C. Graig analyses whether government regulation is the only way to manageemissions standards

London’s black cabs turn green with NV 14Nissan unveils a new taxi which has been developed specifically to meet the Britishcapital city’s strict requirements

Putting the smart in aerodynamics 18With a team of Formula One specialists and aerospace engineers on its side,SmartTruck’s mission is to develop the next generation of aerodynamic designs

Megatrends and mega opportunities highlighted at the 2012 IAA 22Tectonic forces are shaping the global commercial vehicle landscape, says Frost &Sullivan’s Sandeep Kar

Interview: Wade Long 26Director, Product Marketing,VolvoTrucks North AmericaVolvo strives to stay ahead of the competition while staying true to its safety values

Eaton on the potential for hybridisation and natural gas in CVs 30Nandu Srinivasan and Craig Jacobs discuss the potential of CV powertrain technology

Freight efficiency: 34Looking for the next big thing to improve margins and cut costsVazir Fatehi explores how freight efficiency can improve company profits

CommercialVehicle MegatrendsmagazineISSN 2047-9859

Publisher:AutomotiveWorld Ltd1-3Washington BuildingsStanwell Road, Penarth CF64 2AD, UK

www.automotiveworld.comT: +44 (0) 2920 709 [email protected]

Registered number: 04242884VAT number: GB 815 2201

Chief Executive:Gareth Davies

Editor:Martin Kahl

Sub-Editor:Ruth Dawson

Chief Technical Officer:Michael Franklin

Subscriptions and Advertising:Gavin [email protected]

John [email protected]

With thanks to:Shell, Behr NAFTA, Global Policy Group Inc.,Nissan, SmartTruck, Frost & Sullivan,VolvoTrucks and P3 North America

Copyright AutomotiveWorld Ltd 2012

http://www.automotiveworld.com/contact


3Commercial Vehicle Megatrends | www.automotiveworld.com |November 2012

Using the example of low viscosity lubricants,which are expected to be in wide use by 2016,Berlin said that 80% of Castrol's customersstill use 15W-40 - familiarity with the olderproduct is preventing users from seeing thebenefit of 2% savings.

“As we get better at what we do,we've got tohelp the fleet see those small incremental gains.”

Castrol's main challenge at the moment ishelping fleets find the benefit of this saving,however small it may be.And the way to do thisis, according to Berlin, by working with OEMsand co-suppliers to find a beneficial status.

“As a group we need to help our fleets to finda way to a better bottom line.”

Better drivers will make for betterefficiency

Most if not all of the speakers at CommercialVehicle Megatrends USA 2012 also touched onthe idea of the driver being one of the mostsignificant factors affecting freight efficiency.No matter how good efficiency technologiesare, their potential will not be maximisedwhen an inefficient driver is in charge of thevehicle.

Speaking on how powertrain technology canbe developed for effective cost of operation,TimothyTindall, Director of Component Salesat Daimler’s Detroit Diesel, provided anemphatic stance on how driver education is atthe heart of freight efficiency.

According toTindall, this ‘education’ should startbefore the vehicle owner makes his purchase. Byonly opting for technology that is compatiblewith what the vehicle will be used for, the totalcost of operation can be greatly reduced.

“A large fleet owner has a clear understanding

of how to optimise trucks...small owners relyon dealers’ input, who don’t have technicalexpertise.”

The Daimler view is one of integration: bybetter implementing powertrain technologies,vehicle efficiency in terms of fuel, downtime anddriver management can be drastically improved.

Nandu Srinivasan, Director of Engineering atEaton, also raised the issue of drivereducation, albeit more specifically in thecontext of hybrid technology.According toSrinivasan, the optimisation of hybridtechnology at least in part relies upon thedriver’s use of the vehicle.“The potential forsavings is there,” said Srinivasan.“We havedemonstrated up to about 30% incrementalefficiency - but the payback has not beenthere.”

According to figures from the NorthAmerican Council for Freight Efficiency(NACFE), a disproportionate 40-41% of longhaul vehicles account for 75% of truck fuelconsumption.

Eaton’s challenge for the future, said Srinivasan,is to turn average drivers into great drivers,whose skills will optimise the vehicle’s use.

“For every 1000rpm in speed...you could gainabout 3% fuel economy - that’s tremendousand a lot of applications are going towardsthat.” However, this margin will only fully berealised where better driving practices areimplemented.

Design for drivers

This strategy of focusing on drivers is not justa one way street, however: OEMs are pledgingto make their vehicle design more driver-focused too.

During his presentation, Director of ProductMarketing atVolvoTrucks,Wade Long,described the company’s new driver-centricdesigns to delegates.

Recent fuel efficiency testing has ledVolvo tointroducing new methods of improving

aerodynamics, such as: altered bug screenposition, hood/bonnet-mounted mirrors andunder bumper and side skirt extensions,making for improved airflow aroundtractors.

“What will the truck of the future look like? Ilike to refer to it as a ‘bullet train’,” said Long.

Long’s comments were similar to those madeby Mitch Greenberg, President of SmartTruck,who commented at the event:“The industryhas done an amazing job of carrying lots ofgoods in a very efficient way.

“How we use these vehicles moreaerodynamically is critical, particularly for thelong haul trucks.”

According to Greenberg, Class 8 trucks havethe worst aerodynamics of all commercialvehicles on the road and SmartTruck is nowturning its remit to a systems-based approachto combat this. Put simply,“everything’sevolving”, and while technology and designmay be easy to specify, getting commercialvehicle users to find the benefits for theirfleets is not. SmartTruck is planning to helpfleets make sense of the new vehicleaerodynamic systems and what they will meanin the context of their fleet - although testingis still needed to assess their long-termviability.

In this spirit of ‘evolution’, having historicallyconcentrated more on the load transportaspect of tractors,moving forward,Volvotractor design will be driver forward, Long said.

“Comfortable drivers are productive drivers.The design will have to be focused on driving,working and resting.” Interiors will be morefunctional, simplified and purposeful toimprove driver attitude and productivity.

“Ultimately the owner will have betterretention, better resale value and alsoincreased compatibility.”

For more details about Automotive World’sevents, please visithttp://www.automotiveworld.com/events.


2 | Commercial Vehicle Megatrends | www.automotiveworld.com November 2012

AutomotiveWorld’s Commercial VehicleMegatrends USA 2012, held earlier thisyear in Dearborn, Michigan, provided a

forum for delegates and speakers to discussthe factors shaping the future of thecommercial vehicle industry.

The three-day event, titled ‘Three steps togreater freight efficiency’, brought togetherrepresentatives from all aspects of the UScommercial vehicle industry and beyond.

Nearly 200 delegates from over 70 companiesattended the event and used the opportunityto voice new opinions and innovative ideas onkey topics at the forefront of manyprofessionals’ minds.

Connectivity is key

Connectivity was one of the big issues at theevent, with many speakers commenting on theindustry’s current buzz topic.Advancedtelematics systems are no longer just a speciesof add-in technology, they are being activelyincorporated into truck design to allow formore than just the typical route planning andmonitoring.

For fleet managers and drivers to optimise useof telematics, however, OEMs and suppliersstill need to work more closely together.

“As an OEM, we would be foolish to try andcompete with companies that are wellestablished in telematics or thecommunications technology industry, whomove at a much faster pace than what we’reused to,” said Richard Shearing, Director ofProduct Planning at Daimler Trucks NorthAmerica.“We certainly don’t have theexpertise in-house or the market space, andto build it up simply doesn’t make sense.”

Tom Flies, Senior Director of BusinessDevelopment at Qualcomm and LukeWachtel,Vice President of Mobile Partnerships andOEMs at Telogis, also touched on this movetowards collaboration.

“Telematics suppliers need to work in concertwith OEMs to drive adoption,” Flies advised.Fast navigational and other electronictechnology developments have meant thatcontinually upgraded units have just beentaken in to standard truck models. However,OEMs are now looking at the advantages ofincorporated technology which benefits fromsoftware updates.

“I don’t think there’s a provider of trucks rightnow who won’t produce connected vehicles,”Wachtel said.

Work together for savings

Collaboration isn’t just key for newtechnological innovations, nor is it onlyessential between OEMs and suppliers.Speaking on the topic of diminishing returns,Dave Berlin,Americas Marketing Director forOEMs and Heavy Duty at Castrol, said,“working together will find a better bottomline.”

“Incremental gains are getting harderbecause we've done all the things that arebasic and easy to do,” said Berlin.“Fuel as apercent of operating budget is not going togo down in the future.This is going tobecome a bigger and bigger problem for ourfleets.”

Conference reviewBy Ruth Dawson

Tom Flies, Senior Director of BusinessDevelopment, Qualcomm

Dave Berlin, Americas Marketing Directorfor OEMs and Heavy Duty at Castrol

Wade Long, Director of Product Marketing at Volvo Trucks North America

http://www.automotiveworld.com/events





Interview:

DanArcyGlobal OEMTechnical Manager, Shell

Dan Arcy works with and provides technical support to key OEMs in the on-highway trucking,off-highway equipment and agricultural equipment trade in both North America and selectaccounts globally.Arcy also represents Shell's heavy duty group in industry trade associations,such as the PC-11 New Category DevelopmentTeam.

Here,Arcy speaks to Commercial Vehicle Megatrends about the ways in which lubricantdevelopments are driving CV fuel efficiency

By Martin Kahl

Using lubricants is one way ofimproving engine efficiency. Canyou please outline Shell’s

offerings for the existing fleet, and whatyou're doing to improve the efficiency offuture engines with lubricants?

For existing fleets and engines, werecommend consulting engine manufacturerspecifications. Engine efficiency can beimproved, and fuel economy increased, byusing lighter viscosity oil. Not all engines andnot all model years allow for that lighterviscosity at this time.Those that do can offersome real benefits. Shell has conducted anumber of field trials to look at the differencein fuel economy benefits, and we've been ableto document - from a 15W-40 over-roadengine down to a 10W-30, such as the T5synthetic blend - a 1.6% improvement in fueleconomy. Consider a 1.6% improvementacross a fleet of 10,000 trucks; we're at aboutUS$3.70 a gallon right now for diesel fuels, soall of a sudden that number is very significant.

Can you please outline your role in thePC-11 committee?

Proposed Category 11 is the next diesel engineoil category that's currently being developed. Ichair the New Category DevelopmentTeam.My role is to work with other members underthe New Category DevelopmentTeam,whichincludes members from engine manufacturers,other oil marketers, the chemical or additivecompanies, and independent engine test labs. Ichair the committee that is working ondeveloping this new specification,which meansdeveloping, in this case, three new tests that willbe utilised to demonstrate performance ofthese oils. It also entails budgeting for thecategory development, recommendingconsumer language and an education process,so that when we roll the category out, we'reable to communicate the changes,requirements, and limitations that could be inplace regarding backwards compatibility.

