Media-Insert Communications

Sustainability to Transform Cockpit of the Future

Sustainability covers many areas, including the materials used within a vehicle’s cabin to make the dashboard, the paneling and the electronics used in today’s instrumentation. Drew Winter, principal analyst, cockpit of the future, Wards Intelligence, finds that there is significant consumer demand for automotive manufacturers to use sustainable materials, including for those unseen such as materials used for sound insulation. He believes their use in the construction of automaker’s vehicles is driven by the growth of EVs and worldwide environmental concerns.

Winter writes in a paper on the topic, ‘Behold the Cockpit’s Brave New Materials’: “The push for sustainable interior materials is not new but Sage Automotive Interiors’ Julie Jacobs says consumer demand is fueling the growing scope and seriousness of the efforts, especially among the rising tide of younger, environmentally conscious consumers who care deeply about how the vehicles they buy are made.” Apart from the need to use or reduce the use of materials that may harm the planet, there is also a prerequisite to use smart materials that can limit distraction while creating new cockpit experiences.

Discover how sustainability with transform the automotive cockpit of the future, read the complete article. 

Client: InformaTech, published by TU Automotive 15th June 2022.

Could ICE Have a Greener Future?

Keynote speaker at Automotive Techweek, Frank Abkenar, global engineering director at Ford, spoke about clean and efficient propulsion technology developments.

His presentation comes at a time when the conversation is increasingly against ICE because they are mainly powered by fossil fuels. However, despite the march towards Net Zero carbon emissions after COP 26, the question arises about whether ICE can have a greener future by being converted to work with greener fuels.

When asked whether there is greener future for the internal combustion engine in an interview for TU-Automotive, Matthew Avery, director of research at Thatcham, said the short answer is “No.” However, Richard Osborne, global technical expert of sustainable engines at Ricardo says there is a need to distinguish between pollutant emissions and greenhouse gas emissions when considering the key technical developments of the internal combustion engine and whether they have become cleaner and greener over the last decade.

Find out if internal combustion engines could have a greener future, read the complete article. 

Client: InformaTech, published by TU Automotive on 17th December 2021. Author: Graham Jarvis.

From insurance to cryptocurrencies in healthcare

Beyond his work with TU Automotive and Trudy Darwin Communications, between 2020 and 2022, Graham Jarvis - freelance business and technology journalist, wrote and edited insurtech reports for Intelligent Insurer; wrote articles on cryptocurrencies in healthcare; wrote about education; edited and wrote fleet management reports for ABAX; wrote about digital accessibility; wrote about cloud computing; wrote about customer experiences and customer management; wrote about connected, autonomous vehicles and smart cities. Other topics were also covered. 

Digital transformation, connectivity create platform for sustainable mobility

The Covid-19 pandemic is causing tectonic plates to slide in the automotive industry, and in indeed in many others.

However, it’s not the only factor that is causing a shift. Consumer purchasing behaviour, electric vehicle adoption is increasing, connect and autonomous vehicle technology is important, and there is a push to, as Markus Winkler is head of global automotive sector at Capgemini says: “Adopt sustainable operational practices, forcing the sector to not only assess its ecological balance sheet but its social and ethical responsibilities as well.”

Read the complete article on TU Automotive. 

Client: InformaTech, published by TU Automotive on 23rd February 2021; and published on Urgent Communications on 24th February 2021.

Fleet Telematics Has Vital Role in Move to EVs

Increasingly, organizations are turning to electric vehicles (EVs) while setting goals to reduce emissions and improve operational fleet efficiency.

However, there are implications on changing the powertrain of a vehicle and how it’s managed in fleet operations. Noah Gates, senior product owner at Omnitracs, says he’s noticed that one of the biggest trends at the moment is the use of telematics data to drive autopilot systems in EVs. “Telematics data is also providing information about those systems to Tesla, which is being used to refine the technology,” he adds. From Tesla’s perspective, the aim is to improve the self-driving capabilities of its vehicles while making the data readily available for legal purposes...

Find out more about the role of telematics in the move to electric vehicles. 

Published by TU Automotive magazine on 31st January 2019. Author: Graham A. Jarvis

World’s Biggest Economy Poses EV Challenge

Most of the world’s top carmakers now want to make electric vehicles (EVs) the mode of transport to choose. The Washington Times reported that a race has begun for EV dominance and the newspaper suggests that this trend could firmly put China in the driving seat because the country is the world’s largest car market.

Peter Morici, an economist and business professor at the University of Maryland claims the Chinese have also created “savvy government policies”. So with Trump repealing Obama-era legislation such as the $7,500 (£6,352) tax credit, which helped to stoke up consumer demand for electric vehicles, it’s widely thought that the advantage goes to China.

Speaking about the repeal of the tax credit by the Trump administration in the US, Sahand Malek, Strategy consultant, Ptolemus Consulting Group. Comments: “For consumers to consider switching from traditional powered engines to all-electric and plug-in hybrid car, the US federal income tax credit is a great motivation.” However, the oil industry’s lobby is quite strong in the US and, to a certain extent, it views electrification as a threat to its existence. After all, the key focus of any support is EVs on the reduction of harmful emissions from diesel and petrol engines...

But is the the technology self-limiting? Find out, read the complete article. 

Published by TU Automotive magazine on 9th February 2018. Author: Graham Jarvis

Establishing a Business Case for Fleet Management Technology

FLEET management represents both an expense to the business and an investment. Chief financial officers therefore need to establish a business case that demonstrates a sound rationale for investing in fleet management technology and in car, truck and van fleets themselves. However, the very fact that such propositions are both an expense and an investment means that they need to find a balance between the two sides of the coin – particularly as the main barrier to investing in fleets falls heavily down to what it costs to procure the vehicles, to maintain and manage them throughout their lifespan.

Find out more about how to establish a business case for fleet management technology...

Give Me a Tax Break: The Benefits of Green Fleet Management

ACCORDING to the European Commission cars create 12% of the total European Union emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is the main greenhouse gas. EU legislation has therefore set its sights on improving the fuel economy of cars with similar targets being set for vans. For example, by 2021 its target is to reduce CO2 emissions by 40%. By then the emissions target for all news cars will be 95 grams of CO2 per kilometre (1.6 miles), with a fuel consumption target of around 4.1 l/100 km of petrol or 3.6 l/100 km of diesel compared to the 2015 target of an average of 130 grams of CO2 per kilometre.

Discover more about the benefits of having a green fleet management strategy, read what they can do for your company.

By Graham Jarvis. Published by Financial Director magazine on 26/09/2016. Publisher: Contentive.