As cities get smarter to cope with the challenges of ever-increasing urbanization, transportation is an area of primary focus.  If people and goods cannot move around freely, the city grinds to a halt.  Heavy traffic powered by internal combustion engines also generates a lot of pollution.  Los Angeles has been battling with smog since 1943.  The rapid economic growth in China has resulted in serious, and seemingly insoluble, air pollution problems.

Smart transportation solutions can keep the traffic moving and help to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads, but a shift to electric vehicles (EVs) would at least address air pollution issues if not those of traffic congestion.  The problem is that the component technology (primarily battery packs) is too expensive and the driving range falls short of what people are used to.  While plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales are actually higher than hybrids were at a similar development stage, they are not taking off in the volumes necessary to make a difference in rapidly growing cities.

One option is the introduction of electric car sharing systems, such as the Autolib program in Paris.  Another example is Daimler, which introduced its all-electric car sharing program through its subsidiary Car2Go in Amsterdam and San Diego in November 2011.  Autolib uses specially designed EVs from Bollore, while the Daimler program uses an electric drive version of the smart fortwo.  Ford announced in March 2013 that it will pilot a carsharing service called FORD2GO through its dealer network in Germany, although the system will initially offer conventional vehicles.   BMW’s DriveNow carsharing service was launched in San Francisco in September 2012.  Toyota is planning an electric car sharing service in Grenoble starting in 2014.  Fleet operations offer a good way for OEMs to learn about the operating and maintenance costs of new technology.

Lighter, Slower, Better

There is another reason for cities to encourage EV ownership and use, and that is to use the vehicle batteries as temporary energy storage.  This could be as part of a smart grid deployment or a microgrid – for example, in a business park or a housing development project.  If vehicle owners all plug in when they get home and specify when they next need their cars, a smart grid can charge when overall electricity demand is low and potentially use some of the stored energy for load balancing on the grid if required.  This is particularly useful if energy is being generated from renewable sources.

Another idea is to develop a city car that is significantly smaller and lighter than a conventional vehicle.  Affordable EVs limited to city use could be a radical option for future transport needs.  The great advantage of this is that the car could be much lighter than existing vehicles, which are designed to carry up to five occupants at high speed and protect them from harm in crash situations.  Lighter, simpler cars can get acceptable range from smaller batteries.  Even more flexibility can be offered if wireless and/or fast charging becomes widely available.

The major OEMs have shown such concept vehicles at various motor shows in recent years.  Examples include Hyundai, Toyota, and GM, as well as new companies such as Edison2 with its Very Light Car.

The major drawback is that city cars don’t meet all the existing road safety standards.  For them to be practical, cities might have to designate areas restricted to these light city EVs, and national certification organizations would have to develop new standards.  The vehicle may be prohibited from freeways and restricted to travel on urban surface streets.  Light, cheap, and electric could well be the transportation solution for smart cities of the future.

While battery electric and hybrid vehicles are slowly gaining in popularity, they show no signs of becoming a significant portion of vehicle sales in the next several years.  Automakers, meanwhile, are busy exploring other aspects of vehicle design that will improve fuel efficiency.  Below is an update on some of these approaches:

Better Aerodynamics.  At speeds of 30 mph or less, aerodynamic performance has a minor impact on fuel efficiency.  Once freeway speeds are achieved, though, the energy needed to push the vehicle through the air dominates other factors.  Because drag is proportional to the vehicle cross-sectional area, the coefficient of drag (Cd), and the velocity squared, less energy is needed to maintain speed of smaller and smoother cars.  Significant improvements were measured on VW’s new XL1 hybrid when the conventional door mirrors were replaced with tiny cameras that projected the rear side view on to a small screen on the door where the mirror would normally be.

Reduced Mass. The energy required to overcome inertia and accelerate a vehicle is a function of its mass, so heavier vehicles need more energy to get them moving.  They also have to dissipate more energy to slow down and stop, which means bigger and more powerful brakes.  Electric vehicles with large and heavy battery packs suffer particularly in this department.  Automakers seeking to produce lighter vehicles face two big problems: alternative, lighter materials such as aluminum and carbon fiber are more expensive and often harder to work with, and lighter vehicles have to be stronger to keep the occupants safe from impact with heavier vehicles.

ICE Technology. The internal combustion engine continues to get incrementally more efficient.  Turbocharging and supercharging are now used for economy as well as performance, and features such as direct injection and higher compression have migrated from diesel engines to gasoline.  Downsizing the engine’s volumetric capacity without sacrificing performance is now a realistic option, and cylinder deactivation allows fuel saving when cruising while maintaining full power for acceleration when needed.

Stop-Start. Sometimes labeled “micro-hybrid,” the ability to eliminate idling while the vehicle is stationary has the potential to save a lot of money for drivers in heavy traffic.  Stop-start technology requires other vehicle systems to be electrified, which in itself can improve fuel efficiency.  New stop-start systems in development will add an electric “crawl” mode to extend the fuel savings in slow-moving traffic jams.

