Hybridization of a vehicle powertrain is typically associated with improvements in fuel economy and thereby CO_2 emission. Nonetheless, it is also an enabler for new vehicle functionality, performance increase, and emission reduction. While parallel hybrid technology is typically used in vehicles driving in urban environments it is concluded that this powertrain concept can be more beneficial for long distance applications (figure 1). Especially when exploiting the synergy between a large (electric) power consumer and the hybrid powertrain which, in combination with the energy management strategy, can result in a significant amount of net annual fuel consumption reduction. After validating the hybrid vehicle components and the virtual verification of the total vehicle fuel consumption reduction it is now time to discuss the business case behind the total vehicle concept and the parameters which are influenced by that.
展开▼