What's the history of PC-11? How did itcome about, and who put it together?

In June 2011, the Engine ManufacturersAssociation (EMA/TMA) came to theAmerican Petroleum Institute (API) andrequested a new category for several reasons- one of which was the fact that the EPA andthe National Highway Safety Administration(NHTSA) were putting regulations in place forCO2 emissions reductions, improvements infuel economy and some mandates forrenewable fuels.

With that legislation going into place, enginemanufacturers realised that there are benefitsto be gained through changing and improvinglubricants, so they requested this category. Inaddition to that, some of the engines that wehave to run our oils in to qualify, parts will nolonger be available in the 2015/2016timeframe.The API formed the New CategoryEvaluationTeam (NCET), which consists ofengine manufacturers, oil marketers, additivecompanies and engine test labs.The enginemanufacturers had basically outlined a newsplit category for higher viscosity oils that aresimilar to what we have currently in themarket and lower viscosity oils that havepotential for fuel economy benefits.They alsorequested improvements in oxidation stability,sheer stability, aeration and biodieselcompatibility.

The NCET reviewed the request: we wantedto understand why engine manufacturers wereasking for improvements in oxidation controland aeration control, for example.We needdocumentation to support the developmentof this category.

The NCET made a decision that what wasbeing asked for was definitely warranted -there was a need for it in the marketplace, andthe request was to have this new performancestandard in place in January 2016.

And backward compatibility is one ofthe things that you are working towardswith PC-11?

Yes. Every time we've come out with a newcategory, it's been backwards compatibleversus previous categories.With the changesthat are potentially going to be made for PC-11, in order to maximise our fuel economybenefit, PC-11 low viscosity engine oils maynot be fully backwards compatible across allengines and all model years.The PC-11 highviscosity, 15-40 type oils are intended to befully backwards compatible for all modelyears. But with the higher viscosity oils, thereis no fuel economy benefit.We really have tolook at PC-11 as a split category of higherviscosity oils and lower viscosity oils.Thehigher viscosity oils will be backwardscompatible.

“Shell has conducted a number of field trials to look at thedifference in fuel economy benefits, and we've been able todocument a 1.6% improvement in fuel economy. Consider a1.6% improvement across a fleet of 10,000 trucks - thatnumber is very significant”



There are challenges that we face from atiming standpoint because of this ongoingengine development.There's one challengethat we're trying to work through right nowand that is the passenger car group, which hasalso proposed a new category.Thosedevelopments are very close to being on topof each other in certain aspects of theprocess, which, you can understand, is going toprovide some challenges on resourcesbecause the labs where we do ourqualification testing may also be doingpassenger car testing. Resources from testavailability could be challenging just from apersonnel standpoint.

Those things have been identified as potentialbarriers or bottlenecks in the process, butagain I think the open discussion that we havewithin the different groups and within the APILubes Group is going to help facilitate a paththrough here to get everything done.Whatwill end up happening, I can't even speculate atthis point, whether one group will go beforethe other, and which one that would be.

Then the other challenge that we always face isthe development of new tests: right now theyall appear to be very close to the timelinesthat they proposed. But again, these windowscan be a couple of years long in lining up tests.

So there is potential for slippage one way oranother in the test development process.

The new category is to be in place byearly 2016.What are the milestonesbetween now and then?

January 1st of 2016 was what was initiallyrequested.A number of things are in the worksright now.One of the new engine tests is beingreferred to as the Caterpillar C-13 aeration test.That test is in a development phase.They’rerunning oils in it right now to make sure that it'sgoing to be able to discriminate between goodperforming oils and bad performing oils.Andthat one looks like it's going to be completedand ready to run what we call a matrix test,starting sometime in 2013.

Let's take another new one we're going tohave, which is the MackT13 test.The currenttest is theT12 test which evaluates the oil onring and liner wear and bearing corrosionprotection - that has been upgraded to theT13 test.That one, based on its timeline, reallywon't be ready for matrix testing untilsometime around 2014. It's a little behind theCAT C-13 test in its development process.There are many steps involved with all thisbecause it's not just getting the test andmaking sure of discrimination, for example. It's

also making sure there's testing through all thedifferent laboratories, and these laboratoriesrun oils to make sure that if you run atlaboratory A in this test, you're getting thesame result as you would at laboratory B.

What do the stakeholders provide tothe committee? Do OEMs supply trucks,engine manufacturers, engines, andlubricant manufacturers, lubricants?

One of the other work streams indevelopment is assessing how this is all goingto be paid for.The PC-10 category was dividedinto thirds between oil marketers, chemicaland additive companies and engine and truckmanufacturers paying for a third of thedevelopment. Some of that was in kind so itmay not have been cash for running some ofthese tests, but it may have been the equivalentdollar value in engines or parts and stuff likethat.That's one of the work streams that,through the NCET, is still being put together.It's been proposed that we do it the same way.

But there's a process that that has to gothrough from the NCET to a differentcommittee called the Diesel Engine OilAdvisory Panel, which has to approve it andthen send it to the API, engine manufacturersand chemical companies have to do the samething.They have their own systems in place.Then an agreement is put in place as to howit's all going to be done and who's going to getall the money and control it.

The companies that are involved in thisare doing this for the US market, tomeet US emissions and greenhouse gasregulations and so on. Is there anybenefit that they can bring fromoperations they have in other countriesor that they can take from PC-11 toother markets?

One of the things that has changed over theyears is that many of these companies - truckmanufacturers, lubricants, and additivecompanies - are now global.Take, forinstance,Volvo’s D13 engine in Sweden. It isvery similar to the D13 engine marketed inthe US. It’s the same thing on the lubricantsside. If you look at API CJ-4, the latesttechnology here, that same type ofperformance level was incorporated intoACEA E9 in Europe. Not exactly the same,but it's close.The CAT C-13 test that we runhere in the US is not part of ACEA E9, butdemands roughly the same kind ofperformance levels.Twenty years ago, thatwasn't the case - US and Europeanspecifications were totally different but nowthey have converged considerably.



The lower viscosity ones may be backwardscompatible in some applications and someengines, and may not be backwards compatiblein other applications.That's yet to bedetermined.

Are you up against any challenges orheadwinds here, or do you find thatwhat you are trying to propose is goingthrough smoothly?

With any category or new specification, therewill be challenges.The typical time to developa category has always been about four yearsand we're up against that four year windowright now.Timing is definitely a challenge,especially when there are new engine teststhat need to be developed in the process.

Do the various members haveconflicting interests, and could that holdback any development on PC-11targets?

When it comes to the category movingforward, obviously there are different partieswith differing opinions. But our meetings are allopen, and anybody can attend. Even though Isaid there were about 13 people on this NewCategory DevelopmentTeam, it’s typicallyabout 50.There's a very open consensus.





BehrAmerica was established in 1969.The North American arm of theStuttgart-based engine cooling and air

conditioning specialist company has its HQ inTroy, Michigan, and operations in Dayton(production), FortWorth (series support),Charleston (production and R&D) and inMexico at Ramos Arizpe (production).

Renamed following a regional restructure in2011, Behr NAFTA enjoyed its best sales yearin 2011, reporting sales of US$893m across itspassenger car, light truck, heavy truck andservice divisions. Light vehicle brands usingBehr NAFTA products include Chrysler,Dodge, Ford, GM,Mercedes-Benz, Nissan andVolkswagen. In the heavy duty segment, Behr’scustomers include Freightliner, Kenworth,Mack, Peterbilt, Navistar andVolvo for on-highway; Caterpillar and John Deere are keyoff-highway customers.

Just over 10% of the 2,655-strong workforce(2011) is employed at the company’s Troyheadquarters, where its North American R&Dcentre is also based.“Everything we have hereis duplicated in Stuttgart,” says JohnTepas,VicePresident of Engineering.“Portions of what wehave here are duplicated in India and to alesser extent in Brazil, China and France, butthis is by far the largest technical centre in theBehr group outside Stuttgart.”

A German supplier in the US

As a German company in the US, BehrAmerica worked hard in its infancy to

establish itself with the domestic OEMs, but itis aided now by the global nature of theindustry.“Ford and GM in particular havebecome increasingly globalised over the lastfive to seven years, and as a result so havewe,” says Martin Bauer, Director and ChiefEngineer of Behr America’s Engine MountedComponents division.“The challenge is towork globally and more closely together.Weneed to carefully identify where ourcustomers are based, where to locate ourplants and what to produce where, in orderto remain competitive.” Global platformstrategies play a key role, he adds.“MostOEMs have clear platform strategies.Theyproduce the same car all across the world, sothey want to have the same supplier forcooling modules and air conditioningsystems.”

“It forces us as a company to work bettertogether,” addsTepas.“A customer recentlyasked us for a new business quotation in threedifferent markets in the world, none of whichwas North America. But that company’sengineering centre was here in NorthAmerica, so we had to co-ordinate the threeother groups in Behr to respond, even thoughwe didn't have a nickel in it as a NorthAmerican entity.And so it forces us to learnhow to work with our colleagues in Brazil orIndia or China.”

Industry collaboration

Closer collaboration is something that BauerandTepas have noticed not only between the

different regions within their own company,but also between OEMs and suppliers,something they believe is essential to developthe solutions to meet increasingly stringentgreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fueleconomy targets.“Only if OEMs developtechnology with their supplier from early oncan they be successful,” says Bauer.

Behr’s goal is to help reduce emissions andfuel consumption, and enhance combustion inpassenger cars and trucks, and in off-highwayand marine applications.Tepas sees these fueleconomy and GHG targets as an opportunity,rather than a challenge.“Many of these hybridand supercharged systems increasingly requireheat exchangers,” says Tepas,“and we makeheat exchangers, so we're just thrilled with theidea!” Bauer adds that,“since hybrid andelectric vehicles do not have an engine, theystill need heat exchangers to help cool thebattery, and to bring the heat or airconditioning into the vehicle.”

Projecting sales of electric and plug-in hybridvehicles is a guessing game, but whether themarket chooses to stick with ICEs, or topursue EVs and PHEVs, Behr’sVP ofEngineering is confident that Behr will be asupplier.“I would say that some degree ofhybridisation or some of the technologiesthat seem to go into hybridisation, likeregenerative braking, really have thepossibility of making a difference,” says Tepas.“But whichever direction OEMs go in to gainthat extra efficiency, there's always thatthermal problem.That means we're always

Behr necessities: a closer lookinside the Troy Wind Tunnel

In the 43 years since Behr began operations in North America, the Stuttgart-based supplier hasworked hard to establish itself with the domestic OEMs. Despite enjoying steady growthrecently, Behr knows that success is about more than just blowing hot air (although thatcertainly does help)

By Martin Kahl

Ford and GM in particular have become increasingly globalised over the last five to sevenyears, and as a result so have we,” says Martin Bauer, Director and Chief Engineer of BehrAmerica’s Engine Mounted Components division. “The challenge is to work globally andmore closely together. We need to carefully identify where our customers are based,whereto locate our plants and what to produce where, in order to remain competitive.

