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Hybrids could soon change driving mode to suit local air quality

By / 7 years ago / Tech, UK News / No Comments

Hybrids could soon be remotely switched to drive on electricity when local air pollution is high, using technology which is about to undergo on-road trials in Leeds.

Tevva Motors Truck

The project will remotely activate EV mode on Tevva hybrid trucks when air quality is low.

Project ACCRA will showcase a system which uses live air quality and traffic information to instruct vehicles when they need to be driving with their combustion engines switched off. The aim is to enable local authorities to curb air pollution without adding costs for motorists and businesses.

The project is a collaboration between Leeds City Council, vehicle manufacturer Tevva Motors, network systems developer Dynniq, and air quality specialist EarthSense, and will use geofencing to define areas where cars and vans must operate on electric power. Cenex and the Transport Systems Catapult will analyse the results to see whether it can be rolled out to other areas.

Steve Carroll, head of transport at Cenex said: “Using real-time air quality data to automatically instruct vehicles driving into high pollution areas to switch to zero-emissions driving, has the potential to transform urban transportation regulation and save thousands of lives.”

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Alex Grant

Trained on Cardiff University’s renowned Postgraduate Diploma in Motor Magazine Journalism, Alex is an award-winning motoring journalist with ten years’ experience across B2B and consumer titles. A life-long car enthusiast with a fascination for new technology and future drivetrains, he joined Fleet World in April 2011, contributing across the magazine and website portfolio and editing the EV Fleet World Website.