• 500 Ashwoods Hybrid Transits available
• Includes Panel vans, Dropsides, Tippers, Chassis cabs and other variants
• £1.7m available in purchasing subsidies from OLEV
• Any Public Sector body can purchase the vehicles from exclusive framework and receive Grant
• Vehicles must be ordered by 31st March 2012
• Ashwoods taking orders on a first come, first served basis

UP TO 500 low carbon light commercial vehicles from Ashwoods Automotive will be deployed this year for a major UK Government programme. Transport Minister Norman Baker explained; “We need to work hard to reduce emissions from all sectors of transport and the Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme plays an essential role. This funding of up to £1.7m will mean a further 500 low carbon vans can be purchased by public fleet buyers.”

Phase Two of the Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme (LCVPP) offers Ashwoods Hybrid Transit Panel vans, Chassis Cabs, Dropsides and Tippers to the public sector with a grant subsidy to cover the price differential. The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) has allocated £1.7m to pay the difference between up to 500 Ashwoods Hybrid vehicles and the equivalent standard diesel vehicle. The innovative hybrid system reduces fuel consumption by up to 20%, and thanks to the grant, fleets will immediately save money on fuel and reduce emissions.

Based on 20,000 miles per annum and current fuel prices, deploying 500 Ashwoods Hybrid Transits would save the public purse £1.4m and lower carbon emissions by 1,072 tonnes over three years.

Mark Roberts, Managing Director of Ashwoods Automotive, said: “This is a huge opportunity for local authorities, NHS trusts and other public bodies to lower fuel bills and meet their targets to cut their carbon emissions.

Any public sector body can apply for the subsidy. The deadline to access the funding is 31st March 2012. There is no limit on how many vehicles each organisation can order – and Ashwoods will take orders on a strictly first come, first served basis.”

Phase One of LCVPP saw almost 200 hybrid and all-electric vans delivered to a range of councils, Government agencies and universities. Out of the four suppliers in Phase One, only Ashwoods qualified for Phase Two. Phase One was restricted to panel vans. For Phase Two, fleets can benefit from Ashwoods’ hybrid technology on any rear-wheel-drive Ford Transit, including Chassis Cabs, Dropsides and Tippers.

Norman Baker, Transport Minister said: “In order for fleets to make the shift to low carbon vehicles, the technology must be practical, cost-effective, scalable and reliable. Ashwoods met all these criteria in Phase One of the programme and we are delighted to move forward with them into Phase Two.”

Ben Bradshaw MP said “This is an excellent opportunity for Ashwoods and a testament to their reputation as one of the UK’s most innovative automotive development houses. This contract proves that investing and developing in low carbon pioneering technology is the future and I am delighted they are part of Devon’s emerging and growing low carbon businesses”.

The Ashwoods Hybrid Transit is Britain’s best selling hybrid LCV. The hybrid technology system recovers energy normally lost during braking and deceleration. A battery stores the energy before an electric motor redirects it to the rear wheels – making the vans extremely efficient. Because the hybrid system is entirely self powered, the vans never need to be plugged in for a battery charge. And unlike pure electric vehicles, hybrids are not restricted to low mileage duties.

Read the full story Ashwoods selected for government funded low carbon programme at our blog

The Exeter-based business is seeking to grow its market share in the production of components for hybrid and electric vehicles.

The investment, which has come from unnamed individuals with a background in the automotive sector, sees Jeremy Ellison join the firm’s board as finance director.

The funding will be invested in developing new products and services, in particular in recruiting skilled staff to help the business develop new lines for electric and hybrid vehicles.

It is estimated that the firm’s current 25 strong workforce will grow by 20 per cent.

Managing director Mark Roberts said: “We are delighted to have completed this deal as it sets us up to deliver our growth plan. The investment will accelerate the commercialisation of our development portfolio and our expansion into new markets, as well as allowing us to build on our success to date in the hybrid vehicle market.”

The company, which won the prize for Innovation of the Year at the recent Western Morning News Business Awards, has already developed a hybrid drive system which combines diesel and electric power to achieve its environmental objectives without impacting on the residual value of a vehicle.

During tests by CENEX – the UK’s first centre of excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technologies – the Ashwoods hybrid reduced CO2 emissions and fuel costs by between 15 and 25 per cent and, in the urban drive cycle, by as much as 33 per cent.