“

”



An adjacent building contains the soak room,acoustic lab and preparation cells.“We canfully equip all of our vehicle modules withthermocouples, strain and pressure sensors,or whatever else we need to understand howthe modules perform in the wind tunnel,”explains Bauer.The cells are highly secure,with strict authorisation required even forBehr personnel.

For analysis of A/C system acoustic emissions,theTWT offers acoustic lab facilities.“Therecan be up to 17 or 18 flaps inside an airconditioning unit, to enable directional heatingand cooling. If you want to understand hownoisy those flaps are, and where the noise iscoming from, we can test that here.”

For hire: one wind tunnel

As well as carrying out its own testing, Behrhires out the TWT to third parties.“Thewind tunnel is for our own R&D,” says Bauer,“but recently we have done testing work fordifferent customers who rent out the facility.Customers have the opportunity to rent outthe facility completely, and some even bringtheir own staff and computers.” Highsecurity is part of the deal, with restrictedaccess even for Behr staff when customersare in position.“Our customers need to

know that they can come in here and worksecurely.”

SuperTruck

SuperTruck is a US Department of Energy(DoE) initiative, which aims to develop anddemonstrate a fuel efficient Class 8 tractor andtrailer, with a goal of demonstrating a 50%improvement in overall freight efficiency. BehrNAFTA is one of the partners on theSuperTruck project, working on the EngineSystems project in partnership with Navistar.Other participants include FederalMogul, BoschandANL withWisconsin Research Consultants.

“We are involved in three different areas,”explains Bauer.“One is waste heat recovery

system; secondly, battery thermal management,and thirdly, the front cooling module. Coolingis important, as it is required to be able tocool the additional heat produced by thebattery, drive motors and electronics as wellas the conventional engines.”

“It’s interesting to see the different conceptsof the various SuperTruck partners.Aerodynamics is very important, and the aeroguys say they can achieve improvements in thearea of 25%.” Bauer is keen to point out that aBehr waste heat recovery system can,depending on the system and refrigerant used,deliver savings in the area of 5-7%.“With thecooling and the front end design, we can gainanother couple of percent.This is a hugesaving for trucks.”



engaged, no matter which technology ischosen. It’s more important that we makesure we're on top of the technology inwhichever way.”

Heavy truck

A key area of Behr America’s truck powertrainportfolio is exhaust gas recirculation (EGR)technology for heavy duty diesel applications.“We have been doing HD applications for on-highway since 2002, to help OEMs meet the2007, 2010 and 2014 emissions legislation,”says Bauer. Since 2011, the company has alsosupplied EGR for off-highway applications.Most of its truck customers are supplied from

the company’s plant at Charleston, SouthCarolina, where the company has a test centrealongside its production and developmentoperations.

TheTWT:Behr’s climatic wind tunnel

The highlight of Behr’s Troy facilities is theclimatic wind tunnel, the largest of its kind inNorth America. Opened in 2004, theTroyWindTunnel (TWT) is large enough toaccommodate any vehicle from passenger carsto buses, Class 8 trucks, off-highway andmilitary vehicles. Bauer is visibly proud of thefacility, which opened two years after the windtunnel at Behr’s headquarters in Stuttgart.“For

us it was important to be the leading supplierto all of our customers.We have customers insegments from small cars through to trucksand off-highway, so we felt we needed this. It’snot only the largest, it’s also the one with themost capability.”

This is Behr’s only climatic wind tunneloutside of Stuttgart.“We can do tests likethermo-cycle tests and pressure-cycle tests ona smaller scale in other facilities, in Spain andFrance, for example,” says Bauer.“We havealso duplicated these and super-sized them inour Charleston facility for the truck side, butthe largest capabilities outside Germany arehere inTroy.After all, the US is our secondlargest market outside Germany!”

TheTWT has facilities for wind, heat,humidity and water testing; and a solariumenables simulation of the sun’s light and heatfrom all angles.“We can also simulate snowand high humidity.All of this is important fortesting the performance of our cooling andair conditioning systems,” says Bauer.“We caneven pre-heat and pre-cool our vehicles.Thisenables us to test the time it takes forsystems to start up under extremeconditions.”

Maximum wind speeds generated by the 315kWfan range from 120kph for truck testing to200kph for passenger cars.Climate simulation ispossible from -30 to +50 degrees Celsius in thewind tunnel, and -40 to +50 degrees Celsius inthe soak room.The soak room can simulateconditions from -40 to 50 degrees Celsius,including vehicle exhaust facilities and windshield defrost and defog testing. In the tunnelitself, the roller dynamometer can create up to800hp (300kW/axle from 35kph) to simulatedriving conditions.

Vehicle capabilities: up to Class 8 truck

Adjustable nozzle

Temperature: -30C to +50C

Humidity: 0 - 95% relative humidity

Maximum speed: 120 kph (70mph) - 200kph (120mph); car: 200kph; SUV/vans:160kph

Solar simulation: full spectrum 350 - 1200W / m2; 0-70 degree tilt; cloud and tunnelsimulation

Roller dynamometer: all-wheel drive,front, rear and tandem; 300kW each roll,600kW total braking performance

Minimum wheelbase for tandem axeltrucks: 1.3m

Dynamic driving cycles

Security: card read access to all areas

TroyWindTunnel - specifications:

It’s interesting to see the different concepts of thevarious SuperTruck partners. Aerodynamics is veryimportant, and the aero guys say they can achieveimprovements in the area of 25%.

“”



technologies with application in the heavy-duty industry as well.

Recent federal fuel economy and GHGemissions standards for light and heavy vehicleshave been written through a generallycooperative process.This was particularlyevident in the heavy-duty fuel consumption andGHG emissions rules,which were years in themaking and written through a process markedby cooperation between industry and regulators.

Those rules are based in part on the experienceof SmartWay, the long-running EnvironmentalProtectionAgency (EPA) programme to certifyfuel-efficient trucks and trailers. SmartWay is avoluntary programme that has helped encouragetrucking fleets to be more fuel-efficient and, inturn, encourage freight shippers to use thosefuel-efficient fleets.As part of the effort to writethe new fuel consumption and GHG emissionsrules, SmartWay worked with industry andacademia to study methods for measuring fuel

efficiency in heavy-duty commercial vehicles- a far more difficult task than is thecase with passenger vehicles.

SmartWay offers a goodexample of how the federalgovernment can play acollaborative and notsolely a regulatory role inthe effort to make fleetsmore efficient.Anotherexample is the EnergyDepartment’s National

Clean FleetsPartnership, apublic-privatepartnership aimedat reducing fuelconsumptionwhich involvesnearly 20 of thecountry’s largestfleet operators.

The heavy vehicle industry and the federalgovernment also cooperate on developing andtesting advanced vehicle technologies throughthe 21st CenturyTruck Partnership (21CTP), aresearch and development effort involving fourfederal agencies (EPA and the US Departmentsof Energy,Transportation, and Defense) andmore than a dozen heavy-duty OEMs andsuppliers.Through its SuperTruck programmeand collaborative R&D in such areas asadvanced engines, vehicle systems, and tractorand trailer aerodynamics, the 21CTPprogrammes bring together industry, academic,and government researchers on projectswhere the cost is shared by government andindustry.The heavy vehicle industry can alsobenefit from collaborative research into lightvehicle technologies under the Department ofEnergy’s US DRIVE programme.

These collaborative programmes havebipartisan support in Congress, but theoutlook for future funding levels is unclear aslawmakers take steps to reduce the massivefederal budget deficit.This points to a broaderpoint of concern aboutWashington’s role inthe drive for fleet efficiency: uncertainty aboutthe future direction of federal policies with adirect impact on the freight transportationsector. Heavy-vehicle and trucking firms are,like companies in all sectors, worried aboutlooming decisions on taxes and spending,which have potentially significant implicationsfor the entire US economy and thus for freightdemand.They also harbour concerns aboutfuture trends in vehicle safety and emissionsregulations, alternative fuels and federal R&Dspending, amongst others.

For example, federal vehicle technologiesprogrammes will, like all federal ’discretionary’spending programmes (i.e. programmes forwhich funds must be appropriated each fiscalyear), be under intense budget pressure forthe next decade.The Obama administrationand many members of Congress are strong

advocates of vehicle electrification, but budgetconcerns and partisan differences raisedoubts about federal support for neededinfrastructure investments. Recentdevelopments highlight renewed industryinterest in fuel cells, but the administrationand Congress have consistently differed onfederal support for fuel cells, creatinguncertainty about future funding levels. Lownatural gas prices and federal GHG emissionsrules are fuelling intense interest in the use ofnatural gas in heavy vehicles, but Congress hasfailed repeatedly to enact incentives for suchvehicles and some regulators are wary of the‘fracking’ revolution at the heart of increaseddomestic gas production.Although federalGHG emissions rules have recently beenupheld in the courts, they will continue toface legal challenges.

Future directions in federal policy weresomewhat clarified through the November 6presidential and Congressional elections,which saw President Obama win reelection asthe Republicans retained control of the Houseand the Democrats expanded their majority inthe Senate. In light of the election results, onecan expect the ObamaAdministration tocontinue using the regulatory process toadvance federal rules aimed at making thetransportation sector more fuel efficient.Unfortunately, there is also a very goodchance that the election results will do littleto overcome the harsh partisan divisions thathave characterisedWashington in recent years,and uncertainty about future trends in USpolicy may continue well into 2013. Despitethat, decisions already made byWashingtonpolicymakers, such as the GHG emissions andfuel consumption standards for heavy vehicles,will continue to play a role in the drive toimprove fleet efficiency in the US.

Ian C. Graig is the Chief Executive of Global PolicyGroup, Inc., aWashington-based research andgovernment relations consultancy.



As recent AutomotiveWorld conferencesinWashington D.C. and Dearbornmade clear, policies implemented by

regulators and lawmakers are among the manyfactors fuelling a drive to improve the energyefficiency of Class 7 and Class 8 trucksoperating on US highways. Commercial fleets,heavy-duty vehicle and engine producers, andautomotive technology suppliers all have arole to play in this effort to cut heavy trucks’fuel consumption and emissions - as doWashington D.C. policymakers.

The clearest regulatory driver in the effort tomake fleets more efficient is the first-ever fuelconsumption and greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks andengines, which were finalised last year.Thestandards, which will affect virtually all Class2b to Class 8 commercial vehicles with a grossvehicle weight rating above 8,500 lbs, breakthe vehicles into three categories: heavy-dutypickup trucks and vans, vocational vehicles,and Class 7 - Class 8 combination tractors.

