H Volvo στην έκθεση της Γενεύης τον περασμένο Μάρτιο, είχε παρουσιάσει το Volvo V60 Hybrid. 7 μήνες μετά, οι Σουηδοί ανακοίνωσαν ότι το αυτοκίνητο θα βγει στην αγορά μέσα στο 2012. Η υβριδική έκδοση του V60, μηχανικά διαθέτει ένα υβριδικό σύστημα, το οποίο το έχει αναπτύξει από κοινού με την Σουηδική εταιρία ενέργειας, Vattenfall. Στον μπροστά άξονα έχει τοποθετηθεί ο D5 5κύλινδρος πετρελαιοκινητήρας 2.4 λίτρων απόδοσης 215 ίππων με 440 Nm ροπής ενώ στον πίσω ο ERAD ηλεκτροκινητήρας απόδοσης 51 kW (70 ίππων) ο οποίος τροφοδοτείται από μια μπαταρία ιόντων λιθίου 12 kWh. Οι δύο κινητήρες συνδυάζονται μέσω ενός 6-τάχυτου αυτόματου κιβωτίου και αποδίδουν συνολικά 285 άλογα με 640 Nm ροπής. Η μέση κατανάλωση του ανέρχεται στο εκπληκτικό νούμερο των 1.9 λίτρων/100 χλμ εκπέμποντας 50 γρ/ χλμ CO2. Μάλιστα το αυτοκίνητο μπορεί να κινηθεί αποκλειστικά με τον ηλεκτροκινητήρα για 50 χλμ.
Ο οδηγός μπορεί να επιλέξει ανάμεσα σε 3 προγράμματα λειτουργίας τα οποία ενεργοποιούνται με το πάτημα των αντίστοιχων κουμπιών που βρίσκονται χαμηλά στην κεντρική κονσόλα. Στη λειτουργία Pure το αυτοκίνητο λειτουργεί αποκλειστικά με τον ηλεκτροκινητήρα. Στη λειτουργία Hybrid λειτουργούν ταυτόχρονα τόσο ο ηλεκτροκινητήρας όσο και ο πετρελαιοκινητήρας ώστε να επιτυγχάνουν τη βέλτιστη ισορροπία μεταξύ οδηγικής απόλαυσης και παραγωγής ρύπων, ενώ στη λειτουργία Power ο ηλεκτροκινητήρας και ο πετρελαιοκινητήρας λειτουργούν σε πλήρη ισχύ ώστε να έχουν όσο το δυνατόν καλύτερες επιδόσεις. Σε αυτή τη λειτουργία τα 0-100 χλμ/ώρα έρχονται σε 6.9 δευτερόλεπτα.
Η φόρτιση των μπαταριών μέσω απλής οικιακής πρίζας γίνεται σε 7.30 ώρες ενώ μέσω ταχυφορτιστή σε 3 ώρες. Από σχεδιαστικής πλευράς, το αυτοκίνητο δεν διαφέρει με την απλή έκδοση πέραν της νέας βαφής. Έχουνε τοποθετηθεί ελαφριές ζάντες με ελαστικά χαμηλής τριβής της Pirelli. Στο εσωτερικό υπάρχει νέος πίνακας οργάνων, Elmo δερμάτινες επενδύσεις και ένα νέο σύστημα ενημέρωσης μέσω του οποίου μπορείς να επιλέξεις όλες τις υβριδικές λειτουργίες του αυτοκινήτου.
[Πηγή: Volvo]
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Volvo Car Corporation starts selling the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid in 2012
At the beginning of 2011, Volvo Car Corporation unveiled the V60 Plug-in Hybrid – a virtually production-ready car with carbon dioxide emissions below 50 g/km.
The Plug-in Hybrid, which will be launched on the market in 2012, is the result of close cooperation between Volvo Car Corporation and Swedish energy supplier Vattenfall.
