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Small country
– large car industry
The task is clear: to build a “green” car. The Swedish government has joined
forces with the car industry, and together they have invested 187 million euro
in the Green Car programme in order to accomplish this task.
THE NEXT GENERATION of cars will
soon be here – hybrid ethanol-electric
cars. The development of green cars is
a top priority at Saab. As a result, the
Saab 9-5 Biopower car – which can use
ethanol, a renewable and carbon-dioxide
neutral fuel – was launched in 2005. It
was an immediate sales success, in fact
more so than anyone had dreamed of.
Environment-friendly fuels are needed,
but it is equally important to develop
technology to lower fuel consumption.
Hybrid technology is one way of making
vehicles more energy-efficient. Fuel consumption
can be reduced by combining
an electric traction motor and a battery
with the internal combustion engine.
The secret is to recover energy when the
vehicle brakes or coasts downhill.
– But building a hybrid car is complicated,
says Yngve Larsson, who is
responsible for hybrid development
both at Saab and at GM Europe.
– Everything, from engine suspension
to control systems, has to be modified.
We have to look at every single detail
in the car and see what needs to be
adjusted.
IN-HOUSE DEVELOPMENT
Saab’s engineers have designed and
produced all the parts for the hybrid car.
Now they need to be assembled and the
laborious task of getting everything to
work together will begin.
– To start with we had two options,
either to buy all the technology or to
develop it ourselves and learn it from
scratch, says Tommy Lindholm, project
manager.
– The Green Car programme has
given us the necessary resources to
develop the technology in-house. The
reason why we have made so much
progress is that we have worked together
with Lund University of Technology.
They participated in the project with
an enthusiasm that drove it forward at
great speed.
– They have knowhow there that car
manufacturers usually do not possess.
It will take several years before Saab’s
hybrid car is ready for the consumer. It
normally takes three years or so from
the time when the development process
is complete and until the first car leaves
the production line.
There is a continual struggle among
the global car companies as to where
various technologies are to be developed.
Developing a hybrid car means that many of the parts need to be modified. For example, the car must have a high-voltage electrical system
to drive the electric motors instead of the usual 12V system.
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