Looking to the rules for combination tractors,emissions standards will take effect in MY2014 while the fuel consumption standardsbecome mandatory in MY 2017 after twoyears of voluntary compliance.

Anticipation of the fuel consumption andGHG emissions standards has helped drivedevelopments in such areas as emissionscontrol technology, weight reduction, andaerodynamics. More stringent federal limits oncriteria pollutant emissions that fully tookeffect in MY 2010, along with rules requiringultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel, have also helpeddrive such developments.Actions by Europeanregulators are additionally an important driverin an increasingly globalised heavy-vehicleindustry.

In August, federal regulators finalised US fueleconomy and GHG emissions rules for MY2017 and later light vehicles - an actionwhich could help stimulate additionaldevelopment of ‘clean’ vehicle and engine

Driver of change orcause for concern?The key driver of emissions standards will always begovernment regulation, but can legislators overcome politicsto really push industry progress?

By Ian C.Graig

London’s black cabsturn green with NVIn August 2012, Nissan unveiled the NV200 LondonTaxi. Based on Nissan's NV200 lightcommercial vehicle (LCV), the NV200 LondonTaxi has been developed “from the insideout” to meet the city’s demanding cab requirements

By Martin Kahl

Nissan says it has developed theinterior for full accessibility for all,working closely with authorities and

passenger groups to ensure maximum accessinto the vehicle and maximum view out of thevehicle.

London follows NV200 taxi launches in Tokyoand NewYork.“Our mission is to bring visionand excitement to the three most pioneeringcities in the world,” said Nissan MotorCompany's ExecutiveVice President,AndyPalmer, at the vehicle’s launch.

With taxis being such an emblem of any majorcapital, why has Nissan decided to take on thetaxi operations of three of the world’s biggestcities? “Sometimes taxis are an emblem, butsometimes they're an embarrassment,” Palmertells Commercial Vehicle Megatrends.

“There are plenty of cities around the worldthat run second-hand unregulated vehicles, butwe're working with three of the mostprogressive cities that see the cab as part oftheir brand; and as a car company, we see thecab as part of our brand. It's not somethingthat we hide in the corner and pretend wedon't make. Our brand position statement is‘innovation and excitement for everyone’, andthat is the reason that we do light commercialvehicles; it's the reason that we do cabs, Patrol,Pathfinder and mini cars.We look to operate

in at least 92% of the accessible marketsworldwide, which is huge.And cab is animportant part of that and one of the mostimportant symbols of getting non-customersto experience your cars.”

The NV200 was chosen in May 2011 as theexclusive taxi for NewYork City, following thecity’s Taxi of Tomorrow competition that sawthe NV200 shortlisted along with Ford’sTransit Connect and Karsan’s dedicatedV1platform.A majority vote in September 2012saw NewYork City's Taxi and LimousineCommission (TLC) officially approveregulations requiring the replacement ofretiring taxis with the NV200.All newly-registered NYC taxis will be NV200.

Palmer explains that the NV200 wasdeveloped with three goals in mind.“Originally,it was built as a global light commercialvehicle.To be a global van was already achallenge, given the Kangoo-type vehicles andcar derived vans in Europe, the fact that thereis almost no market in the United States, and avery specific market in places like Asia.” Thevehicle needed to meet all globalrequirements, including width (1.7 metreswide to meet the Japanese regulations) andheight (1.85 metres to comply withregulations in Spain).

“We already had these various constraints, but

at the same time, one thing that was veryspecific for us was disabled access. It happensthat Japan’s UD (universal-design) taxi requireswheelchair access.That was easy for us tomeet, and it was part of this original mix of acommercial vehicle that could be a van, a minibus, or a combination vehicle.”

An electric powertrain was the second goalduring development.“From the beginning, weneeded to be able to make sure that when weput the battery underneath, we weren't goingto disturb the height of the platform,” explainsPalmer. Indeed, a question that faced Nissanwas whether its first EV launch would be a caror LCV.“Honestly speaking, the NV200 wasgoing to be the first electric vehicle. But ifwe'd launched a van as the first electric car, itwould have defined the EV in everybody'smind and that's not the image we wanted tocreate of EV.That was why we went with theLeaf first and the NV200 second.”

London’s black cab, says Palmer, was the thirdtarget in the vehicle’s development.“I alwayshad in mind this iconic London cab [i.e. theNV200] replacing what is out there today.Thatwas probably the most difficult one of thewhole dream, frankly, because a front wheeldrive car with a 25 feet turning circle is almostimpossible.About four years ago we werecontacted by NewYork when they openedtheir original bid for theTaxi of Tomorrow.

commercial vehicle megatrendscommercial vehicle megatrends

November 2012| Commercial Vehicle Megatrends | www.automotiveworld.com14 15Commercial Vehicle Megatrends | www.automotiveworld.com |November 2012





Immediately, I jumped on that as anopportunity. It was a long, protractedprocess.There were lots of legal issues,not for us but the city, but it led to theNV200, which eventually wonexclusivity on that fleet. So for the nextten years, every newly registered NewYork taxi will be an NV200.”

Palmer is keen to win black cabbusiness.“You've got the three iconiccities in the world if you can get theblack cab.” London’s Hackney Carriagerequirements are specific andchallenging, and include the famouslytight turning circle, which requiredNissan to re-engineer the steering andfront suspension to achieve a turningcircle of 7.6 metres (25ft).

“The LondonTaxi’s turning circlerequirement is very tough,” says Palmer,“and I was told that it really needed arear-wheel-drive car.We were workingwith an external engineering companyand started with the rear axle.Thesolution involves pushing the wheels outand putting on new over-fenders, whichhas the benefit of making it also look alittle more like a traditional London cab.Once we found a way through theturning circle, the other modificationswere relatively easy.”

The efforts paid off, and Nissan qualifiedfor the Certificate of Conformity.“Wemeet all the criteria required of us,subject to the finalisation of the crashtest.We’ll do it by whole vehicle typeapproval.That is a marker in the sandthat says you can buy an LTI taxi, youcan buy a Mercedes-BenzVito, and nowyou can buy a Nissan NV200.We givethat option and the customer willchoose, and we'll argue on the basis thatour cab is cheaper than LTI, with halfthe fuel consumption.Why wouldn't youwant it? It's going to raise the game.”

London's taxi fleet carries 300,000passengers per day, and covers 230million miles annually. It is alsoresponsible, says Palmer, for 20% of thecity's particulate emissions.The NV200LondonTaxi is powered by a “frugal”(53mpg combined) Euro 5-compliant1.5-litre dCI turbo-diesel with manualand automatic options; this, says Palmer,makes it “50% more fuel efficient thanthe most economical current Londontaxi”, offering taxi drivers very attractivefuel savings of “upwards of £1,000(US$1,600) a year”.The vehicle's price

has not been confirmed, but Nissan saysit will be “significantly lower” than theprice of the current TX4 taxi, and“substantially lower than the currentrivals”, according to Andy Palmer.

If the city were to switch the entirecurrent black cab fleet overnight to theNV200 LondonTaxi,“there would be anestimated annual reduction of 20 metrictonnes of particulate pollution, and38,000 metric tonnes of CO2,” saysPalmer.

Nissan believes it can steal a lead onICE powertrain alone; but it intends togo further, offering an electric version ofthe vehicle. London has a target toremove older, more polluting taxis fromthe streets and to work with theindustry to develop a zero emission taxiby 2020.“The Mayor of London set thechallenge for a zero emission cab by2020.The city can have an EV in April2014, without waiting until 2020.”

Nissan will begin testing a fully electriccab on London’s roads from 2013, aspart of a feasibility study “which couldsee the e-NV200 LondonTaxi fullyoperational in the capital six yearsahead of the Mayor's target.We havethe technology and the desire tointroduce an all-electric taxi whichcould meet the needs of real cabdrivers, and is capable of taking a fastcharge to top up its batteries in lessthan half an hour.”

The challenge of putting an electricversion on the road lies not in thevehicle but in the charging system andinfrastructure. Nissan has stepped up,says Palmer.“But what do we do aboutcharging the cabs that can realisticallyuse a 200 mile range in a day? Howmany charging points do you need?How many of them are fast chargers,slow chargers?” Nonetheless, Palmersees the launch of the NV200 LondonTaxi as “a line in the sand indicating thestart of sustainable, zero emissionmobility in London”.

The acceptance of an electric cab bytaxi drivers and fleets depends heavilyon the strength of the infrastructure.“Ithink it's 100% realistic to say we canhave electric cabs in London conformingto the turning circle in 2014.Thequestion is the mix.To move from 1% ofthe mix to 100% depends oninfrastructure. Basically, it has to be

worth it for the cab driver.To myunderstanding, most cabbies (taxi drivers) doabout 120 miles a day.That means mostcabbies should be driving an EV.

What can the City do to make it easy to makethat EV option? Remove the risks and hurdles,and that comes in the form of incentives,charging infrastructure and public support.”

NewYork,Tokyo and London are three of the12 cities that Palmer says will soon be subjectto fines if they fail to meet emissions targets.Does Nissan have similar taxi plans for those

other nine cities? “We're talking with all ofthose cities. London,Tokyo and NewYork areiconic from a taxi point of view, and they arethe easiest to talk to in terms of bigstatements and big fleets.We're talking toother cities, such as Hong Kong, where theyuse Japanese taxis today, and that’s anotherobvious big fleet.We're also talking to anumber of fleet operators in India. Indiasuffers with supply chain issues and poweroutages. Since you can use your EV car topower your house with when the power isout, there are all sorts of side benefits.And ofcourse, we make the NV200 in India.”

Nissan is also testing EVs in Mexico City andin Sao Paolo.“We’re talking to all of the bigcities around the world. But if you were totalk about cities with iconic taxis, mostpeople would say London, NewYork orTokyo, so those are the ones that we wantedto get.”

The NV200 is built in Japan, China, India, Spain,Indonesia and Mexico.The NV200 LondonTaxi will be built at Nissan’s factory inBarcelona; the battery and motor for theelectric version will come from Nissan’sSunderland, UK plant.



Prior to now, there were no real business,government and sustainability drivers in place.With relatively cheap fuel and the structureof the trucking industry, aerodynamicexcellence was not high on the agenda. But inthe last few years, high fuel prices, corporatesustainability drivers and governmentprogrammes in the United States and otherareas have begun pushing heavy commercialvehicle efficiency.

Prior to those new drivers pushing theindustry, I do not think there was a verystrong focus on advanced aerodynamics. Now,much more sophisticated concepts arestarting to appear, and there’s no reason why atractor/trailer couldn't have the sameaerodynamic performance as the mostaerodynamic cars on the road.

Where do you see the greatest drive toimprove freight efficiency: the tractorOEM, the trailer manufacturer, or thefleet?

