The first step to returning one of the world’s motoring icons to its true place – on sale in its spiritual home, the UK – took place today with the shipment to Britain of the two new AC Cobra models announced for the 1st of July.
Category: Product launches and PR
Hard on the heels of the news that two new models in the iconic AC Cobra family are in transit for sale in the UK, comes an announcement that a third recreated AC model will be made available to British-based enthusiasts soon.
Delphi Technologies, a global provider of aftermarket service solutions, has added to its highly-proven braking program in Europe. In 2019 the company launched more than 130 new brake pads and discs for popular new vehicles, including a growing parc of Asian applications and hybrid and electric cars. Fitted to an additional 19 million vehicles, the company now offers more than 97 percent coverage on brake discs and 98.58 percent on pads, in Europe. The latest introductions, on top of an already extensive line-up, will allow independent garages to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving vehicle parc with the very highest quality replacement parts, for fast, money-making repairs.
Quick off the mark for new vehicle applications
Delphi Technologies is quick to bring the right parts to the aftermarket, in the shortest possible timeframe. For pads, one of the first critical items to be replaced, that typically means within 6 months of vehicle launch, 12 months for discs. Last year, as an example, it launched new components for the Range Rover Evoque (06/19), Volvo S60 (05/19>), BMW 7 series (03/19>) and Mercedes B-class (01/19>).
“We’re particularly proud of our many first-to-market applications,” comments James Tibbert, EMEA Marketing Director, Delphi Technologies Aftermarket. “By being first on vehicles such as the Audi Q8 (02/2018>) and Toyota Supra (06/19>), Land Rover Defender (2020>) and Volkswagen Golf MK8 (2020>) the independent aftermarket can access the repair opportunity on the latest vehicles even sooner. As well as generating additional revenue from a best-practice, OE-quality service, garages will be primed to lock in future high-value repairs too.”
Fast-growing service opportunity on Asian vehicles
To meet the rapidly growing demand for replacement parts, the company is extending its line-up for Japanese and Korean applications. The expanded range includes more than 2,600 parts (the whole braking range for Asian VMs) fitted to popular vehicles such as Mazda 3 (01/19>), Hyundai i30 Fastback (11/18>), Nissan Qashqai (04/19>) and Toyota Corolla (02/19>), and covers over 99 percent of the European parc on pads and 97.7 percent on discs.
“The likes of Kia, Hyundai, Toyota and Nissan are continuing to gain share from their western rivals,” adds Tibbert. “With a parc of 90 million region wide, up 20 million in just the last five years, Asian brands represent a fast-growing service opportunity for both specialist and multi-brand garages. Our newly extended range, one of the best in the industry, will give garages the quality parts needed to service this increasingly important fleet, and with it a lucrative revenue stream.”
Leading the charge on hybrid and electric vehicles
Delphi Technologies is also introducing new product lines to support the rapidly growing hybrid and electric (HEV) market. Leveraging its expertise as a pioneer in propulsion technologies, solutions and services, coupled with a rich heritage as a leading braking manufacturer, the company already covers more than 95 percent of the European HEV parc on pads, and 93 percent on discs. This includes applications such as the Toyota Corolla (02/19>), Yaris (04/15>), Auris (12/18>) and Prius (01/16>), Mitsubishi Outlander (09/18>), Lexus ES 300h (07/18>), Peugeot 508 (08/19>), Volvo XC40 (06/19>), Mazda CX30 (07/19>), and ensuring the aftermarket is well positioned to access this fast-growing service opportunity with proven quality products.
“Whilst HEVs may be unfamiliar territory for many workshops, using products from a market leader in both HEV and braking technology, means that technicians can service these, and other vehicles, in complete confidence. Knowing they’re installing a product that has been engineered for optimum noise, wear and stopping performance, just like the OE,” Tibbert concludes.
- MAHLE and Ballard Power Systems Inc. agree on cooperation
- Goal to develop and industrialize fuel cell systems for CVs of various weight classes
- Focus on European, North American, and Asian markets
MAHLE and Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems Inc. have agreed to work together in the future on developing fuel cell systems for commercial vehicles of various weight classes. The long-term goal of the cooperation is to manufacture complete fuel cell systems for the European, North American, and Asian markets.
AC Cars today confirms the arrival in the UK of the first models in its eagerly awaited series of born-again AC Cobra iconic sports cars.
Providing garages with the parts, tools, and training they need to service over 3 million Hyundai and Kia models fitted with GDi technology, Delphi Technologies Aftermarket has expanded its GDi full service solution for Hyundai and Kia in Europe.
The company is also introducing an aftermarket GDi service solution for its industry-first Multec® 14 (M14) 350-bar pressure injection system as it begins to enter the aftermarket
Delphi Technologies Aftermarket is expanding its gasoline direct injection (GDi) full service solution for Hyundai and Kia vehicles. The comprehensive program consists of pumps and injectors fitted as original equipment (OE) to more than 3 million popular Korean vehicles. The company is also introducing an aftermarket solution for an industry-first GDi technology: Multec® 14 (M14) 350-bar pressure injection system as it begins to enter the aftermarket.
