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Overview

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW
Emission standards are getting stringent year by year and the need to conserve fuel and money is important from the view of a customer. To meet this automakers have been developing various technologies. One such developing technology is the hybrid powertrain technology. Hybrid powertrains are those which use both a motor along with the Internal Combustion Engine to propel the vehicle, thereby reducing emissions and increasing fuel efficiency. Such types of hybrid powertrains are being employed everywhere now from buses, trucks to cars. Modern HEVS make use of technologies such as regenerative braking system. Many hybrid vehicles reduce idle emissions by shutting down the engine at idle speeds and restarting it when needed.

Light Goods Vehicles include pickup trucks, vans and three wheelers. An LGV is referred to as a compact truck and is usually optimized to be ruggedly built, have low operating costs, be powerful and for use in intra-city operations. According to government regulations, a commercial vehicle under a gross weight of 3.5 tonnes is categorized as an LGV. The LGV segment is one of the fastest growing and competitive segments in the country. Therefore, developing a hybrid power train for LGVs will be useful for both manufacturers and consumers.

Based on the above, we made a market survey among commercial LGV fleet owners in and around Coimbatore. The details of the survey are given in Appendix B. It is identified that more than 60% of the LGVs have their operating range within 16km of the city, and therefore, cost per km can be reduced. The project has the following visions in its scope: Emissions from the vehicle during idling can be reduced. The development of a hybrid LGV would create a new market segment in India, therefore the scope for further development is high. Since a hybrid LGV would be environment friendly, the Government would be willing to advance subsidies to the manufacturers of such hybrid LGVs. LGVs are usually used as delivery vans, pick-up vans and for distribution purposes. Thus there exists an advantage in that hybrid LGVs could be marketed in a large scale. Operation of the LGV in fully electric mode is possible.

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