Participation is fairly equal, with each partyplaying different roles.The fleet will demandimproved performance.The customer drivesthe industry, and fleets will now be demandinggreater fuel efficiency: they'll be specifying thatas they request quotes from different OEMsfor trailers and tractors.

The engineering capability and manufacturinghas to come from suppliers, who have to react

positively to increased pressure for moreperformance.You'll start to see moreteamwork between different OEMs and that'swhere SmartTruck comes in: we're not atrailer manufacturer, we're a new perspective.OEMs, particularly on the trailer side, areworking with companies like SmartTruck toimprove engineering capabilities by looking atwhat can we bring from another industry -whether it's motorsports or the aerospaceindustry, or just simply good ideas that we canintegrate into what we've already been doingwell.

Do you get involved with tractor andtrailer manufacturers at the designstage?

We're on a couple of different businessmodels: one is as a direct supplier of partswith our undertray system and the additionalsystems that we will unveil throughout theyear.We currently work more closely with thetrailer manufacturers than the tractormanufacturers.That is partly because thetrailer manufacturers have not had theaerodynamic stress; tractor OEMs have theirown aerodynamic engineers, and have lookedat aerodynamics far more intensely.

That will change - there will be moreintegration between the two parties, but Ithink SmartTruck is working more closelywith trailer manufacturers because that'swhere our first commercial product line is.

Being a supplier puts you in a strongposition to supply not only future truckproducts but also to improve theperformance of the existing fleet. Canyour products go on any trailer?

Yes.The obstacle for us is if there's somethingunderneath the trailer. If there's a toolbox,belly box or other equipment that’s alreadylocated where we'd like to put our undertraysystem, then we have to figure out how tonavigate that. Otherwise, our systems can fiton any trailer that's out there.

The first generation of aerodynamic conceptsfor trailers in particular have been relativelysuperficial.They're all on the exterior of thetrailer, meaning they're all in harm's way. Manyof the concepts need to be operated by adriver. I see devices that extend four feetbehind the trailer.That's not a long termsolution. Suspension, tyre and brake systems -these are already there.You also have thedriver and the maintenance team as anothersystem to consider. If you factor all that in, youhave to create a solution that integrates intothe trailer’s existing systems and if possibleimprove systems like the brake and tyrecooling, whilst allowing access to theunderside of the trailer for maintenance.As aresult of all those variables, we concluded withan under-tray strategy. Our goal was to createa very rugged, durable system that has as goodor better performance than anything elsethat's already out there, that the driver wouldlike, that the maintenance team would like andappreciate, and that the executives in thecompany would like because it would deliverperformance without forcing the fleet tocontinue to buy spare parts and work on thething.

Your product range involves a verysimple concept, so why are theseproducts not being fitted on every singletrailer worldwide?

Why isn't our type of system on everything?This is a classic problem with a relatively newproduct. Most fleets have at least heard of us,but they were more familiar with a side skirtor another technology that's been out longer.Until proven, we're just another one in a lineof people trying to get into this marketplacewith an unproven system in the minds of thatfleet.

We have to earn the respect of the industry.That takes time.And there's another factor:how fleets test.We've got 75 or so activecustomers that are switching their fleet overto our system, that run in-service realevaluations over time, over a season - 10,000



Canyou please provide somebackground to SmartTruck?

SmartTruck is focused on the aerodynamicdesign of long-haul tractor/trailers. Most ofour engineers have aerospace experience,including supersonic business jets and privatecommercial ventures. Our mechanicalengineering team and many of ouraerodynamic team were part of racing teamsincluding Formula 1 and IndyCar.

Our goal, after seeing what was out there,was to design the next generation ofaerodynamic products.The first generation,things like side skirts and other devices, areall on the exterior of the trailer footprint.Our system is more integrated into theoverall design.

What are some of the headline numbersthat can illustrate benefits of yourproducts?At what speed does yourproduct range kick in, and what are thepotential savings you can offer?

We're looking for highway speedperformance, a long-haul duty cycle. By thevery definition, you're looking at 60-95%highway miles and whether you're going65mph, 70mph or 55mph, these systems aregoing to work. Obviously the faster you go,the more performance you'll get out of oursystem, but we would never recommendsomeone drive at 70mph to get moreperformance out of our system, as that willuse more fuel. Slow and steady is more

efficient.We recommend our product line forhighway miles.You have to have that long-haulor line-haul duty stuff.That's where you getthe most benefit.

Basically we have an entry level setup thatcomes in at about 5.5% highway MPGimprovement.That's our UT-1 system.OurUT-6 system steps up with an additionalcomponent and we're at about 7% highway

mpg improvement.Then we have a side fairingoption we can put on top of that, which goesto over 10%, and we have some additionalnew commercial products that get us in the12% range.

Do you feel that OEMs and fleets aredoing enough to improve theaerodynamics and efficiency of theirproducts?

Putting the smart inaerodynamicsWith a team of Formula One specialists and aerospaceengineers on its side, SmartTruck’s mission is to develop thenext generation of aerodynamic designs. Commercial VehicleMegatrends spoke to SmartTruck President MitchGreenberg about making a simple concept the next big thing

By Martin Kahl


miles, 30,000 miles and beyond.Theperformance they're seeing is all consistentwith what we project.When fleets, incontrast, do short-term evaluations, they doa Type 4 test on the highway to simulatesome of the SAE protocols.What comesback is completely random.We don'tunderstand why we see that, why our shortterm evaluation can produce anything.Andthe long term evaluation, in service, withdedicated equipment, produces consistentperformance.

Do you sell your products only in NorthAmerica or do you also have interests inother markets?

Our biggest markets are, of course, the UnitedStates and Canada.We do have a couple ofrequests for Mexico and have just started aprogramme in Chile.We've looked at China,Europe, and there's growth in Australia.Wehaven't created tangible programmes thereyet. In some cases, there may need to be somesubtle adjustments to our commercial productline up so that we can create a long-lastingsolution for their trailers which have some

fundamental differences from typical trailers inNorth America.

The Rio+20 award certainly helped putyou on a global stage as supplier ofsomething sustainable for the future.Has it generated additional interestfrom outside NorthAmerica?

Yes, we were very pleased to be recognisedlike that.We’ve had requests from Europe,Australia andAfrica, all looking to understand ifour product can be applied to those trailers.We need to do a pilot project where we cando some field adjustments.We may have to bepatient as we move into the other markets, butwe definitely have been studying those trailers.

Have the greenhouse gas and fuelefficiency targets that are coming in formodel year 2014 and 2017 spurred onyour development as a result of thebenefits you can offer and the savingsthat need to be made?

The first wave of those requirements is aimedat tractors and engines.The trailer is not yet

included. Our first commercial product linefor trailers is not directly caught up in thosefirst requirements. However, the programmewill broaden and as OEMs look for emissioncredits in the form of fuel saving strategies,SmartTruck will broaden. Obviouslyaerodynamics is just one piece of the puzzle.But if you can take everything to the nextlevel and integrate aerodynamics with thevehicle’s other key systems, like the engine andthe brakes, you start to get into whattomorrow's vehicle might look like.

Regulations currently only target thetractor, not the trailer. Surely byimproving the efficiency of the trailer,you can help to improve the efficiency ofthe tractor?

Yes. It has to be looked at as a single system.And you also may see some business modelchanges with the relationship of thesedifferent players. If there were somecombinations of tractors and trailers that hada better integrated design concept from thebeginning, you could see some significantimprovements.


Speakers confirmed so far include...

Marc Llistosella, CEO & MD, Daimler India Commercial VehiclesAnirudh Bhuwalka, Managing Director & CEO, Asia Motor WorksP Kaniappan, Whole-Time Director,WABCO IndiaNandkumar Khandare, Vice President - Engineering,Mahindra NavistarAlfredo Meyer, General Manager - Business Development, VoithMervin Dunn, President & CEO, Commercial Vehicle GroupNorbert Dressler, Partner, Roland BergerDr Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Partner India, Roland BergerV. G. Ramakrishnan, Vice President, Frost & SullivanA Ramasubramanian, President, Asia Motor WorksNeelkanth Marathe, Senior Deputy Director, Powertrain Engineering, ARAI

Plus speakers from Volvo Truck India and many more still be confirmed.

For more details please see http://cvmindia2013.automotiveworld.com

February 26-27, 2013ITC Grand Chola, Chennai, India

Tickets from $292*

Scan the QR Code

or visit

http://cvmindia2013.automotiveworld.com

*Price of $292 based on 5 or more delegates buying before 3rd January 2013. Terms & conditions apply

http://cvmindia2013.automotiveworld.com



The global commercial vehicle industryhas found itself at a juncture where aconfluence of threats and opportunities

will easily induce a bipolar personality for themarket. However, a different kind of bipolarityhas emerged from the recent IAA CommercialVehicles show. Step away from the dazzle ofthe show, and a closer examination of theindustry reveals growth opportunities forcommercial vehicle industry participants in thenext ten years that are likely to come fromtwo diametrically opposite poles.While salesgrowth opportunities will come from emergingmarkets (far beyond BRIC to markets asdiverse as Next-11 andAfrican countries),margin growth and growth in developedmarkets will manifest through focus onadvanced powertrain, safety, telematics andchassis technologies.

Megatrends influencing the global CVindustry

Several megatrends are conspiring toinfluence the trajectory the globalcommercial vehicle industry will follow inthe next five to ten years.The increase inurbanisation and its downstreamimplications suggest that we will continueseeing polarisation of truck classes.This isexactly why we are finding Daimler,Volvo,Navistar, Ford and other OEMs stepping outof their traditional product stables intonewer territories.Volvo’s rising activities inthe medium-duty truck market and Ford’sentry in the Chinese heavy-truck market arejust two cases in point. Urbanisation leadingto urban logistics innovation such as hub-

and-spoke logistics and green freightmovement will also drive several changes invehicle design from powertrain downsizingto the proliferation of ultra-low GVWRtrucks, from bus rapid transit (BRT) tohybridisation and powertrain electrification.As the industry continues to face challengesfrom driver and technician shortage,innovative concepts such as mega-trucks andprognostics are being actively pursued.Thedevelopment of new freight routes such asthe Trans-Siberian road network anddevelopment of inter-modal freightmovement networks imply that truckmanufacturers looking at global marketpenetration and organic growth now have tofocus on a much more diverse range ofcommercial vehicles than ever before.

Get connected

In the future, companies that engagecommercial vehicles for freight movement willdemand more visibility into the transportprocess and more connectivity with thevehicles hauling said freight.This implies thattelematics - not just location based trackingbut also mobile resource management toolsthat manifest in the form of vehicle and driverperformance monitoring - will become highlyimportant for improving freight and supplychain efficiencies.Telematics will create newand potentially lucrative revenue streams notonly for OEMs inTRIAD markets but also foremerging market manufacturers.Tata’s recentoffering of telematics services in itscommercial vehicles is an indication of howtelematics and connectivity value propositions

are increasingly resonating with developed anddeveloping market customers.

