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VECTO, the truck industry’s truck configurator

VECTO is a freight efficiency simulator being developed by the EC and ACEA. By Martin Kahl

If there’s one factor that is common to CV fleets in any market, it is that fuel economy is a top customer priority. While total cost of ownership (TCO) is heavily affected by fuel efficiency, TCO itself ranks relatively low in the top ten customer priorities, says the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). Citing a 2010 survey conducted by Oliver Wyman Analysis, ACEA says West European customers ranked fuel consumption third, behind reliability and service quality, respectively; TCO ranked ninth. In the same survey, Eastern European customers ranked fuel consumption second, behind reliability, with TCO again ranking in ninth place.

According to an ACEA paper, “fuel efficiency is one of the most important competitive factors in developing and selling trucks and buses. Therefore, market forces ensure continuous progress in fuel economy and CO2 emission reduction.” ACEA thus takes the view that any “legal requirement regarding fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions should aim to further strengthen these market forces.”

The latest regulation to reduce emissions came into effect on 1 January 2014. Widely regarded as a “landmark technological achievement in emissions reduction”, Euro VI has been achieved thanks to considerable investment in development on the part of the OEMs. As a result, Euro VI products require considerable up-front investment on the part of the OEMs’ customers, namely the fleets.

With Euro VI now in place, the truck industry may feel it has just cause in calling for some respite from regulation, with an added suggestion that other industries should also deliver such levels of improvement. However, at ACEA’s Truck of the Future summit, held in Brussels in December 2013, Connie Hedegaard, Europe’s Commissioner for Climate Change, made it clear that, since regulation has succeeded in achieving such significant improvements in emissions reduction, there is a place for further regulation on CO2.

Always read the label

The European Commission (EC) says that it develops regulations in partnership with the industry. And, whilst private discussions with fleets, OEMs and suppliers indicate that the level of dialogue is far from where it needs to be, attempts are being made to create a ‘voice of the industry’ to work with the Commission to shape legislation. Specifically, since one size does not fit all when it comes to heavy duty vehicle (HDV) regulation, there is growing acceptance that there is a need for usage-based and duty cycle-related assessment.

ACEA believes that fuel efficiency cannot be calculated using a litre per kilometre approach, as it only compares similar vehicles carrying out similar duties. Instead, the Association proposes a drive cycle-based fuel used/work done metric, where work is calculated as ton/km, cubic metre/km or passengers/km.

With that in mind, ACEA is now working with the EC to develop a simulation tool to calculate the fuel efficiency of complete HDVs, based on the work done concept, using a common computer simulation tool. This is intended to satisfy the EC’s 2008 HDV Energy Efficiency Labelling Policy Instrument, requiring the labelling of CO2 emissions from HDV engines, and the labelling of entire vehicles to predict the overall efficiency of the whole vehicle combination in operation.

ACEA’s solution involves a modular approach to fuel efficiency declaration of HDVs, which should define and develop common metrics and methodologies. Using a tool for calculating fuel efficiency and CO2 generation, ACEA aims to enable fleet buyers to match vehicle classes with missions and duty cycles.

VECTO

As it stands, the range of vehicles classified as commercial in Europe stretches from 3.5t to 76t – thanks to new regulations in Finland. This, coupled with the broad combinations of trailers and axles, means that OEMs do not know what tractor/truck configurations will be sold in any given year until orders come in. As a result, manufacturers cannot apply traditional vehicle testing.

But the aforementioned simulation tool will change this. ACEA’s development process is being aided by former Director Regulatory Projects and industry consulant Stefan Larsson, together with the EC.

The Vehicle Energy Consumption Calculation Tool (VECTO) is aimed at fleet customers, says Larsson, to enable them to evaluate whether a certain tractor/trailer configuration is suitable and beneficial to them. The advantage of a simulation tool, he notes, is that it enables users to compare different configurations.

“VECTO calculates the expected energy consumption of different HD truck and bus vehicle configurations using ten different mission profiles. These are based on cycles which are distance-based for improved accuracy,” explains Larsson. “Users can select different vehicle configurations from different manufacturers to see metrics such as fuel consumed and CO2 generated as g/tonne-km, g/passenger-km and average speed in the cycle used.”

The VECTO programme has been put together by the Technical University of Graz and, although currently in prototype phase, it is expected to go live in 2017 as an internet-based service. The focus in development has been on air drag and engine mapping. However, once up and running, every vehicle that rolls off a production line will include data indicating the purposes and applications to which it is suited.

As with any database, the tool is only as good as the data it contains, which, in this instance, will be provided by OEMs and suppliers. This is complicated by the intricate methodology required – “transmission efficiency alone ran to about 20 pages”, Larsson comments.

It may be complicated, but it is accepted by the EC, and, Larsson says, has the backing of the commercial vehicle industry.

From a regulator’s perspective, VECTO enables the EC to monitor improvements in HDV performance. During her keynote address at Truck of the Future, Commissioner Hedegaard acknowledged the CV industry’s improvements to date, but suggested the likelihood of further regulation. “The truck industry has done its job so far, but it’s not the end of the story.”

The industry, on the other hand, is keen to support anything that keeps fuel efficiency improvements in the hands of market forces, and out of regulators’ control. “We believe that market force is the best way,” says Larsson.

Future trucks

Speaking at the November event, Dr Wolfgang Bernhard, Chairman of the ACEA Commercial Vehicle Board and Chief Executive, Daimler Trucks, emphasised the truck industry’s concern about further regulation: “Additional gains in fuel efficiency will be more and more difficult to achieve. The truck industry cannot face all of them alone. That’s why we need to support the idea of an integrated approach.” He adds, “ACEA truck manufacturers have committed to a 20% fuel reduction from 2005 to 2020. We’re making good progress, but due to diminishing returns, further progress will be even more difficult to achieve.”

In addition to the oft-cited concerns surrounding the cost of meeting regulation, ACEA is worried about the creation of a false market. The use of a traditional, broad stroke approach to regulation in such a wide industry sector leads to generalisation, explains Larsson, and fails to take into consideration the variations in use and their application. Trucks thus have to meet regulations, but are then used in applications that fail to exploit the efficiency improvements forced by those regulations. “We are afraid that this artificial market will move away from the real market. Therefore we as an industry need to be as close as possible to the real market, rather than showing that we are compliant with an artificial market,” says Larsson.

For post-Euro VI CO2 emissions reductions, ACEA supports a cost-effectiveness-based integrated approach. CO2 emission reduction is a global issue that encompasses much more than road vehicles alone, so the Association is calling for the inclusion of road freight in a global, non-sector specific emissions trading scheme, as well as globally harmonised policies for HDVs.

As a result of industry and market consolidation, “there are very few towing vehicle manufacturers, yet there are at least 4,000 body and trailer manufacturers in Europe alone,” says Larsson. Light commercial vehicle manufacturers are responsible for the emissions and fuel consumption of the full vehicle, body or no body. “Don’t put this responsibility on the HGV manufacturer, who cannot be responsible for the use of the complete vehicle including bodies and trailers,” he adds.

By creating a tool for fleets, ACEA is helping its members to help their customers. Buyers will be able to evaluate the expected performance of whole-vehicle applications before purchase, enabling them to pick the most appropriate vehicle for the job.

This article was first published in the Q1 2014 issue of Automotive World Megatrends Magazine. Follow this link to download the full issue

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