All these technologies are being introduced as new models come to market, but the challenge for automakers is to incorporate features that offer customer benefits without the steep price premiums that hamper EV sales.

Some of these innovations face regulatory hurdles.  To launch its XL1 hybrid in Germany and Austria, Volkswagen had to get special government dispensation because it lacks conventional external mirrors. The XL1 is illegal to drive in other European countries and in North America.  For some new technologies to take hold, lawmakers must revisit certain existing restrictions on vehicle design.

For some time, BMW has been promising to launch the i3 in 2013.  At the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, the company unveiled a three-door version, the i3 Concept Coupe.  It will be one of the first production vehicles to be made using BMW’s new modular electric architecture.  The standard version is expected to cost around €40,000 (about $52,000) when deliveries start in November, which is at the upper end of the current 3-series price bracket.  It should be eligible for government electric vehicle (EV) incentives, such as the U.S. federal tax incentive of $7,500, though the vehicle has not yet been formally tested and approved.

The BMW i3 has some interesting differences from most of the other EVs on the market.  Most volume-selling EVs and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), such as the Toyota Prius, the Nissan LEAF, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, and the Renault ZE range, are designed for economical motoring and as such are front-wheel drive.  The i3 is rear-wheel drive, as is the Tesla Model S, which coincidentally also has a list price of about $52,000 (with a 40 kWh battery pack).  The focus for BMW remains on driving enjoyment and the target customer will be those who appreciate the BMW brand image and want to switch to clean fuel.

A Spare Engine in the Boot

Research carried out by BMW over the last few years has led to the conclusion that a 100-mile range is optimum for the majority of people, and most can get by recharging only every second or third day.  Those that regularly need a daily range greater than this would be better off, for now, buying a car with an efficient internal combustion engine.  It’s good to hear an OEM publicly acknowledge that its EV is not trying to appeal to everyone.  However, BMW has introduced a number of features to address range anxiety.

One factor is the dynamic range calculation from the integrated navigation and telematics system that takes into account current traffic and the topography of the roads ahead.  Selected drive mode and average driving style are also factored in, and nearby charge stations can be identified and potentially reserved if necessary.  The i3 also offers LED lighting (inside and out) and a climate control system that uses a heat pump principle to warm and cool the interior – measures that BMW says results in 30% energy savings in city driving when compared to conventional electric heating and lights.

But the most interesting optional extra is the range-extender feature, a built-in 600cc motorcycle engine with a 2-gallon fuel tank.  This will give owners peace of mind that they will not be stranded by making available an additional 80 miles of range after the battery runs out of energy.  The feature, which takes up a part of the luggage space, is expected to be priced at about €3,000 ($4,000).

While initial purchase price remains the main obstacle to major growth in EV sales, range anxiety is still one of the primary concerns of the car buying public.  BMW has addressed these concerns in its design, but the most effective solution is better education about the realities of owning an EV.  At the start of the testing run by BMW with its ActiveE and Mini E vehicles in Asia Pacific, Europe, and the United States, more than 70% of users said that access to public charging stations was very important to them.  In actual practice, however, public infrastructure was used for less than 10% of all charging.

On February 19, the United Kingdom coalition government launched a new package of incentives to encourage the uptake of plug-in electric vehicles.  The total value of the funding is up to £37 million ($56 million), depending on how many people take advantage of the offer before it expires in April 2015.  Rather than offer more help with purchasing vehicles, the incentives are based on infrastructure spending: The government will provide 75% of the cost to install chargepoints.

Three types of purchasers are named in the announcement, including homeowners for personal chargers, train operators who can now get help to install chargepoints at railway station car parks, and local authorities seeking to install fast chargers and provide on-street charging for residents who do not have private driveways.  Public sector fleets such as the police, hospitals, and local government can recover the complete cost of the installation.

Nissan is understandably pleased about this announcement, as the company expects a boost to sales of its European LEAF model, which will soon be built in the United Kingdom with British batteries.  Although the £5,000 government subsidy to buy a LEAF helps to make the vehicle more affordable, the cost of the charger spoils the deal for some potential purchasers.  This new incentive provides a solution for that as well as more assurance that range anxiety will not be an issue for much longer.

Find a Plug

The availability of charging facilities has been brought up as a reason for poor sales of battery electric vehicles, although it remains something of a chicken-and-egg scenario.  In the United Kingdom in January 2012, there were more chargers installed than EVs on the road.  Now that fast chargers are being installed, the practicality of using an EV for longer journeys starts to become a reality.

Analysis of actual EV usage, however, has shown that the majority of owners can manage perfectly well by simply plugging in at home every night.  This is great for those who live in single-family homes with their own driveway and/or garage, but for those who live in apartments with communal parking it has made EVs impractical.  If local authorities take advantage of this offer, it will open up the EV market to a whole new category of customers.  Councilors who were elected thanks to promises of caring for the environment will want to make sure this happens.

The other side benefit could be increased demand from motorists who find that an additional advantage to owning an EV is a guaranteed parking space – at home, at work, and at the railway station.  Sometimes indirect benefits are more attractive than a simple price reduction.