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MOTORINDIA
l
September 2012
For the globally active com-
mercial vehicle supplier, the
future of public transport lies in
the increased efficiency of drive
systems. With its eyes firmly on
emission-free driving, Voith is
presenting the ElvoDrive, a se-
rial hybrid drive that transmits
the required power as 100 per
cent electrical energy, so that the
combustion engine can always be
operated within its lowest specific
fuel consumption range. Future de-
sign stages will also allow purely
electric drives, range extender or
plug-in concepts. The advantages
of the ElvoDrive in future city
buses are thus highly diverse: from
simply reducing fuel consumption
to emission-free electric driving
over short distances.
Savings potential lies also in a
new efficiency package presented
by Voith in Hanover. It consists of
the new DIWA.6 automatic trans-
mission, the topography-dependent
SensoTop gear-shifting program
and the DIWA SmartNet telemet-
ric system. The basis is the new
DIWA.6, which can save another
five per cent of fuel compared to
its predecessor model. These sav-
ings can be achieved by control-
ling the operating pressure in the
transmission. It can be lowered to
up to five bar, saving nearly three
per cent of diesel. This is added by
an intelligent start-up management,
as well as the SensoTop gear-shift-
ing program. In combination with
a new torsional vibration damper,
the program allows gear-shifting
at even lower speeds and thus cuts
down on consumption.
The efficiency package is com-
pleted by the SmartNet telemet-
ric system. In order to minimize
downtimes, the bus is sending
its operating data to a server via
GPRS. In the event of a transmis-
sion fault, the operator is informed
and can react instantly before the
bus breaks down. Preventive main-
tenance keeps buses longer on the
road and cuts down on workshop
stops.
IAA preview (component zone)
Under the motto “Efficiency on the road” Voith will be presenting its latest prod-
ucts and solutions for trucks, buses and coaches at the IAA Commercial Vehicle
Show to be held at Hannover during September 19-27. The focus is on higher ef-
ficiency, reduced emissions and lower operating costs. Among the highlights are
the new ElvoDrive technology concept and the Aquatarder SWR, the world’s first
secondary water retarder.
Another product making its
debut at the show is the perfect
solution for buses and other com-
mercial vehicles with high air con-
sumption: with the LP 725 Voith
offers the three-cylinder com-
pressor now also in an aluminum