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Why Should India Bet Big On EVs?

As Elon Musk unveiled the all-new Tesla Cybertruck in November last year, people across the globe jumped on the discussion bandwagon over its ultramodern design and tech features it came enabled with.

VOLVO XC40 T4 OFFERS COMPELLING VALUE PROPOSITION FOR TECHFOCUSSED CUSTOMERS

The new Volvo XC40 T4 petrol variant has replaced the diesel version of the luxury compact SUV, which has now been discontinued. Auto Tech Review was invited by Volvo Cars India to drive the XC40 T4 petrol variant in Goa, and experience all that the new powertrain had to offer. Here is our perspective of the technologies that make the XC40 a Volvo in the true sense of the name.

POWERTRAIN CONCEPT FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE VEHICLES

In view of stricter emission limits and rising demands on driving performance and CO2 reduction at the same time, FEV has investigated solutions to the conflict between increasing specific power and switching to stoichiometric combustion throughout the engine map. Based on a V6 3 l bi-turbo engine, this paper shows how the engine can be laid out to 200 kW/l and stoichiometric operation in an electrified powertrain. The engine features a central fuel injection, single-stage turbochargers with variable turbine geometry and port water injection. RON98 fuel was used during engine testing.

“CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE WON'T BE AN ISSUE IN INDIA IN TWO YEARS' TIME”

With the recent unveiling of the Nexon EV SUV – its second EV offering after the Tigor EV – Tata Motors has demonstrated a strong commitment to building a portfolio of products aimed at the promising electric mobility market in India. In an exclusive interview with Auto Tech Review, Shailesh Chandra, President – Electric Mobility Business & Corporate Strategy, Tata Motors talks about how the company is girding up its loins to meet EV aspirations of Indian consumers as well as other challenges facing the industry.

KIA CARNIVAL – REDEFINING URBAN MOBILITY WITH A FOCUS ON COMFORT, SPACE & TECH

Kia Motors India, the newest entrant in the Indian passenger vehicle segment, has managed to captivate the Indian market with its initial offering, the Seltos compact SUV. And staying true to its promise of launching a car every six months, the South Korean auto major will be soon rolling out its flagship offering, the Kia Carnival. Does the Carnival have the wherewithal to captivate buyers and give Kia another winner in the market? We flew to the city of Nizams – Hyderabad – to test the new Kia Carnival across congested city streets and open stretches of highway. Here is what we made of it.

METHANE-POWERED MILD HYBRID POWERTRAIN

Methane-based fuels have the potential to make significant short-term contribution to reducing CO2 emissions from road transportation. Since natural gas is already available as a standard energy source, Ford has developed a modern, hybridised methane dedicated combustion engine and investigated its potential.

DIGITAL TEST FIELD FOR CONNECTED MOBILITY

In order to pave the way for future mobility, the development and testing of automation as well as the connection of all road users is necessary. With the Aldenhoven Testing Center, RWTH Aachen University and Vodafone have set up a mobility test field equipped with all relevant communication technologies and a variety of track elements.

SOFTWARE, COMPUTING POWER DRIVING INNOVATIONS

The world around us has been in a constant state of evolution.

DESIGN OF BATTERY PACKS: STRATEGIES FOR HIGH ENERGY DENSITY, RANGE

Battery design continues to pose challenges for the automotive industry. The requirements are specific for each vehicle, and safety requirements are considerable. A proof of concept from Lion Smart shows that the use of standard cylindrical cells packed closely together is also suitable for vehicles in series production. According to studies, the round cell offers the best energy density at low cost. A cooling and extinguishing concept combined with wireless cell monitoring ensures high performance and safety.

ENERGY MANAGEMENT FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

With the increasing demand for e-cars, energy distribution is also becoming increasingly important. In this article, NXP shows the relevance of battery management systems and functional safety as key components.

KIA'S INDIA PLANT TO BECOME A VITAL COMPONENT OF GLOBAL NETWORK

One of the newest entrant to the Indian automotive industry, Kia Motors India has made rapid progress in the short time it has been in the country. Its first, and by far the only product – the Seltos SUV – has been a runaway success, and sometime soon, the company will bring to the market its premium MPV, Carnival. With exports scheduled to commence soon, the manufacturing facility in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh will be a busy hub of activities for the Korean major, and will become one of the group’s key locations.

DEEP ENGAGEMENT OF ECOSYSTEM IN EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

The mobility industry, which is what the transportation of the future is being referred to, will witness a high degree of electrification, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) as well as pure battery electric vehicles (BEV). BEVs will definitely require to be charged from an external power source, and within the realm of HEVs, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) also need to be charged using a power socket. This indicates that the infrastructure for charging BEVs and PHEVs will play an important role in the adoption and penetration of future forms of mobility.

SYSTEM APPROACH FOR A DEDICATED HYBRID DRIVE

Hybrid drives are necessary to reach both current and future CO2 targets. However, they also increase system complexity. As an integrated solution, Magna Powertrain Transmission Systems introduces a special hybrid drive called dedicated hybrid powertrain (DHP) in order to reduce system costs, increase efficiency, and create additional benefits for the OEM.

CHALLENGES IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

The transformation in the automotive industry will turn out to be more comprehensive than it was thought. The fields of mobility services and connected services will have a huge influence on future business – alongside electric mobility and automated driving. Mastering the required digitisation technology will be just one challenge, but it will be even more important to motivate all employees of an OEM to embrace progress, as an industry expert from IBM with many years of experience explains.