Profitable end-to-end service opportunities for a growing market
rFpro will partner with London’s Smart Mobility Living Lab to deploy an enhanced digital twin of its test network, allowing more advanced simulation of real-world testing
UK-based driving simulation company, rFpro, has partnered with London’s Smart Mobility Living Lab (SMLL) with the aim of developing an advanced digital twin of its urban testbed for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs). The new digital twin will capture all the elements of the test environment with unprecedented realism and enable vehicle manufacturers and technology suppliers to accelerate the development of CAVs.
An accurate digital twin allows simulated tests to be carried out that correlate with real-world experiments, greatly increasing the rate at which testing is possible, and enabling customers to prepare more fully and effectively in advance of physical testing. Tests in the real-world environment can be used to validate the simulated tests, ensuring they are highly accurate and reliable.
“Digital twins help vehicle manufacturers to significantly accelerate the development of CAVs, saving time and cost, because virtual testing is so much more productive than physical testing,” explains Matt Daley, rFpro’s Managing Director. “Testing in a virtual environment is the only cost-effective way to introduce self-learning systems to the limitless number of scenarios that can occur in the real world. Most AI systems learn by experience, but training using only real-road data is too slow.”
The SMLL’s existing digital twin has already introduced a number of users to the benefits of CAV simulation. rFpro’s advanced digital twin will extend these benefits by significantly improving the fidelity of the simulated environment. These enhanced features will include a vehicle dynamics grade road surface, accurate material definitions and the highest accuracy virtual sensor models.
The routes within SMLL provide a comprehensive set of features representing most real-world urban situations typical in London and the UK, including complex intersections, roundabouts, bus lanes and other shared mobility spaces for numerous vehicle types and road users. TRL’s heritage in safety, risk assessment and regulation within the mobility sector enabled the SMLL to select these features based on their suitability for CAV manufacturers and tier 1 suppliers to test and verify their systems as fully capable for UK urban operation.
The SMLL, part of a wider network of facilities within the UK called CAM testbed UK, is unique among facility providers in that, with support from Cisco, it has one of the most advanced real-time, real-world monitoring systems in the public domain. Data collected at the roadside locations can be used to enrich the accuracy of the simulation by feeding in real-world scenarios and local traffic behaviours and also validated by supporting physical testing at the same locations.
TRL’s experience with simulating scenarios using detailed real-world incident data enables the SMLL to support the full testing cycle from safety case development through to real-world validation of vehicle behaviour. This includes not only the vehicle’s reaction to the physical road layout and surface but also the scenarios generated from interactions with pedestrians, buses, cyclists and other traffic.
“Simulation is a critical part of the vehicle development process and is key to getting CAVs on to our roads safely,” said Richard Cuerden, TRL Academy Director. “The SMLL is already the world’s most advanced urban test facility for CAVs but we believe the addition of rFpro’s advanced digital twin will offer significant additional value to our customers.”
rFpro has an ever-growing library of more than 100 locations of highly accurate digital twins from around the world. It includes public road routes, proving grounds, test facilities and race tracks.
MAHLE Powertrain’s latest development of its passive MAHLE Jet Ignition (MJI) technology can now be easily added into existing engine designs with only minimal changes to the final machining process. Continued work throughout the lockdown period means that passive MJI can now be installed as a press-in unit into engines utilising an M12 sparkplug, or larger.
“As the automotive industry seeks ways to unlock incremental efficiency and performance benefits from the internal combustion engine, jet – or pre-chamber – ignition technology is rising to the fore,” explains MAHLE Powertrain’s head of new technology and data management, Adrian Cooper. “We are beginning to see jet ignition being adopted into high-end production powertrains, such as Maserati’s recent Nettuno V6.”
MAHLE Powertrain has over 10 years’ experience developing its novel MJI pre-chamber ignition technology, which enables a highly efficient combustion process using either a passive or active system, suitable for use with either port or direct fuel injection systems. “We have worked with manufacturers and pinnacle motorsport such as F1 on the integration of this technology for close to ten years,” says Cooper. “However, our recent work on passive MJI makes the technology more accessible for adoption by mass-produced engines even as a retro-fit to existing designs, as part of a highly efficient powertrain.”
The passive MJI system features a small pre-chamber, which when ignited discharges extremely fast-moving, heated jets through a series of nozzles. This provides multiple ignition sites within the main combustion chamber, which leads to rapid, highly stable combustion and significantly improved knock mitigation characteristics. This enables the use of a higher compression ratio and in testing, up to a 10% reduction in fuel consumption has been measured.
“We have also used the opportunity during the pandemic to further develop the cold-start and emissions performance,” continues Cooper. “Through careful development, we’ve been able to engineer a system that operates under these conditions without requiring a second ignition source, enabling the system to be applied to existing cylinder heads without the requirement for costly re-engineering. We have adapted an MJI-equipped production engine to start, run and perform reliably at -8 degrees C with equivalent catalyst light-off capability to conventional spark ignition. This is very encouraging, and we’ll be continuing development to lower this figure substantially.”