Ashwoods has already supplied more than 200 hybrid vans to the country’s largest commercial fleets and has a further 500 vehicle ordered for 2012.

The company has also developed a range of hybrid and electric supply chain components including electric motors, battery management systems and battery modules.

Its product development has previously been supported by the Government’s Technology Strategy Board.

John Laughlin, the TSB’s low-carbon-vehicles programme manager, said: “We have been impressed with Ashwoods’ growth over recent years and are delighted to see their hard work and innovation being rewarded.”

The funding deal saw the firm advised by private equity specialist Matt Stoate, from Foot Anstey.

Mr Ellison said: “The structuring of this deal required a private equity specialist and we were delighted to be able to work with an experienced South West based solicitor in Matt Stoate, who understands the needs of these types of transactions.”

Read the full story Ashwoods secures a £2.6m funding deal to develop low carbon products at our blog

 Ralph Hosier, SMMT judge , engineer and motoring journalist  commenting on the shortlist of six said, “The level of detail people had to go into to make their systems work was very impressive. Because they couldn’t find anything off the shelf that would actually work for them they created something that would.  The ingenuity in the detail was quite amazing”.

 The award, sponsored by GKN Driveline, was presented to JLR’s Chief Engineer, Hybrids, Peter Richings at SMMT’s Annual Dinner by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Norman Baker and Rob Rickell, Global Engineering Director, GKN. 

 Commenting on the announcement, Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive and chair of the five-strong judging panel said, “The awards clearly demonstrates industry’s commitment to lowering vehicle emissions and creating exciting products for demanding consumers. They champion industry innovation – promoting cutting-edge automotive engineering and design that the UK is famed for around the world.”

 Sponsor of this year’s Award, GKN Driveline’s Engineering Director, Rob Rickell said, “GKN Driveline is once again proud to sponsor the award. As a UK company, we recognise that research and development of technology will result in innovative solutions satisfying our society’s demanding and ever evolving needs. By doing this successfully, we and others will have a positive impact on the environment, the communities and the economies in which we all operate. The finalists tonight demonstrate fine examples of developments that embody that spirit.”

 On presenting the Award, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Norman Baker, spoke about the importance of recognising innovation within the UK’s automotive sector, adding that a collaborative approach across the commercial, business and government sectors was essential in encouraging new technologies and products to market. 

 This year’s Award was judged by a panel of senior industry figures, including Dave Salt, Chief Engineer, GKN Driveline, Ralph Hosier, Engineer and Motoring Journalist and Jon Beasley, Group Technology Officer, GKN.

Read the full story Ashwoods takes second place to Jaguar Land Rover at SMMT’s 2011 Award for Automotive Innovation at our blog

WMN editor Alan Qualtrough said, “The aim of our awards was to celebrate the Westcountry’s business talent and innovation and all the winners should feel very proud of their achievements.”

Ashwoods Head of Marketing Victoria Davison said, “We are delighted to have been recognised for our innovation and as an Exeter based business be among the growing business community demonstrating excellence in the South West”.

Main sponsor was South West Water with Coutts, Viridor, Plymouth University, Brewin Dolphin, Gregory Distribution, Foot Anstey, KPMG, Bond Pearce, RBS and First Great Western.

Read the full story Innovation for Ashwoods at Western Morning News Business Awards at our blog

Cleantech Connect 2011, recognizes Europe’s rising stars within the Clean Technology industry and Ashwoods Automotive are proud to again be listed in the top 25 League Tables.

Read the full story Ashwoods ranks in top 25 Clean Technology Businesses at our blog

Demonstrating an innovation that not only has a significant impact on society but a financial impact at a business level, the Ashwoods Hybrid Drive System works by taking wasted energy from braking and decelerating and storing it to be used to assist vehicles when required. Designed as an alternative over low range, high cost Electrical Vehicles, the Ashwoods Hybrid Drive System is fully commercialised and used by over 35 companies including Royal Mail, BT, Transport for London (TFL) and NHS.  Funding from the Technology Strategy Board has been instrumental for Ashwoods to develop their hybrid technologies and expand their product portfolio.

 The IET Innovation Awards recognise the most creative companies operating within a wide variety of engineering and technology disciplines, with 15 categories including asset management, telecommunications and product design. 

Upon receiving the award, Martin Kadhim, Business Development, Ashwoods Automotive said, “To even have been nominated in categories with some of these fantastic companies is a real honour. We’ve tirelessly developed our technologies for commercial purposes, not just for innovation’s sake, we’ve taken this product from innovation to commercialisation and it’s great to be recognised in this way.”

