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High-speed electric EDITORIAL VW gets first UK showing
Page 23
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A battery-powered VW pick-up developed by a consortium of German companies was demonstrated in Manchester to representatives of the British transport industry, including vehicle and battery manufacturers, for the first time this week.
The pick-up is one of 40 developed as a result of cooperation between VW, the battery manufacturer Varta, Bosch and Siemens.
The VW employs a thyristor or SCR control system which provides braking and regenerative charging on the "overrun". The complete system, using lead-acid batteries, works at 144 volts and uses a specially designed Bosch 27kW motor.
Maximum speed of the vehicle demonstrated is about 78 km/ h (49 mph) and the range in typical town conditions is 70 km (44 miles). Unladen weight is 2.2 tonnes (2.24 tons) -0.54 tonnes (0.55 tons) more than a standard VW pick-up.
On the road
The 40 vehicles so far built are being operated for the Group by the German Electric Road Traffic Company. GES. This is the organization which is currently operating 22 battery-powered buses on the World's first scheduled electric bus route in Munchen Gladbach and Dusseldorf.
General Manager of Varta's traction division, Mr Rainer-Lionel D'Arcy, told CM that the company was working on three other, as yet unspecified, types of electro-chemical cell. However, he said, it would be many years before the leadacid battery would be replaced as a power cell for electric vehicles.