The rise of the global low-cost truck

The global low-cost truck market is the fastestgrowing segment within the global commercialvehicle market, benefiting from a compoundannual growth rate of 8.6% over the 2010-2017period.While this market is being driven largelyby OEMs in BRIC markets, it is also beingincreasingly contested byTRIAD OEMs.However,Daimler’s andVolvo’s foray into theIndian market are not to be misconstrued aslocal market plays to benefit from a fledgingdemand for commercial vehicles in India.However what is at play here is more strategicthan just that.The entry into low-cost marketsin India and China, for example, createcompetencies in low-cost truck manufacturing,while enjoying local market growthopportunities. Such expertise will greatly benefitand encourage these OEMs and others such asNavistar and Iveco to launch market-readywinning products as the Next-11 andAfricanmarkets evolve. It will also enable manufacturersto entrench themselves further in BRIC marketsand emerge as stronger participants. Finally, iflocal economic conditions in Europe and NorthAmerica remain recessionary for long periodsof time, consumers in these markets will startdemanding lower cost options. In such ascenario, valuable experience and capabilitiesgained in the low-cost truck markets can enableTRIAD market OEMs to cater to the risingdemand. In turn, this will create hurdles foremerging market OEMs that are eyeingTRIADmarkets.



Megatrends and mega opportunitieshighlighted at the 2012 IAATectonic forces are shaping the global commercial vehicle landscape, says Frost & Sullivan’sSandeep Kar



they are made available they will only act asbonuses or auxiliary forces, rather than beingthe prime mover.

Know your driver, know your freight

We tend to easily ignore the fact that thetruck is a workplace: it is a place where adriver spends significant periods of time everyday.TRIAD markets are experiencing ageingtruck driver population and a strengtheningregulatory environment, both of whichunderline the need for health, wellness and

wellbeing to emerge as a key focal point fortruck manufacturers and suppliers in comingyears.

Let us also not forget to understand thenature of the freight that trucks arecarrying.Trucks nowadays are cubing outmore than weighing out.The share of onlinecommerce is on the rise and the formfactor of freight is changing rapidly; truckmanufacturers must offer solutions thatcontinue to support movement of freight inall its forms.

While some of these megatrends are alreadybeginning to show their relevance, a high degreeof macro-to-micro analysis is still needed which- if done effectively for markets ranging fromdeveloped to developing, in scenarios rangingfrom conservative to optimistic - will offer thepath of least resistance to those companies thatmade IAA Hanover 2012 such an interestingplace to be this September.

Sandeep Kar is Global Director of CommercialVehicle Research in Frost & Sullivan’s AutomotiveandTransportation team.



The search for alternative fuels andpowertrains

Speedy urbanisation, coupled with greaterlevels of focus on sustainability and reductionin energy requirements and emissionfootprint, will herald development of smartcities where smart infrastructure and smartenergy will emerge as key focal points forurban planners. It is thus becoming imperativefor commercial vehicle industry participantsto work closely with policy makers todevelop solutions that can catalyse thedevelopment of smart passenger and freightmobility to respond to new needs.This isprecisely why OEMs andTier One suppliershave been found showcasing an entire rangeof hybrid, electric, CNG/LNG and otheralternatively fuelled powertrains.An activerole in policy formulation at this stage willdeliver rewards as global megacities startrelying more on mobility solution providerssuch as truck and bus manufacturers.

Another noticeable megatrend is the risingstrategic relevance of the shale gas revolutionin North America. Frost & Sullivan forecaststhat North American Class 6-8 CNG/LNGtrucks will account for 7% of total productionby 2017. Moreover, the price differencebetween North America and various othermarkets globally is significant, and, as the USand Canada start shipping natural gas as a fuelto Europe and Asia, the demand for naturalgas trucks will increase in lock-step, enablingseveral types of fleets to achieve fuel cost andemission reduction solutions that will be hardto ignore. MAN and Scania’s natural gasengines showcased at the IAA in Hanover thisyear show how important the natural gaspowertrain is becoming to European OEMs:global energy geopolitics are being reshapeddue to fracking technology implemented bythe US.

It was heartening to see that hybrids are notbeing jettisoned by OEMs under the currentdiesel price scenario. Frost & Sullivan analysisindicates that US$4/gallon is the price pointwhere the US industry starts gravitatingtowards hybrid trucks.The previous run andmomentum that hybrids enjoyed over the2007-2008 period was triggered by acombination of tax credits/incentives andvolatile fuel prices - and we saw whathappened when one of those forces withered.The advice to OEMs and suppliers, therefore,is to not rely solely on tax credits/incentivesto create hybrid truck-focused growthstrategies, since the impetus of this force insingularity will cause anaemic growth. Businessmodels need to be created as if there neverwill be any incentives and tax-credits, so that if



So not only would the focus on cabdesign shift from sleeper towards daycabs, but the focus on fuel efficiencywould mean that the design of theengine and transmission would also bevery different for a day cab and for asleeper running much longer distancesover a longer period of time. Is thatcorrect?

Fuel efficiency is the primary focus of futuretruck designs, followed by driver productivity.But we won't compromise fuel efficiency.

In North America, you can spend 11 hours ofa 14 hour day in a day cab. So it’s essential toensure driver productivity, and to make surethe driver feels well rested, relaxed andcomfortable even at the end of the day. Driverproductivity is as important as driver safety.That's why people look atVolvoTrucks,because safety is inherent to the product.Weoffer driver side airbag andVolvo EnhancedStability Technology (VEST) - our commercialname for ESC - as standard, even on our daycab units.

TheVolvo name is synonymous withsafety.How does safety legislation affecttruck design, particularly when you'retaking into account making it fuelefficient and comfortable as well?

In Europe, the commercial vehicle sector isindustry-driven, followed by regulation. In NorthAmerica, the sector is regulation-driven, thenthe industry catches up.We [Volvo] have madesafety a key factor of our business, and we wantto focus on making features like the driver sideairbag andVEST standard.We madeVESTstandard in 2005, and only now is there talkabout making this part of legislation from 2014.

More broadly, is the industry as awhole keeping up with the technologythat's required to meet thislegislation?

OEMs have the technology.The problem inNorth America is that customers aren'tnecessarily willing to pay for all thesefeatures.

Does that affect whether or not you putsomething as standard on a truck?

Correct.We try to look at the technologiesthat are most beneficial to the customer,and make them standard.The ones that canhelp in certain applications, we leave asoptional.

Can you please talk about the impact ofthe FMSCA’s Compliance, Safety, andAccountability Program (CSA 2010) onyour product development?You havetalked about the interior of the cabbeing the driver's workspace. But ifyou've got high driver turnover, plusregulations like CSA 2010,which makebeing a driver even more challenging,what can you as an OEM do to helpoperators?

CSA 2010 is really cracking down on theoperating standards of a motor carrier as wellas driver behaviour. In turn, it has placed apremium on good drivers, and that's one ofthe contributing factors of the driver shortage.And with CSA contributing to the shortage,that's only furthered our needs to developdriver-friendly trucks. Features like the I-Shifttransmission are really driver-centric featuresthat fleets often use to incentivise drivers butalso to help retain drivers.

Has CSA 2010 contributed to the drivershortage?

To what degree the CSA has contributed tothe driver shortage, we don't know. But we doknow that it has had an effect on us, so itcontinues to help us keep those driveramenities and comforts in focus.

NotableVolvo technologies on display atthe 2012 IAA in Hanover included I-Shift, I-See and I-Torque.That indicatesa significant shift in the direction ofbringing electronic technology into thejob of driving the truck,with the driverbecoming part of the vehicle, ratherthan just the driver. Is that somethingthat you see increasing in the future?

Volvo has had the I-shift in North Americasince 2007 and the best thing about it is that itincreases driver productivity, and makes thedriver feel more comfortable at the end of theday. Drivers pay more attention to the road.They can stay focused.And the I-shift comeswith many inherent features.You mentionedthe I-See programme, which is dedicated rightnow for the European market, butVolvo inNorth America uses systems like Eco-Roll,which drops the engine speed down to 600rpm when rolling downhill, and the systemactually engages automatically when it needsengine brake or acceleration. It does this all byitself without any driver interaction.And thoselittle features help improve fuel efficiency.Asof late last year,Volvo has introduced the XEpackages, which are exceptional efficiencyprogrammes with the I-shift inVolvo engines.We're down-speeding the engine by utilisingthe transmission to run at 1,150 rpm at65mph. For every 100 rpm you drop over astandard transmission, you improve your fuel

Interview:

Wade LongDirector, Product Marketing,VolvoTrucks NorthAmerica

With the focus of truck design shifting ever more towards fuel efficiency and drivercomfort,VolvoTrucks is striving to stay ahead of the competition whilst also maintaining alead in the safety technology for which it is renowned.Wade Long talks to CommercialVehicle Megatrends about the OEM's developing plans for North America

By Martin Kahl



From an OEM standpoint, whatdo you see as the key long-termissues that will shape truck

offerings in the NorthAmericanheavy truck sector?

We're seeing changes in the way ourcustomers are operating vehicles.Thedriver shortage in North America is real.There’s a switch to more day cab hauling,with drivers doing slip seat operations, forexample.We see a trend that could lead today cabs becoming a larger portion of theNorth American market than sleepers.Asthe Panama Canal opens up, there areopportunities for more freight to come invia the Gulf Coast, instead of all on theWest Coast.This would enable more spokeand hub work, generating more future daycab business.

Will that shift the focus of designfrom long-haul sleeper cabs to onesmore suited to day cab business?

Yes.You'll see efficiencies in day cabs. Butdriver comfort and driver amenities forthose day cabs are still extremely important.Day cabs account for 40% of the US markettoday, and may get up to, say, 60%, but therewill still be nationwide operators, and a bigdemand for sleeper cabs.The four or fivenight trips will still be there, so fuelefficiency and aerodynamics will continue tobe designed into the product from a day caball the way through to a sleeper.Theindustry will continue to focus on day cabsand sleepers, but day cabs will become alarger portion of the business.



different legislations globally. Ideally it wouldbe great. It would be easier for manufacturersif we didn't have legislation globally drivingdifferent product types.

What prospects do you see foralternative powertrains and fuels inNorthAmerican heavy truck?

Volvo produces only Class 8 heavy dutytrucks in North America.As part of our BluePower strategy, we're partnering withCummins to produce natural gas engines.We have a 9-litre engine available; nextyear we'll have a 13-litrenatural gas engineavailable. In thenear future, the2014 timeframe,we are going tointroduce a 13-litre directdiesel injectionengine to themarketplace, andthis is a hybridwith a diesel and LNG(liquefied natural gas).Then in the long termwe're continuing to look atother alternative fuels.One of our big promises isDME [dimethyl ether].Wewould like to see theindustry look at alternativefuels other than justnatural gas.We believetoday natural gas is puton trucks because it'seasily packaged, readilyavailable and in great demandhere in North America. It's asimple solution that's available right now. Ithink if you look at our Blue Power strategy,

that's how we seeVolvo moving forward inNorth America.