Attracting a record 420 entries from around the globe, the awards provide industry innovators a unique opportunity to demonstrate their skill and imagination as they tackle their own local, economic and social challenges.

The awards culminated in a glittering awards ceremony last night at the Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane, London, hosted by actor, writer and presenter, Robert Llewellyn. The Awards were sponsored by ABB, Altran Praxis, D Young and Co, Lloyd’s Register, Mathworks, National Grid, NPL and Withers and Rogers.

Read the full story Hybrid technology takes three IET Innovation Awards at our blog

The 43 winners, the majority of which are companies from the South West, will get coveted space in the Showcase and the opportunity to demonstrate their ideas to the Venturefest audience.  In turn, the audience will be treated to a series of exciting, interactive displays of new products and services representing a cross section of the great new ideas emerging.

Ashwoods were chosen by a panel of investors, high growth business coaches and successful entrepreneurs, including the Innovation Showcase sponsors, Horatio Investments and Eden Ventures.  They looked at the growth potential of the business idea, the level of innovation in the proposed product or service and crucially, investment readiness. 

“The quality and quantity of applicants was high.  The panel are confident that the Showcase will feature exciting new business ideas which will use Venturefest to grow their businesses.  Some undoubtedly have the potential to become very significant technology businesses in the future.” remarked Richard Male, Plexus Technology Ventures, who chaired the selection panel.

Based in Exeter, Devon, Ashwoods’ guiding principles are to engineer systems that are robust, practical, designed for volume production and deliver excellent performance and value for money. Ashwoods is building on the success of its hybrid commercial vehicles with the launch of a complete range of high performance, low cost electric and hybrid vehicle technologies and system development.

Venturefest Bristol is a one day event, bringing together the business community to make new business ideas a reality. It is taking place at the Bristol & Bath Science Park on the 3^rd November. Investors and business support providers will benefit from a close look at the innovative businesses in the showcase and in the audience.  Delegate registration is open at: http://tinyurl.com/vfbreg.

A full list of innovation showcase winners can be found at: http://www.sciencecitybristol.com/pages/31-innovation-showcase

Read the full story Ashwoods selected for Venturefest South West showcase at our blog

Exeter based Ashwoods Automotive has been successfully shortlisted for eight prestigious awards for the Ashwoods Hybrid Drive. Getting shortlisted for a chance at the main awards is a testament to Ashwoods reputation as one of the UK’s most innovative automotive development houses.

The calibre of entrants has been very high this year with many of the awards experiencing record numbers of applications.

Ashwoods are one of six selected for the to go through to the SMMT Award for Automotive Innovation for their hybrid drive system, the Oscars of the automotive industry.

The IET have recognised Ashwoods Hybrid Drive system by putting them through in four categories including product design and sustainability.

Ashwoods technologies reduce carbon emissions and fuel consumption and this has been reflected in the British Engineering Excellence Awards taking Ashwoods through for ‘Green Product of the Year’ recognised by the UK’s engineering community.

Innovation is key to Ashwoods approach to development of their hybrid and electric vehicle technologies so a natural choice for the  Energy Saving Trust Fleet Hero Awards to put them through to the second round of the Innovation in Fleet Services and Systems category.

The Low CVP has nominated Ashwoods for Innovation of the year for their Green Champions Awards.

Ashwoods Hybrid Drive has also been shortlisted for The Manufacturer of the Year Awards 2011 in the ‘Innovation and Design’ category.

Networking organisation Devon Environmental Business Initiative (DEBI) had a large number of entrants for the Environmental Goods and Services category so we were very pleased to have been selected for this and the Environmental Champion Awards to be announced at the MET Office late November.

 The Western Morning News Awards has shortlisted Ashwoods’ hybrid technology for the Innovation of the Year.

Finally, the Ashwoods Hybrid Drive has also been shortlisted for The Manufacturer of the Year Awards 2011 in the ‘Innovation and Design’ category.

The awards will be announced over the next few weeks.

In 2010 Ashwoods was ranked the fastest growing Cleantech company in Europe.

For information about our Hybrid Drive LCV’s and other products and services call Ashwoods Automotive on 0845 641 0716.

