Transport Technology – New Developments
With the advance of globalization, the automobile market has undergone rapid changes. New market participants have appeared, offering innovative concepts to satisfy growing demands, while the more established manufacturers struggle to meet new global challenges.
This century will see the rise of new markets and developments: China has long been known as a nation of bicyclists, and the first Chinese automobile factory was only constructed in 1953. The country mainly produced trucks until the 1990s, but an increasing number of cars have been built since that time, at first mainly in cooperation with Western firms.
Today the Chinese automobile industry is expanding by 15 percent per year, that is, even faster than the overall economy in this booming country. By 2020 yearly production is expected to rise to at least 20 million vehicles—significantly more than (and in some cases double) the yearly production of most large automakers, including their foreign subsidiaries.
Loremo and other projects
The Loremo AG is not a multinational corporation but an innovative start-up from Germany. The name “Loremo” stands for “Low (air) Resistance Mobile.” The sporty-looking prototype is said to get 78 miles to a gallon of diesel fuel (3 1/100 km); a variant with an electric motor is also planned. Although series production will not begin until 2009/2010, the first display models have attracted great attention in the automotive industry.
Even more visionary are vehicles such as the OneCat, a French project featuring a propulsion system based on pressurized air. Also called a gas-expansion motor, this system needs only compressed air as a fuel. A series of unsuccessful trials in recent years have made the OneCat’s future appear questionable. However, significantly more progress has been made on propulsion systems using fuel cells, with the first prototypes already appearing in the 1990s.
THE WANKEL ENGINE
The propulsion system invented by Felix Wankel (1902-1988) does away with traditional pistons and cylinders. Instead, fuel is burned within the chambers of a housing containing a three-sided, oval-like rotor, causing it to turn. This rotation is transferred directly to the drivetrain. In practice, however, this impressive idea has not conquered the automobile market; because of its higher fuel consumption and some technical issues.
Its success remains confined to various niche markets. Nontheless. the Wankel engine design is not yet obsolete: Mazda introduced a hydrogen-powered Wankel engine in 2006 that does not emit any carbon dioxide.
TATA MOTORS
India—the second country to reach one billion in population—also has an automobile industry, which is rap- idly developing into a global player. Most notably, the Tata Motors company made headlines worldwide in early 2008.
This subsidiary of the diversified Indian firm Tata Sons Ltd. announced the introduction of the world’s least expensive production car. the “Nano,” offering a four-door model for around $2,500. At the same time, the company presented a takeover bid for the traditional British brands Jaguar and Land Rover.