What level of penetration of non-conventional powertrains are youexpecting by 2020 or 2025? How deeplyare people going to be interested innatural gas, hybridisation, or otheralternative technologies?

Even looking at 2020, some of the industrystudies are only forecasting 15% to 18%penetration. Long term, hauling heavy productswill involve diesel fuel. Diesel has the bestpower density, it's readily available and weexpect it to continue to be a major player inthis industry.



efficiency by about 1.5%. So down-speeding100 rpms over a traditional or overdrivemanual transmission, you can save up to 3%fuel efficiency, running at 1,150 rpms at 65mph.In North America we're integrating the engineand transmission, because this is the onlysituation where the transmission controls theengine. It tells the engine when to speed up,when to slow down, when to brake and whento accelerate.That integration, with thetransmission taking over the engine, reallyoptimises the vehicle.

An increasing number of column inchesare being dedicated to theverticalisation taking place in the NorthAmerican truck industry. In the longterm,what role do you think engine andtransmission suppliers will play in thedevelopment and design of a tractor?

In Europe, the industry is essentiallyintegrated.You don't have a choice of enginesand transmissions. In North America, we havegreat partnerships with our suppliers andthere's a marketplace for different engine andtransmission suppliers. However, we'regoing to focus on integration to helpdrive efficiency.

The penetration forVolvo engines in thevehicles we're building for the NorthAmerican market is around 80% or higher.TheVolvo I-shift is only available withVolvoengines, and at this point nearly one of everytwo trucks we build with aVolvo engine alsohas aVolvo I-shift transmission.That's stronggrowth for a product that's only been on themarket for about five years in North America.

In terms of aerodynamics, you cancreate a highly efficient cab, but if it isthen used to haul an awkwardly-shapedtrailer, the effect of the design will belessened.Will the GHG and fueleconomy targets increase the need forOEMs to become more involved in thetrailer design?

That's why today we have so many sleepersizes: we have flat roofs, mid roofs and highroofs in our sleepers already today, and thosesleepers are also available with or withoutroof variance.The first legislation here in 2014,greenhouse gas regulations, look at the

tractor and engine independently. In 2017, theywill just make those rules a little stronger forthe tractor side.We believe there will berequirements for both the tractor and trailerin the 2020 greenhouse gas regulation that willdrive us to work more closely with trailermanufacturers. However, this legislation isn'twritten today.

At the 2012 IAA,Volvo launched the FH,which will be available in Europe, LatinAmerica and some other regions, butnot in NorthAmerica.Do you see anypossibilities that in the future theremight be a ‘global truck’?

Today, I would say no.The European model isbased on bumper-to-bumper legislation, so thecabovers work in Europe because there arerequirements for overall length laws. In NorthAmerica, no state can outlaw less than a 48foot trailer. So you can have 53 foot trailers andthen there are no overall length laws.All theway up to the 1990s, all OEMs had some type

of cabover; however, the marketplacechose which product they

wanted by buying conventional [i.e.bonneted] trucks.The driverschoose conventional trucksbecause they feel safer in a vehiclewith a hood or a bonnet in frontof them.Until legislation drives usinto bumper-to-bumper and we'regoing to focus on cutting throughthe air with these coastdownmodels, I find it hard to think thatwe'll be bringing cabovers backinto NorthAmerica any time inthe near future.

We already do have globalplatforms, particularly for thepowertrain.We have to havemultiple technologies to meet

commercial vehicle megatrendscommercial vehicle megatrends


At CommercialVehicle Megatrends USA2012, Eaton’s Director of Engineering,Nandu Srinivasan, and Craig Jacobs,

Global Chief Engineer of Systems Engineering- Hybrid Power, outlined how the companycan help commercial vehicle OEMs and fleetoperators reduce emissions, increase fueleconomy and improve powertrain efficiency.

Srinivasan’s presentation touched on severalkey areas, including hybridisation, powertrainefficiency and automation.A key theme of hisspeech was that it is no longer sufficient tojust ensure the technical and commercialviability of new technologies, affordable up-front cost and short payback time; it is alsonecessary to ensure that suppliers and OEMstarget the right technologies for theircurrent and developing needs.

Powertrain optimisation is one of the keyissues to be addressed to improve fuelefficiency, says Srinivasan.“Whatever we cando to optimise it as a system, as opposed toindividual sub-systems is probably the key toimproving efficiency.”

AMTs offer big improvements in fuelefficiency

Transmission technology also offers significantopportunities for fuel efficiency improvements,and in terms of commercial vehicle

transmissions,“we are one of the biggestplayers,” he says. Eaton’s latest offering inautomated manual transmissions (AMTs),UltraShift Plus, can deliver “big improvementsin fuel efficiency, and we continue to invest inthat area.” In addition to AMTs, Srinivasan saysthe company has recently made significantinvestments in dual clutch technology,“whichwill shortly go into production.”

The use of AMTs is increasing in the NorthAmerican heavy truck sector, and Srinivasan

sees considerable potential for the technology,which he believes has the potential “to turnevery driver into a great driver”.

“There is so much emphasis going into driverhabits, and their ability to affect efficiency,” hesays.“AMTs are one way of minimising adriver’s influence on that cycle in terms ofacceleration and deceleration.We only seethis going up.”

Making hybrids make business sense

Eaton on the potential forhybridisation and natural gas in CVsNandu Srinivasan, Director of Engineering, and Craig Jacobs,Global Chief Engineer ofSystems Engineering - Hybrid Power, talk to Commercial Vehicle Megatrends about the marketpotential for alternative powertrain technologies in commercial vehicles

By Martin Kahl

November 2012 Commercial Vehicle Megatrends | www.automotiveworld.com | 31

Nandu Srinivasan, Director of Engineering, Eaton, speakingat Commercial Vehicle Megatrends USA 2012



technology, NG could be a viable solution, buthe says further powertrain development isrequired.“Powertrain system optimisationmay be a little bit more of a challenge fornatural gas engines,” he says,“especiallystoichiometric spark-ignited systems.Wethink if there is a weak point, it is in theinfrastructure. On the supply side, there areincentives in the system to make that move.And if the supply side gets freed, then there’sprobably a lot of potential for enginetechnology in this area.”

Although gauging the return on investment isnecessarily application-specific, Jacobs citesimpressive fuel economy savings.“Again, thisvaries by application, and by weight and classof the vehicle, and by what the baseline is. Butwe've seen anywhere in the world from 15%to 35% increases in fuel efficiency, and thatgives a lot of value payback there.”

Justifying the upfront investment

This leads conveniently to the all-importantquestion of whether these savings aresufficient to justify the higher upfrontinvestment in hybrid technology compared toother available technologies. Jacobs indicatesthat while hybridisation already offers benefits,he expects these to increase as thetechnology evolves.“The key here is that thehigh upfront cost does have to be justifiedwith a quick payback period, so the higher it is,the better the benefit needs to be. Eaton isworking on ways to bring that down as wespeak, and we expect that over the course ofthe next several years the high upfront costwill eventually reduce.”

Srinivasan concurs.“The biggest challenge inhybridisation is the initial cost, so we areworking on the affordability portion of hybridsystems.We expect that if we can get thatdown to about a three-year payback, the take-up will expand exponentially.”

Shortly after CVM spoke to Srinivasan andJacobs, Eaton announced (in August) plans todevelop predictive battery managementtechnology intended to optimise theoperation of hybrid electric passenger carsand commercial vehicles.The US$2.8m projectis being jointly funded by Eaton and a grantfrom the US Department of Energy'sAdvanced Research Projects Agency - Energy(ARPA-E), and aims to halve the size of the

battery and improve the total performance ofthe system and its charge rate.Weeks earlier,Eaton had also announced a project part-funded by a US$3.4mARPA-E grant todevelop an affordable home refuelling stationfor natural gas vehicles, developing aproduction prototype for refuelling stationsthat will retail at US$500 around one tenth ofthe cost of currently available systems.

While there may still be significant gains tobe made in conventional fuel and powertraintechnology, Eaton’s pursuit ofcomplementary and alternative remediesillustrates the wide and varied options opento OEMs and fleet buyers seeking toimprove fleet efficiency.



Hybridisation is another technology on whichOEMs are focusing considerable effort andattention. Craig Jacobs sees hybrids becomingan increasingly viable option in the NorthAmerican commercial vehicle market.“I thinkthat hybrids have a lot of opportunities withthe continuously more stringent emissionspolicies in various countries around theworld,” he explains,“especially in NAFTA,where commercial engines are required to goto higher, and higher levels of after-treatmentand exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), whichtends to reduce the fuel efficiency of theengine. Hybrids can be used to gain that backand more.And as fuel prices may increase inthe future, hybrids make more and morebusiness sense.”

The price per gallon of diesel fuel can be usedto gauge - albeit very basically - the economicviability of hybridisation in commercialvehicles. Based on this, hybridisation is “alreadymaking economic sense for certainapplications,” says Jacobs.“One of the rules ofthumb we've been telling people recently isthat every 50 cent increase in the price ofdiesel fuel pulls the payback period down by

one year. So a US$1 increase would be a twoyear decrease in return on your investment.”

As with many alternative powertraintechnologies, hybrid technology is moresuited to some applications than to others.“So far, we've seen the greatest interest inhybrid technology where there is arequirement for frequent stop and start andlow speed operation of the vehicle, overmany hours a day of operation,” Jacobs says.“That's what gives the best payback becauseyou get a high percentage gain plus a lot ofmiles. Long-haul, you get a very lowpercentage gain, so it's hard to get thepayback.With normal city delivery, if thevehicle is only being used a few hours a day, ittakes a long time to get the payback, even ifthe percentage increase is very large.”

Hybrids vs NG and fossil fuel

With rising fuel costs a strong factor in favourof hybridisation, any slowing or decline in theprice of oil, or an improvement in thecommercial viability of natural gas, couldimpact the take-up of hybrid technology.

However, Jacobs is less concerned about theprice of oil than he is about the increasingviability of natural gas.

“The price of oil remaining flat isn't a threatso much as a delay for us,” he explains.“I don’tthink it will remain flat forever, but even if itdoes we are on a trajectory to get toeconomic feasibility in a wide variety ofapplications.”

More realistic competition - at least in theshort to mid-term - comes from NG, hesays.“Natural gas is definitely a majorcompetitor to the hybrid value story. It'ssignificantly cheaper than diesel fuel.However, it's at a century low relative todiesel fuel and we don't see how that trendcan maintain itself for long periods of time.We think as the demand for it goes up, sowill the price, and then its value story willweaken over time.”