Read the full story Ashwoods shortlisted for eleven automotive innovation awards at our blog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO5RyFfqTLk&feature=related

Read the full story About EcoDrive+ and Hybrid at our blog

• Radial & Axial Flux Motors
• Battery Management System & Battery Pack
• FWD Hybrid System
• Simulation software
• HEV & EV drive system development

ASHWOODS Automotive is building on the success of its hybrid commercial vehicles with the launch of a complete range of high performance, low cost electric and hybrid vehicle technologies and system development.

The new products include radial and axial flux electric motors, a battery management system (BMS), battery pack, unique simulation software and a ‘plug-and-play’ hybrid system for front wheel drive vehicles. Ashwoods initially began developing the products to solve technical challenges encountered while creating the Ashwoods Hybrid Transit. Based on the Ford Transit, this van is now the UK’s best-selling hybrid light commercial vehicle.

Mark Roberts, Managing Director of Ashwoods, said: “During our own vehicle development, we realised there was a total lack of components that combined realistic performance with durability and value for money. Eventually, we decided to do it ourselves.

“With 1.4 million miles of real-world hybrid and electric vehicle data, we were extremely well placed to develop more efficient, robust supply chain components. This experience, allied to our proprietary systems, also makes Ashwoods a practical, cost-effective platform development partner for major vehicle manufacturers.”

Ashwoods developed the new product portfolio through a programme part-funded by the Technology Strategy Board, in which it also collaborated with leading universities. The company unveils its new range at LCV 2011, the UK’s leading conference and exhibition for low carbon vehicle technologies. LCV 2011 takes place at Rockingham race circuit, near Northampton, on Wednesday and Thursday September 7^th & 8^th. Ashwoods will be displaying the new components on its own stand and the TSB stand. Visitors can also experience the Ashwoods Hybrid and EcoDrive+Transit vans on the race track.

Ashwoods’ guiding principles are to engineer systems that are robust, practical, designed for volume production and deliver excellent performance and value for money.

 Ashwoods Energy

Unable to find a BMS capable of meeting the demanding duty cycle on its Ashwoods Hybrid Transit, the company developed its own. Ideal for  hybrids or pure EVs, Ashwoods Energy supports a range of cell chemistries including LiFePO4 (lithium-ion iron phosphate), LiPO (lithium polymer) and NMC (Nickel Metal Chloride). The company has already sold more than 3,000 units into power generation, automotive and military applications and recently won a Shell Springboard Award for this innovative technology. Ashwoods Energy also offers a complete battery pack solution for automotive applications such as EVs and HEVs that are also exploitable for the marine, industrial and energy generation sectors.                               

Ashwoods Motors offers two products with a highly competitive price-per-kilowatt ratio, making them among the best value motors on the market. This is largely due to a unique modular design, which means they can be assembled within one hour. The motors are ideal for a range of applications including small EV, mild hybrid, motorcycle/scooter that are also exploitable for the marine, industrial and energy generation sectors.

The Radial Flux Permanent Magnet Outrunner Motor is compact, lightweight and powerful, with an innovative cooling system that allows for greater heat dissipation. 

The Ashwoods Axial Flux Permanent Magnet Motor is highly adaptable and can be easily configured for different mounting options.

Ashwoods Front Wheel Drive Hybrid System designed for low cost, high volume manufacture, has been developed for a wide range of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. It builds on the success of Ashwoods Hybrid Drive, developed for the rear wheel drive Ford Transit. The simple, robust system is designed for low cost, high volume manufacture. It is air-cooled, meaning it does not require a complex liquid cooling solution like other hybrids. The entire system can be installed in a few hours without cutting any wires or drilling any holes on the host vehicle – meaning warranties and residual values remain intact. Ashwoods is currently developing the system for various platforms with five major automotive manufacturers.

 Ashwoods Development – complete hybrid and electric drive system development and integration

Ashwoods Development services encompass Ashwoods hybrid and electric vehicle development projects focused on simple vehicle integration strategies that are driven to achieve maximum market acceptability and scalability. The company’s in-house capabilities and services to OEMs include advanced BMS design and integration, CAD design, motor design and manufacture, PCB design, productionising, programming, prototyping, simulation and testing. Drawing on 1.4 million miles of real-world data from Ashwoods’ own vehicles, there practical approach and attitude can help OEMs speed up vehicle development and prototyping. The key advantages are reduced development costs and shorter project duration.

Read the full story LCV 2011 Launch – EV & HEV components & services to OEMs at our blog