Speech given by Lord Paul Drayson at the Electric Vehicle Driveline Event (Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders, London).
Today’s briefing on electric drivetrains is very timely as just this week people are beginning to talk about the early signs of economic recovery in the UK.
Now more than ever, people are looking for the sources of future growth, the areas of business where the UK has the critical mass, the competitive edge and the leadership in technological innovation that will deliver the jobs and economic growth that the country needs as we strive to rebalance our economy after the financial crisis that began in 2007.
Of course the global credit crunch, following as it did the spike in oil prices, exposed global overcapacity in the car industry and ushered in a massive restructuring of the sector.
At the same time, growing evidence of man made climate change and ensuing government regulation of vehicle emissions triggered a new level of technological innovation in vehicle powertrains that hasn’t been seen since the invention of the internal combustion engine 125 years ago.
As a result the consumer is now faced with a greater diversity of drivetrain options than ever- petrol or diesel, full or mild hybrids, battery electric or fuel cell. No-one knows which technology will win out in the long run – and it is fascinating right now to see the major global car companies placing their bets as not even the largest company can afford to cover every technology option.
For industry, the accelerating complexity and uncertainty has been unprecedented, especially for an industry which just 5 years ago was seen as quite predictable with easily forecast consumer demand and regular product life cycles. Not any more.
So it is tremendous that out of all this turmoil has emerged a reborn UK car industry and a healthy cluster of EV technology leaders such as you heard this morning who are surfing the wave of this change and building great businesses upon it.
“Disruptive technology” is an over-used label these days, but when applied to ultra-low carbon vehicles – and by that I mean electric, it is entirely appropriate. It is essential to the future growth and competitiveness of the automotive sector that the UK is a leader in ultra low carbon vehicle technologies and products such as those you have heard about this morning.
Both UK government and industry accept the reality of climate change and the resulting need to significantly reduce carbon emissions from the vehicles on our roads.
We’re consuming 25 per cent more resources than the planet can replace, and eating into the reserves of natural capital that support our existence.
Atmospheric CO2 concentrations are higher than at any time in the past 600,000 years and increasing at the fastest ever rate and are responsible for most of global warming in the past 50 years.
The arctic sea ice melt this past summer has been truly scary.
Yes, 19 per cent of UK greenhouse gas emissions are currently from road transport, but our economic growth is inextricably linked to people’s mobility. In big cities, public transport obviously has a major role, but so do taxis and car clubs. And beyond cities, where public transport offers no real “per passenger per kilometre” CO2 reduction versus the private car, we must ultimately replace them with ultra low carbon alternatives.
If there is one thing that I learnt from my time in government:
People will only change and adopt an environmentally sustainable lifestyle if they are offered attractive options that allow them to.
It’s about making change desirable, accessible and affordable.
We have to offer people a practical and accessible low-carbon future – one which offers solutions built on sound science and creative engineering. Cars that make sense on a day-to-day practical and economic level, as well as an environmental one.
In the short term, the automotive industry will continue to refine their products: reducing vehicle weight and drag; improving engine and transmission performance; pushing ahead with hybrid technology. That will be enough to meet the near term series of tighter European restrictions on CO2 per kilometre emissions.
But the car makers recognise that even if they hit 100 grams of CO2 per kilometre by 2020 – equivalent to a small compact model now – internal combustion engines will still waste about 60 per cent of the energy delivered to vehicles from heat loss via the exhaust and cooling systems. These losses are unavoidable whenever we burn fuel. Electric vehicles – by contrast, are over 90 per cent efficient in taking stored electrical energy and converting it into useful motive power and torque.
Over the past ten years, both the previous and current UK governments have consistently applied policies and incentives to attract investment, encourage R&D and promote sales of zero emission electric vehicles – and this consistency is having an effect. The UK is now a great place to invest in and build an electric vehicle business.
As a result vehicle manufacturers have delivered more fuel efficient and lower CO2 emitting vehicles to the market – such that average new car CO2 emissions in the UK have fallen 23.7 per cent since 2000 to a new low of 138.1g/km in 2011.
SMMT figures show that 1,282 vehicles eligible for the Plug-in car grant have been registered in the UK since it became available in January 2011 an 847 per cent increase over 2010.
Of course, ensuring there is enough public infrastructure for plug-in vehicles is a key factor for consumer acceptance and uptake of this technology. The UK government’s Plug-In Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy was published in June 2011 and this is another area where the SMMT is working closely with the Office for Low Emission Vehicles in government.
R&D is central to the achievement of lower emission vehicles, however for it to be effective this R&D must be focused and strategically relevant. To ensure it is – the UK has developed, jointly between industry and government, a set of technology roadmaps for low carbon vehicles, backed by government investment and co-funding via the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) which coordinates the provision of government funding for strategic R&D in low carbon projects. Among TSB funded projects, the Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator Programme has provided important information on real-world testing that will help us to understand customer perceptions and concerns about EVs, as well as new opportunities for product innovation.
The recently implemented Patent Box is a major tax incentive for companies to manufacture products based on UK R&D and is set to be a further boost to UK competitiveness in the low carbon vehicle market. As a result of all this, global automotive companies are investing heavily in UK R&D and that’s great news for the companies here today.
Of course, the UK is a world leader in high performance engineering with many of the world’s leading racing teams based in the UK. As motorsport becomes increasingly green – such as in the new FIA Formula E championship for electric vehicles recently announced, the transfer of innovative technology, such as new battery, motor and inverter technology from racetrack to street will accelerate and this is yet another source of electric vehicle drivetrain innovation and a UK competitive advantage.
And as well as being innovative engineers – we have to be innovative marketeers too. That marketing has to make green cars cool and exciting, rather than dull and worthy.
And here again in the UK we have the brains and brands to do this.
By brains – I mean this country’s leadership in science and innovation. Each of the companies this morning has grown from the strong science and academic foundations in our universities. Our leadership in high performance engineering science is reflected by the incredible dominance that we show in the motorsport industry – an industry that depends upon engineering excellence and inspiration. Where Britain is the clear world leader.
As President of the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA), I’m proud that British-based constructors have won no fewer than 34 F1 Constructors’ Championships – well ahead of Italian (16) and French (3) based teams.
And that 8 of the 12 current F1 teams are based here in the UK.
Those statistics back up what I’m saying about the quality of our talent and our engineering.
Our tremendous racing heritage helps renew our premium automotive brands like Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, Lotus, and Mini, all constantly renewed by an active motorsport programme and Mclaren – recently launching their new GT hybrid supercar have managed to build a very successful electronics technology business from their success on track.
Now, as the world shifts towards a low carbon future, and the velocity of change accelerates, we need to ensure that these strengths in our brands and in our technology remain relevant to the new world and in tune with what the modern consumer wants. That consumer wants performance with economy and minimal environmental impact. And the consumer is global now.
So here in the UK, we have the conditions to lead the electrification of transportation that will take place over the coming years. We have the brains, the brands and the technology to lead the clean tech automotive revolution. We also have a political consensus over the vital importance to the UK of a strong indigenous car industry and the policies to support it, particularly as it responds to the low carbon opportunity. As global economies recover, the strategic importance of this sector to the UK can only increase.
As someone who started his career in the car industry as a young engineer at the Longbridge plant when it employed 22,000 people I am delighted to be able to finish by saying this.
Now is a great time to be an automotive engineer – but these days its electrons that you have to have running through your veins, rather than petrol.
Source : Drayson Racing