“No industry or organisation can tackle the climate challenge all by itself. It is our mission to develop carbon dioxide-lean cars, but it is the society that is responsible for creating a sustainable future. This project shows how cooperation between experts in different areas brings us closer to the transition from individually carbon dioxide-lean products to a climate-smart lifestyle,” says Stefan Jacoby, President and CEO of Volvo Car Corporation.
In January 2007, Volvo Car Corporation and Vattenfall AB launched an industrial partnership whose aim was to test and develop plug-in technology. This cross-border initiative resulted in the foundation of a jointly owned company – V2 Plug-in-Hybrid Vehicle Partnership HB.
Half the CO2 emissions, full driving pleasure
Development work has been jointly financed. Now the project is on the threshold of introducing the market’s first diesel plug-in hybrid. It’s an attractive car type that gives the user access to the very best properties of both an electric car and a diesel-powered vehicle: very low fuel consumption and CO2 levels, combined with long range and high performance.
“One important aspect of the project was to retain the Volvo V60’s excellent driving pleasure, high safety standard and luxurious comfort. At the same time, average CO2 emissions and fuel consumption will be halved compared with what is available on the market today,” says Stefan Jacoby. He adds:
“We’re taking a step forward towards our “DRIVe Towards Zero” vision, that is to say the hunt for zero emissions. In fact, when the V60 Plug-in Hybrid is run solely on electricity and recharged using renewable energy, we’ve already reached that goal.”
Cheaper fuel costs
When powered solely by electricity, the V60 Plug-in Hybrid has a range of up to 50 kilometres.
The car’s total operating range is up to 1200 km. Carbon dioxide emissions will be an average of 49 grams per kilometre (NEDC EU Combined certification driving cycle) and fuel consumption will be 1.9 litres per 100 km.
The cost of the battery pack means the plug-in hybrid will be more expensive to buy than a Volvo V60 with a conventional combustion engine. On the other hand, fuel costs will be one-third compared with a conventional combustion engine. The cost of running on electricity in Sweden has been calculated at about 25 kronor (EUR 3.0) per 100 km. The exact cost will vary from one market to another.
The V 60 Plug-in Hybrid can be charged via a regular household electricity socket at home or when parked somewhere else. Charging time is about five hours if the car is recharged at home.
Electric power offers a range of benefits
Electrification of the transport sector is an important step in the fight against climate change. Electricity is a highly beneficial fuel:
- An electric motor is almost four times as efficient as a regular combustion engine. This means that an electrically powered car consumes less energy and thus produces lower emissions, even if it is powered by a blend of electricity sources that include fossil fuels.
- European electricity production has an emission ceiling. This means that even if all vehicles were to run on electricity, electricity production itself is not allowed to produce more carbon dioxide. This emission ceiling will be gradually lowered over a period of time.
- Electricity is an excellent source of energy. It does not risk running out, and it can be produced virtually without any CO2 emissions. For instance, Vattenfall is working towards halving the company’s emissions by 2030 and becoming climate-neutral by 2050.
- Emissions from millions of exhaust tailpipes are transferred to a small number of production facilities, which are easier to control and which will operate on the basis of the EU’s trade in emission rights, something that does not apply to the transport sector at present.
- Electric vehicles use relatively little electricity and the increase in consumption will be more than covered by ambitious expansion plans for renewable energy sources throughout Europe. A single wind-power station, for instance, produces sufficient renewable energy to power 3,000 electric cars. Vattenfall will offer buyers of the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid a contract including electricity from renewable sources.
Rapid expansion of renewable electricity production
Electricity production is undergoing rapid expansion. Wind-power is being commercially introduced on a large scale and is continuing to expand, biofuels will replace fossil fuels on a broad front, wave-power is expected to enter commercial operation within ten years, and new technology to clean CO2 emissions from coal-fired power stations is currently under development.
At Volvo Car Corporation, work on the V60 Plug-in Hybrid progresses in parallel with development of the Volvo C30 Electric, which runs entirely on electricity.
“These two car types complement one another. With a plug-in hybrid the driver is entirely independent of recharging stations when driving long distances. The future electric-car market will feature a mixture of both all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids,” says Stefan Jacoby.