Competitive it may (potentially) be, but thereis still some way to go before NG becomes agenuine challenger to hybridisation. Srinivasanagrees that in terms of current engine

So far, we've seen the greatest interest in hybridtechnology where there is a requirement forfrequent stop and start and low speed operation ofthe vehicle, over many hours a day of operation

- Craig Jacobs, Eaton”“

Eaton’s latest offering in automated manual transmissions (AMTs), UltraShift Plus, can deliver “big improvements in fuel efficiency, and we continue toinvest in that area,” says Nandu Srinivasan, Director of Engineering, Eaton

FedEx first started using Eaton's hybrid powertrain technology in 2003



Government regulation

The federal law contained in the Staggers RailAct of 1980 saved railroads in the US fromgoing bust. Essentially a de-regulation initiative,it lowered freight costs and improvedproductivity by allowing railroads to run theirbusiness as they saw fit. Not only did energyefficiency increase but, today,Americanrailroads have the industrial world’s lowestton-miles per dollar (see chart).This has,however, also had the effect of increasingcompetition for the commercial vehicle freighttransport industry.

Deregulation in the US trucking industry bythe Motor Carrier Act of 1980 partly freedthe trucking market in a similar way to allowmanufacturers to reduce inventories, movetheir freight faster, and be more responsive tocustomers. Ultimately, consumers benefitindirectly from the more efficient, lower-costtransport of goods. But in the past decade, asinterstate highways became clogged in placesand started to show the effects of a lack ofinvestment, rail has become the preferredlong-haul choice.Another reason for this isthe huge shortage of drivers in the truckingindustry. Short-haul operations allow driversto return home at the end of a workday andhence are easier staffed. Since one freight traincan carry as much as 280 trucks can, railwayscan help to limit the rise in road congestion byputting trailers on flat wagons for long-hauland using roads only for local pickup and



Rising fuel costs, fuel economy andgreenhouse gas emissions targets, therapid development of in-vehicle

telematics and significant advances inpowertrain technology have madeimprovements in freight efficiency possible -and necessary. However, while continuing tofocus on powertrain technology, aerodynamicsand fleet management, OEMs and fleetoperators have a whole host of other issueswhich also demand their attention.

Long-haul or short-haul?

While the general perception of the truck-freight industry is of huge tractor-trailers andsemis hauling goods on expressways, thereality is quite different. Smaller trucksdominate the market and most truckingoperations are, more or less, short-haul (100-300 miles). Local and regional roadtransportation generate most of the revenuefor the trucking industry and the sectorremains the most versatile last miledistribution platform when compared to railor air.

The relationship between railroads and trucklines is the most complex between any twomodes of transportation - because trucks havethe ability to both generate freight for therailroads and take it away from them.Trucksprovide the short-haul connections betweenthe shipper of freight and the railroad, andbetween the railroad and the end customer. In

addition to generating freight for railroads,trucks also compete with them for intermodaltransport, as they are the carrier of choice formost small businesses.

Among the consequences of a trend towardgreater short-haul operations would be aswitch to smaller engines with even greaterreliability (to combat the added stress ofshort-haul), possible electrification andemphasis on technologies such as start-stop.For long-haul, aerodynamics and rollingresistance become the major factors.

However, with government mandated reduceddriving hours, and a lack of drivers wanting totake up long-haul trucking, labour rates haverisen while miles driven per day have dropped.Fatigue thus becomes a greater factor withincreased length of haul - a fact confirmed by aFederal Highway Administration study thatshowed drivers rated light vehicle drivers astheir number one safety related concern,while fatigue only made it to fifth place.

Manufacturers of trucks will have to designvehicles not just to enhance driver comfort (along distance requirement), but also reducedriver stress (short distance priority). Forexample, because of their inertial momentum,trucks require greater distances between thevehicles in front of them. In moderate toheavy traffic conditions, light vehicles regularlypull in front of them using the space to ‘getahead’.This, and other such manoeuvres, cause

trucks to repeatedly brake and accelerateback up to speed, increasing road-rage andstress for everyone involved.While this maybe less of an issue over long-haul routes, hugefreight efficiencies would be achieved throughadvanced technologies like adaptive cruisecontrol or GPS-enabled rerouting to avoidcongested roads over point-to-point shorthaul routes.

There is always an unseen advantage incapturing such trends. If manufacturers seethese trends and cater to the requirementsthat enhance fleet efficiency, there will befewer standards and less regulation brought inby government.

Freight efficiency:looking for the next big thing to improve margins and cut costs

Improving freight efficiency can help fleets not only meetemissions and fuel economy targets, but also improve theirprofits.Vazir Fatehi of P3 Group North America exploressome of the ways this can be done

Low-cost AmericaRail-freight rates, 2006-08 average, US-100

Source: Association of American Railroads*Purchasing-power parity

At market exchange rates At PPP*

0 100 200 300 400

ItalyFranceGermanyJapanSpainCanadaUSIndiaRussiaChina

The T680 is Kenworth's most aerodynamic truck ever and has received US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWay Designation


times can be ordered from distributors andshipped to a repair facility on a truck’s route orto the fleet’s home service station and replacedbefore the truck’s next trip. GPS-enabled real-time truck tracking enable fleet managers toensure drivers are not taking time off duringnormal operating hours, or straying fromregular routes.

Since most operating efficiencies have comeabout due to a reduction in carriedinventories and just-in-time delivery, theinformation technology revolution has greatlyimproved the accuracy of shipping data andthe speed with which this information can beshared. Simple innovations such as orderingfreight online and thereafter schedule deliveryhas led to huge improvements in freightefficiency. Satellite and mobile communicationstechnology has permitted trucks to cater tocustomer demand, which requires travel todiverse sites (and not necessarily fixed routesystems). Load scheduling systems haveallowed fleets to access thousands of freightorders per second and to assign the loads totrucks that are at different locations each day.Innovations in the US, such as PrePass forstate weight and safety compliance, and FASTfor cargo release by US Customs, havereduced the time-in-transit spent by thefreight.Trends such as these will only continueas fleets seek to improve efficiencies stillfurther and reduce LTL (less than truckload)shipments.

In conclusion, there is a vast amount ofimprovement that can be brought to thetrucking industry creating huge potential inthe area of freight efficiency.With movestoward short-haul, fleet operators will slip-seat their drivers for optimum utilisation. Forsome, this can be frustrating, as theyfrequently have to adjust to a new truck; here,the key to freight efficiency leadershipinvolves a combination of driver training,interface commonisation across productfamilies and other improvements inergonomics.

Improving freight efficiency requires a

collaborative effort:OEMs bring to the tableimproved tractor aerodynamics, bettertransmissions and lubricants, and engine idlereduction, among other technologies; theaftermarket and ancillary firms offer reducedrolling resistance (wide-base tyres instead ofduals, or self-inflating tyres), trailer skirts andboat-tails, reduced weight trailers and so on;input from fleet operators will come in theform of investment in IT to streamlineprocesses, and in newer trucks to reduceaverage fleet age and improve operationalefficiency.

Vazir Fatehi is a consultant at P3 North America.


delivery - reducing the need for long-hauldrivers.

Meanwhile, regulations on longer combinationvehicles vary widely from state to state withinthe US, reducing interstate operability.As oftoday there is no world standard in thetrucking industry for trailer sizes.Weights andlengths of trailer sizes vary greatly betweenthe US (80,000 lbs and 53 ft), Europe (up to132,000 lbs and 83.5 ft in Scandinavia) and theUK (97,000 lbs and 45 ft).This complicatesefforts to introduce international tradestandards for last-mile distribution. Evenintermodal containers vary in length, from 8ft(2.438m) to 56ft (17.07m), and height, from 8ft(2.438m) to 9ft 6in (2.9m).Again, these aredifferent from air cargo containers specifiedby unit-load device, reducing interoperability.

This, of course, must, also take into accountthe fact that many of these trucks have vastlydifferent purposes.A refrigerated trucktransporting farm produce to supermarketswill be different from oil-tankers supplying gasstations; even the exchange of their freightbetween truck and loading dock will differ.

Noise regulations are also part ofgovernment-mandated targets for truckmanufacturers.While primarily intended toreduce drive-by disturbance to personsoutside the truck, there are also documentedstudies that have proven induced hearing lossin drivers that undoubtedly reduce fleetefficiencies, albeit indirectly.Trends towardsmaller engines or electrification are also astep toward quieter trucks.

While most governmental regulatory effort isexpended on emissions reduction, the EnergyInformation Administration’s 2011 AnnualEnergy Outlook stated that US heavy vehiclefuel consumption will increase by 25%between 2010 and 2020.With fuel pricestracing an upward trajectory, followingincreased worldwide demand and energymarkets constantly subject to disruptions andspeculation, the focus of truck and enginemanufacturers should be on lowering energycosts, which ultimately translates into lowerrunning costs for fleet operators. Butefficiency is dependent on much more thanjust fuel-sipping powertrains. Drivers have tobe trained to extract the best mileage from

their trucks, using intelligent programming tohelp trucks ‘see’ the road in front, allowingthem to increase speed, shift gears orcommence braking and thereby optimiseengine power utilisation.

Information technology

The role of IT in improving freight efficiency isone of huge potential that has yet to be fullytapped. Freight efficiency is not just aboutcarrying loads on aerodynamic trucks, but alsoabout intelligent logistics to reduce the numberof trucks on the road and improve cargo-capacity utilisation rates and multi-useoperational capability. From computerised truckidling programmes to paperless driver logsystems, fleets today are deploying IT to reduceoverheads for freight delivery.Trends point toremote monitoring of engine conditions: on-board diagnostics are already a generation oldin the road-freight industry. Sensors and data-loggers that transmit thousands of parametersto fleet management servers enablemaintenance staff to spot developing faultsbefore they cause breakdowns, therebyreducing truck downtime. Parts with long lead


November 2012 Commercial Vehicle Megatrends | www.automotiveworld.com | 37

P3 North America

phone +1 248 792 - 2277

P3 Group - Europe

phone + 49 711 700 26460

www.p3-group.com

BUSINESS STRATEGY

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

PROJECT & PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

ELECTRIC /ELECTRONIC SYSTEM INTEGRATION

COST & QUALITY MANAGEMENT

INFOTAINMENT & TELEMATICS VALIDATION

ALTERNATIVE POWERTRAIN DEVELOPMENT

SOFTWARE TESTING

DEVELOPMENT PROCESS & IMPLEMENTATION

commercial vehicle megatrends magazine – q4 2012

Documents

light commercial vehicle

vehicle frompassenger

commercial vehiclesector

freight efficiency

new contender

truck industry

taxi marketis

new progress danarcy