LPG Vans and Hybrid Vehicles

Leading hybrid commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashwoods Automotive has clinched another award.

The Exeter-based company won the prestigious Manufacturing Innovation Award at the Insider Made in the South West Awards, held in Bristol.

Neil Tague, Editor at South West Business Insider which organises the Awards said: “The South West has some really smart businesses providing next-generation solutions in their chosen fields, and Ashwoods is one of the best.

“It has identified a market requirement for a more efficient and environmentally-friendly way to run commercial fleets and is meeting that demand superbly.”

Ashwoods Automotive is the UK’s largest supplier of hybrid commercial vehicles. The company is the sole hybrid vehicle supplier to the Department for Transport’s Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme (LCVPP), which provides subsidies to public sector bodies purchasing hybrid vans and minibuses.

Ashwoods is also fast-growing player in the fields of driver behaviour technology and the design of low carbon vehicle components. The company recently started manufacturing its innovative Ashwoods electric motor in the South West – significantly improving its bottom line.

Ashwoods is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the leading players in HEV and EV core drive train components including electric motors, gearboxes, batteries, battery management systems and eco-driving technologies. This includes the award winning Lightfoot in-cab driver efficiency system.

Martin Kadhim, Business Development Manager at Ashwoods Automotive, said: “Ashwoods entered the awards because we wanted to be recognised for our local efforts. We try to keep our supplier base as south-west based as possible, for example 75 per cent of the hybrid components are sourced from within 25 miles of the Exeter office – and despite the opportunity to manufacture overseas, Ashwoods Hybrid Drive system is manufactured in Weston-Super-Mare.”

He added: “Winning the award means so much to the team here at Ashwoods as it gives the team further recognition for their focus on developing great technologies that help reduce carbon and play a pivotal role in the fast developing low emission manufacturing industry in the UK.”

A total of six other category winners were announced at the ceremony at Marriott Hotel on November 8th.

These include:

Aerospace/Defence – Aero Stanrew (Barnstaple),

Exporter of the Year – Avon Metals (Gloucester)

Sustainable Manufacturer – Green Fuels (Stonehouse, Gloucestershire)

Food and Drink – Thatchers Cider (Sandford, Somerset)

Advanced Manufacturer – GKN Aerospace (Filton)

Manufacturer of the Year – Burts Chips (Roborough)

The Made in the South West Awards were sponsored by Barclays, Foot Anstey, Grant Thornton, GoIndustry, G4S, TasteTech and University of Bristol.

A new website to help public sector fleets realise the benefits of a Government hybrid vehicle programme is now live.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is offering grant funding towards a new Ashwoods Hybrid Transit light commercial vehicle (LCV) through its Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme (LCVPP).

The programme was established to help public sector organisations such as central and local government bodies to become early adopters of low carbon vehicles. It has now been extended to cover housing associations, universities and further education establishments.

The Ashwoods Hybrid Transit, produced by Ashwoods Automotive Ltd and based on the popular RWD Ford Transit, is the only DfT-approved vehicle in the programme. It is available as a chassis cab, minibus or panel van. Under the LCVPP scheme, DfT provides a subsidy of more than £3,400 per vehicle.

DfT is only providing subsidies for the first 500 Ashwoods vehicles ordered – and all orders must be received by March 2013.

Ashwoods has launched a dedicated website, http://www.ashwoodshybrid.co.uk/, which focuses on the benefits of switching to hybrid and explains the process of applying for the LCVPP subsidy.

Martin Kadhim, Business Development Director at Ashwoods Automotive, said: “The cost difference can between a normal transit and a hybrid transit can now be recouped in as little as a year based on 7,000 miles per annum. The paperwork is very straightforward and the entire process takes just a matter of days.”

The Ashwoods Hybrid Transit is fitted with a hybrid system that captures wasted energy and uses it to help the engine burn less fuel. It reduces diesel consumption by up to 25%, helping organisations to lower their fleet fuel bills and reduce carbon emissions.

The van requires no charging, plugging in, or special treatment and can used for any job for which a regular van would be considered.

Ashwoods successfully proved its technology to the DfT over a three year period during which its vehicles covered 4 million miles. Ashwoods provided routine testing and fleet manager feedback from 14 public sector organisations, utilising 138 Hybrid vans.

 

Cenex has announced it has been selected by the Environment Agency to undertake a technology review of its Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) fleet. The results of this work aim to provide accurate information that will enable the Agency to effectively plan its on-going low carbon fleet strategy.

As a stakeholder in the Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme (managed by Cenex), the Environment Agency has been trialling 12 Ashwoods hybrid transit vans within its fleet operations over the past three years. This trial has highlighted a number of options available for reducing carbon emissions from its transport operations and as a result, Cenex has been tasked with undertaking a technology review of its LCV fleet. It has also been briefed to run operationally based simulations using the Cenex Fleet Carbon Reduction Tool (FCRT) to help the Environment Agency better understand the best deployment of different low carbon technologies within their operations.

“The Environment Agency has improved the performance of its fleet over the past few years, reducing mileage by 19 million, cutting carbon emissions by 5,000 tonnes and saving some £10m. We are leading the way across government to dramatically increase the environmental efficiency of our fleet operations” says Dale Eynon, head of fleet operations, Environment Agency.

As well as analysing the performance of different transport fuels and technology options in real-world fleet applications, the FCRT is a simulation tool that can calculate the fuel usage, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated and operating costs incurred by the operation of a fleet of vehicles. The tool is designed to be flexible in operation and employs drive cycle based whole life cost modelling so that the evaluation of a variety of differing powertrain technologies within a fleet can be compared on equal terms. In addition, the FCRT can be used to ascertain the vehicle power and battery size required to cover a specified duty cycle in order to identify the lowest cost vehicle capable of fulfilling the task.

“The results to date of the Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme have already demonstrated the cost savings available by adopting low carbon vehicles. The reduction of carbon emissions from their fleet operations is crucial for the Environment Agency and we are pleased to be working with them to help them make informative decisions about their low carbon fleet strategy” says Robert Evans, CEO of Cenex.