Twin-seater ultra compact vehicles have attracted much attention. This is because the twin seater configuration provides the minimum cabin space required for commuter use and contributes to reduce energy consumption for travel due to their light weight in comparison to regular sized passenger vehicles. In Japan, the average number of passengers in a vehicle used for daily activities is 1.3 people. Therefore, the currently prevalent motor vehicles may be over-sized for daily use, and two-seater vehicles may be more appropriate to satisfy the demands of Japanese in their daily activities. The Japanese government is considering the introduction of a new category for such vehicles. The size of ultra compact vehicles should not be larger than the K-car (light car) standard and not be smaller than the existing mini-car standard in Japan. In this study, the power requirement for twin-seater ultra compact vehicles was estimated in order to obtain basic data for the development of this new vehicle category. In addition, their environmental impact, which includes reduction of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, was evaluated. Advantages of the introduction of these vehicles into the Japanese market also are discussed. For the establishment of a new vehicle standard for a two-seater UCV (ultra compact vehicle) in Japan, and determination of its motor power requirement, analysis and estimation of the energy consumption and CO2 emission were conducted. Moreover, the total cost of driving different types of these vehicles was calculated. As a result, it has been confirmed that the regulations for the L7 category of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) of the UN Economic Commission for Europe are satisfied, and that there should be no problem with driving these vehicles within Japan. In addition, for electric UCVs, it was shown that the reduction of the battery price is important in order to reduce the total cost to less than that of a UCV running on gasoline.


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    Title :

    Estimation of the power requirement of twin-seater ultra compact vehicles and their environmental impact, for the Japanese market


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2012


    Size :

    6 Seiten, 7 Bilder, 5 Tabellen, 4 Quellen



    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English





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