LPG Vans and Hybrid Vehicles

Sheffield City Council has unveiled six eco-friendly hybrid mini-buses for use by special needs schools, including Bents Green Special School.
They are the largest fleet of hybrid buses to have been provided by a local authority to date.
The buses were provided by Ashwoods Automotive Ltd. and use the award-winning Ashwoods Hybrid drive technology, which reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emmissions by 15-25%.
The technology stores energy whenever the vehicle slows down and transfers it to the wheels via an electric motor, eliminating the need for manual charging.
Funding for the buses came from the Department for Transport’s Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme.
They provide a grant of £3,430 per vehicle, which, coupled with the fuel savings the vehicles provide, means that the hybrids will actually reduce Sheffield’s fleet costs.
Cllr Jack Scott, Cabinet Member for Environment, Recycling and Streetscene said: “These greener buses will reduce fuel costs at a time of rising prices and they will also help the environment, which is massively important to us.
“The introduction of these new vehicles is a really positive step forward to a more sustainable Sheffield and will help strengthen our reputation as England’s greenest city.”
Cllr Leigh Bramall, Cabinet Member for Transport, added: “It is great to be leading the way with these low emission vehicles.
“We need to use our transport fleet on a daily basis, especially for transporting children to and from school.
“If we can do this in a low-cost, fuel efficient way then this can only be a good thing.”

 Ashwoods is celebrating after coming runner up at SMMT’s second annual award designed to showcase the importance of R&D and the role the UK plays in developing global automotive products, beating off stiff competition from companies across the car, commercial vehicle and supply chain sectors.

 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.

Ashwoods Hybrid Drive Sytem won the Innovation catagory at the first Western Morning News Business Awards. The prize was one of 14 handed out at an event at St Mellion International which celebrated the best businesses in the Westcountry.

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.

 Leaders in the drive to cut carbon emissions from road transport have been announced at a prestigious ceremony in London and Ashwoods joined their ranks in the 2011 ‘Low Carbon Innovation by an SME’ in second place.

 The LowCVP Low Carbon Champions Awards recognise best practice in key areas from vehicle manufacturing and fleet operation to the development of products and services that reduce greenhouse gases from road transport operations. The winners were announced at the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) Gala Reception, held at One Birdcage Walk, Westminster, at an event held in association with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).

 Tony Juniper, independent environmental adviser and writer and former Executive Director of Friends of the Earth said: “It’s all too easy to take a backseat on this agenda. We need much more leadership. The winners of these LowCVP Awards have demonstrated leadership in their various fields; we need more individuals and organisations like them.”

 Greg Archer, Managing Director of the LowCVP, said: “These Awards recognise best practice and innovation, highlighting leadership in accelerating the shift to lower carbon vehicles and fuels. “The number and quality of entries was even higher than last year which shows the level of energy and enthusiasm that exists to create new markets for lower carbon vehicles.”

Philippa Oldham, Head of Transport at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said: “The shift to low carbon vehicles has the potential to be the greatest automotive development since the internal combustion engine. However for this to happen we need innovative, forward thinking businesses to drive progress.

“That’s why it’s so important that we recognise, through these awards, those British businesses that are building a low carbon vehicle industry in this country, helping to put the UK at the very forefront of this next technological revolution.”

The Awards are accredited by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) which means they meet a robust set of criteria and by doing so demonstrate high quality and validity. In a rigorous judging process – involving 28 senior individuals from across the range of organisations with a stake in this agenda ‐ a total of 44 companies and organisations madethe Awards shortlist.

The winner of the prestigious overall award was Nissan GB. In making the award the judges said that Nissan has been at the forefront of EV and battery technology development and its efforts have culminated in the launch of the ground ‐breaking fully electric Nissan LEAF in

March 2011.

Ashwoods Automotive has held its ranking as one of the fastest growing companies in the European clean technologies sector.  

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.

The 11th Michelin Challenge Bibendum, which took place in Berlin, has proved the most popular to date with a record breaking 16,000 plus people attending the five-day event.