The third leg in Volvo Car Corporation’s electrification strategy is empowering the upcoming engine generation with hybrid technology.
Volvo Car Corporation’s experts develops the perfect electric-car sound in one of the industry’s most modern acoustic labs
Volvo Car Corporation’s technical experts are facing new challenges as silent electric power alters the car’s acoustic footprint both inside the vehicle and in the surrounding road environment.
They are aided in their hunt for the perfect car sound by one of the industry’s most modern acoustic labs.
“The aim is to fine tune the noise level from the vehicle in order to create a seamless, pleasant sound experience,” says Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President, Research & Development at Volvo Car Corporation.
In many test-drive reports, the electric car is described as being totally silent. From the acoustic expert’s perspective, however, the electric car’s silence is a bit of a misnomer.
“The combustion engine sound is instinctively connected to our perception of driving a car. It works as an acoustic mat that blankets other sounds. When that mat is lifted off, you suddenly become aware of a number of other sounds,” says Martin Spång at Volvo Car Corporation’s Sound laboratory.
Altered acoustic environment
In a plug-in hybrid car, which combines conventional diesel power to the front axle with an electric motor driving the rear wheels, sounds such as the splashing of diesel in the fuel tank now penetrate the driver’s consciousness when the car runs solely on electric power. There is the same heightened awareness of noise from the road surface, wind, pumps, fans and relays.
When the diesel engine cuts in again, however, the car sounds once more like we are used to.
In order to find the right acoustic profile for the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid, Volvo Car Corporation’s experts are working on the creation of an ideal, uniform sound in their computers.
The challenge is to adjust all the various noise sources so that the car reproduces this uniform sound irrespective of the propulsion mode currently being used.
“What’s important here is to strike the right balance between traditional and new sources of noise. Some sounds can be isolated and removed. In other cases it is up to our suppliers to develop quieter components together with us. What is more, customers will get used to the fact that electric cars sound somewhat different. This will become part of these cars’ personality – their attraction and their trademark,” says Martin Spång.
One of the automotive industry’s most modern acoustic labs
Volvo Car Corporation’s new acoustic lab for cars, inaugurated in 2009, is one of the most modern
in the automotive industry. Here, in its 2500 square metre concrete chamber, the silence is so oppressive that it is almost audible.
Sound-absorbing wedges coating the walls and ceiling are designed to dampen reflecting sound. The lab is entirely insulated from the rest of the building to prevent any background sound from seeping through.
“When we inaugurated the lab we recorded an interior noise level of 17 decibels. This is such a quiet background noise level that you’d be able to hear someone’s tummy rumble from the other side of the chamber,” says Martin Spång. By way of comparison, the volume of a normal conversation is 60-70 dB.
Simulating various surfaces
The floor is hard and smooth so as to resemble and reflect sound in the same way as a road surface does. Test cars can be driven on rollers with various surface treatments to simulate different road types.
“The vehicle’s sound level is closely connected to the luxury car experience. Having access to a state-of-the-art acoustic lab is extra valuable now when we explore how electric power influences this crucial sound experience,” says Peter Mertens.
Technical specification V60 Plug-in Hybrid concept
Start of production …………………………..Week 46, 2012
Performance ………………………………….215+70 hp/440+200 Nm
Fuel consumption …………………………….1.9 litres/100 km*
CO2 ……………………………………………..49 g/km*
Acceleration 0–100 km/h ………………….6.9 sec
Battery …………………………………………Lithium-ion battery
Battery capacity/output …………………….12 kWh, of which 8 kWh is used to power the car
Electric engine ………………………………..50 kW (70 hp)
Diesel engine …………………………………Five-cylinder D5 engine in combination with Start/Stop and an efficient 6-speed automatic transmission. 150 kW (215 hp)
Pure electric range …………………………..Up to 50 km
Charging time …………………………………3.5 h (230V/16A)
4.5 h (230V/10A)
7.5 h (230V/6A)
Battery location ………………………………Under rear luggage floor
Towing capacity ………………………………Full
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