Cooper stresses that the key to maximising the benefits of MJI is to understand the vehicle manufacturer’s requirements and develop the correct combustion strategy accordingly. “Our experience of integrating these systems means we can tailor MJI to many different applications, from low cost hybrid ICE to down-sized, high specific power engines or even to heavy-duty gas engines. While the engineering effort to integrate the MJI system has been simplified, other engine systems need to be further optimised in order to gain the largest benefits, which might include higher compression ratio, revised inlet camshaft profile and re-matching of the boosting system. A whole system engineering approach is the way to get the best from MJI.”
MAHLE Powertrain is now working on the development of a demonstrator engine to showcase the technology’s potential in applications between 80kW to 120kW.
• Use of recycled ‘green’ parts cuts force’s vehicle downtime
• Savings of £45k per year achieved, thanks to MyGreenFleet parts supply
• Cash saving and operational benefits boost force in its fight against crime
South Wales Police Force is saving £45,000 a year on fleet maintenance and has drastically cut its vehicle downtime thanks to the use of green parts supplied by SYNETIQ.
The adoption of the ‘green’ policy’ has given the force a welcome cash boost, and also helped it to maximise operational capabilities for its fleet of patrol vehicles.
As a major client of MyGreenFleet since 2017, the use of green parts has become the mainstay of South Wales Police Force’s maintenance strategy.
The use of green vehicle parts supplied by MyGreenFleet – a supply portal operated by SYNETIQ, the largest salvage and vehicle recycling company in the UK – has also reduced the environmental impact of its fleet of more than 1,200 vehicles. South Wales Police no longer rely on new, manufactured replacement parts and body panels that have a higher carbon footprint than green parts.
Because it is often quicker to use green parts, the force was also able to cut the amount of time its vehicles were off the road because delivery times are much quicker than those of new parts.
As the largest police force in Wales, which serves an area of 1,250 square miles via a fleet of 850 dedicated police vehicles, South Wales Police has a clear need to maintain the frontline availability of these vehicles for its officers and keep the downtime to a minimum.
Before the introduction of SYNETIQ MyGreenFleet to the force, a lack of rapidly available parts would sometimes see parts temporarily harvested from vehicles to keep other vehicles on the road. Now, thanks to the availability of next-day-delivery green parts, that is no longer necessary – vehicles are back on the road quickly, allowing officers to continue serving the population of South Wales.
The data generated by the MyGreenFleet portal is used by SYNETIQ to identify the most common replacement parts, so MyGreenFleet can ensure good availability all year round.
With the immediate supply of popular items such as door mirrors, replacements can be delivered within 24 hours, and vehicles can return to frontline use.
Demonstrating the future of transport entertainment and connectivity software, industry pioneer VNC Automotive has selected specialist automotive agency loop to handle its media engagement and PR activity.
Working across the entire transportation industry, including consumer, commercial, emergency services, as well as mobility, VNC Automotive’s work lies at the heart of countless vehicles’ entertainment, navigation and telematics systems. Allowing manufacturers and OEMs to enrich the experience of both drivers and passengers, through connectivity, multimedia and productivity, it creates intuitive, market-leading, innovative products for the vehicles of tomorrow.
Headquartered in one of the world’s largest technology clusters, in Cambridge UK, VNC automotive offers an end to end service, from proof-of-concept, technology delivery and through into production. Each project is tailored to the client’s needs but draws upon the company’s expertise of working with the world leading equipment providers and automotive manufactures.
As the company approaches the third anniversary of its founding, loop will work to demonstrate how the company will truly power connected mobility going forward. “A connected, and ultimately seamless and immersive, multimedia experience when people are in transit is what we are working towards,” explains Tom Blackie, Founder and CEO, VNC Automotive. “The team here are behind some of the most exciting advancements in automotive connectivity and in-vehicle entertainment on the market today, and indeed tomorrow. We are delighted to be working with loop to engage more widely on this important topic.”
About VNC Automotive
VNC Automotive is a pioneer in car connectivity and telematics software, and its work is currently in use in over 25 million vehicles, across 20 of the world’s largest automotive OEMs, including VW Group, Toyota, Honda, PSA. VNC Automotive develops and supplies software across the automotive ecosystem to equipment suppliers such as Bosch, Panasonic, Clarion, Pioneer and device vendors such as Sony, HTC, LG, and Huawei.
Covering everything from In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) connectivity and telematics concepts, through to embedded production-grade deployments, its platform-agnostic software supports all popular vehicle connectivity standards Android Auto, CarPlay, CarLife, MirrorLink and SDL. In addition to its industry leading proprietary solutions.
Its industry accredited software is recognised for its high quality and leading performance, and project delivery has been optimised and packaged to allow turn-key integration, minimising time to market, but allowing the customer to fully customise branding and user experience.