Organised by Michelin, this global ‘rally for sustainable mobility’ saw Berlin’s Templehof airport transformed into an exhibition centre, round-table conference rooms and test tracks to highlight the latest sustainable transport innovations and technologies. UK companies leading the way in innovative engine development and vehicle design were to the fore at Challenge Bibendum, with five Shell Springboard Award winning firms forming a UK Eco-Innovation Zone in the exhibition hall. Among them was Exeter-based Ashwoods, a hybrid and low carbon vehicle company whose hybrid van helped them claim a Challenge Bibendum Design Recognition Award – the only UK company to receive such an accolade at this year’s event.
Mark Roberts, Managing Director of Ashwoods Automotive, said: “We are extremely proud to be the only British company honoured in these awards. This further underlines the financial and environmental benefits that our fuel-saving technology is delivering across the UK today.”

On the first day, a parade of all the participating vehicles in front of the Brandenburg Gate was one of the highlights of this year’s event. This was in addition to the traditional series of rallies – the Intercity Passenger Car Rally, the Urban Vehicle Rally and the Battery Electric Rally – which are designed to test vehicles on various performance criteria including energy consumption, manoeuvrability and noise levels.

Indoors, 72 exhibitors displayed cutting-edge products and innovations in the Technological Exhibition Centre and conference rooms hosted 50 events including forums, round-tables and workshops, and first-time features such as the Leaders’ Forum. There was also a UK Eco-Innovation Zone, which showcased some of the best in British vehicle and engine design and manufacturing.

During the five days of Challenge Bibendum, over 16,000 people visited the event with 10,000 members of the public attending the first ever open day on the Sunday. One thousand students from all across Europe attended the Student Day – another first at this year’s event.

Eric Le Corre, Michelin UK’s Managing Director, said: “It gave me great pleasure to see such a strong UK presence at this year’s Challenge Bibendum, the biggest and best attended event to date. We had UK representatives from industry, public affairs, the press and universities; all of whom were extremely impressed with the exhibitions, debates, vehicles and the many new innovations on show.”

Innovation and technological advancement are key themes for every Challenge Bibendum event and 2011 was no exception as Michelin showcased some of its latest developments. These included a puncture-proof concept tyre which uses an inner material that distorts and stretches around the penetrating object preventing air-loss – an innovation which could make punctures a thing of the past.

Other concepts were small tyres for electric urban vehicles, large narrow tyres for improved aerodynamics and rolling resistance, and a high capacity truck tyre making twin-axle trailers a possibility in place of the three-axles currently used.

Michelin’s Active Wheel technology was also on display. Integrating all of an electric vehicle’s drive, suspension and braking components into the wheel itself, the Active Wheel offers the prospect of excellent handling, driving comfort and efficiency.
Out on the test tracks, 280 vehicles – including everything from a fuel-cell powered London black cab to the latest electric Formula One-style car – took to the tarmac, providing visitors with a first-hand vision of the green, clean motoring opportunities of the future.

Ashwoods has been selected as the sole supplier of over 100 hybrid vans to the Department for Transport’s Low Carbon Vehicles Procurement Programme (LCVPP), run by Cenex. These vehicles are being supplied to the largest Public Sector fleets throughout the UK, including Royal Mail, the Environment Agency, UK Border Agency and a number of large council fleets.

Official emissions testing by the Department for Transport at Mira Emissions Laboratories confirms that the Ashwoods Hybrid Transit reduces CO2 and fuel costs by over 20% on the European Drive Cycle (NEDC).Read more about our hybrid vans emissions

LPG has long been the standard requirement for Light Commercial Vehicles operating in London. Based around a Petrol vehicle the benefits of a LPG are that it is less than half the price of diesel, which provides a saving of up to 40% and exemption from the congestion charge which can equate to over £2000 per vehicle per year.

It has become apparent over the last 12 months that the interest in Hybrid technology is increasing, these system’s can be retro fitted to a large number of Manufacturers Light Commercial Vehicle’s and are helping to significantly reduce Carbon Emissions.