TOWARDS DECARBONISED, DECENTRALISED, EFFICIENT MOBILITY

From ‘just another development to moving differently’, mobility has been undergoing an extraordinary transformation towards building a new ecosystem altogether. Personalised, frictionless and on-demand automated travel is a dream of future mobility that is compelling incumbents as well as disruptors to introduce advanced technologies.

AI & ETHICS – WHEN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES MAKE MISTAKES

The decision paths within a system with artificial intelligence (AI) are unfathomable. Mistakes are difficult to comprehend, but can lead to serious errors and ethical questions. In the article, Orange Business Services shows why explainable AI is needed for the responsible handling of AI and why blockchain could be a solution.

Transmission Systems Focussed On Enhanced Efficiency, Comfort

Over the last two decades, there has been tremendous progress around automotive transmission technologies. This space has been constantly witnessing an increase in the number of gears and variation in ratios aimed at offering more efficient and improved transfer of power to the wheels from the engine. The transmission systems have also improved substantially with regards to enhancing the overall fuel efficiency of a vehicle as well as in enabling multiple driving modes in modern day vehicles.

“Effective Materials Management Helps Manage Cost Fluctuations”

Goodyear has over 120 years of experience in developing tyres for various segments, while serving diversified markets across the globe. In a tete-a-tete with Kenneth Jenner Powell, Product Director – Goodyear Consumer Tyres Asia Pacific, Auto Tech Review tries to delve deeper into the company’s approach towards developing advanced tyres for Indian as well as global markets.

An Answer To Hatchback Enthusiasts With SUV Fetish

There has been an increasing trend in the Indian automotive market over the past decade – consumers opting for SUVs or designs that resemble SUVs. This trend led to the launch of an increased number of models from manufacturers that were either full-blown SUVs or compact SUVs. This obsession with SUV styling has also moved into other vehicle categories, most predominantly hatchbacks, due to their striking resemblance, in terms of their silhouette.

Newer Efficiencies For Environmentally-Friendly Mobility Solutions

Air pollution is considered to be one of the biggest factors driving climate change across the world.

Learn From The Younger Brother...

We have learnt about reuse, recycle and reduce in school.

Renault Builds Flexibility In Triber For Affordable People Movement

Renault India has been in the country for a while now, and was most famous for launching the Kwid as an India first model that was subsequently offered to other markets. Adopting this same strategy, the company has launched the Renault Triber, which has also been rolled-out first in India, and subsequently could be launched in other global markets. With the Triber, Renault is foraying into a new segment of the Indian automotive industry in the sub four-metre category. Auto Tech Review drove of the Triber across the streets of south Goa, and here is the detailed review of Renault’s first new product in the largely-successful B-segment.

Mechanical Design Of An Optimal Transmission

Transmission development is a complex task. Depending on the number of gears and other degrees of freedom, up to 100,000 gearbox structures are possible. With the traditional approach of manually identifying and comparing individual promising system configurations, one may overlook innovative solutions. As part of a research project, scientists at TU Darmstadt have designed special optimisation models that help efficiently find optimal layouts for user-specific objectives, even in the case of large solution spaces.

Trends Influencing Indian Automotive Industry

For an industry that had got used to high growth numbers in the past decade, 2019 has panned out to be a year of peril.

“There Is Latent Demand As Macro Fundamentals Of Indian Economy Haven't Changed”

The automotive industry is going through an exceedingly challenging phase with sales across all vehicle segments plummeting. Auto Tech Review met up with Deepak Jain, President, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) and Chairman & Managing Director, Lumax Industries to understand how the industry is bracing up to deal with the sales stress all around.

Transmissions Focussed On Newer Efficiencies For Better Tomorrow

The automotive transmission space globally has been witnessing significant advancements focussed on addressing the ever-increasing need for greater fuel economy, emission reduction and improved driving experience.

India Moving Towards Two-Pedal Technologies

The Indian automotive segment may be reeling under a severe slowdown over for the nine months in terms of sales, but there has been no let-up in new vehicle launches over the past few months.

Driver Assisted Systems Serve As Building Blocks For Autonomous Vehicles

Many vehicles today feature advanced driver assistance systems envisaging the prospect of achieving automation levels for driverless vehicles.

Towards Smart Cities Using AI – Digital Automotive Services Research Project

Driverless cars navigate themselves and are intelligent and networked. The ASAP Group is one big step closer to this goal, thanks to new findings from the DIAS project: high quality, clear maps are a basic prerequisite for autonomous driving. The live models by ASAP, which automatically and reliably map danger spots and much more information, can be used for this. In future, this will mean that drivers can be offered optimum routes based on the traffic situation before an intelligent parking spot search guides them directly to a free parking space at their destination.

Security For Connected Vehicles Throughout Entire Lifecycle

Over-the-air software updates are special requirements for the security architecture inside and outside the vehicle. However, they are also essential to keeping a vehicle safe and secure throughout its lifecycle. For connected vehicles, automotive supplier Continental adopts a holistic connectivity approach – from the vehicle architecture and human-machine interaction to the backend. The subsidiary company Elektrobit – in collaboration with Argus Cyber Security – offers end-to-end security solutions and wireless update solutions for all connected electronic components.