Renault will manufacture a hybrid delivery van. The vehicle will use the Renault Kangoo van as the base platform, but the engine will be replaced by hydrogen fuel cells that will reduce carbon emissions and save money on traditional combustion fuels. The technology will also be included on the Renault Master van in 2020, if successful.
The hydrogen fuel cells are similar to those used on the Toyota Prius and will boost the maximum range of the Renault Kangoo to 370 kilometres. While much of the car industry is focussed on electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid technologies still have many advantages.
The range of a hybrid engine can be as much as three times more than a lithium-ion battery-powered engine. The refuelling time is also significantly shorter for hybrid engines, taking just 5 to 10 minutes as opposed to 30 to 40 minutes to recharge an EV.
Vehicle manufacturers embracing hybrid technology
Car manufacturers are facing increasing pressure to produce zero-emission and low-emission vehicles that comply with strict international regulations. Hybrid fuel cells have been around for many years and the only byproduct of the running of the engines is water vapour.
However, these fuel cells are expensive to manufacture and can be complicated to fix. This means that the retail value of a hybrid vehicle is significantly higher than a traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. In the long run, it may be worth investing in hybrid technology as it will save the owner a lot of money on petrol or diesel.
Renault is not the first to offer a hybrid van, although the Kangoo is a popular vehicle and a hybrid version is likely to perform well on the market. Toyota and Hyundai also offer hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles that produce no carbon emissions. The more car brands that start to offer such technologies and alternatives, the better for the environment.
Renault to launch hybrid van in 2020
The hybrid Renault Kangoo ZE will go on sale in Europe in 2020 for around R790 000. If successful, the French brand could launch the vehicle in other countries around the world, including South Africa. The European market is more open and accommodating to hybrid vehicles, but South African consumers are starting to realise the importance of zero carbon emission transportation.
Renault is an indirect customer of Formex Industries as our automotive parts and components are sold to the French car brand through 1st Tier suppliers.
Image credit: EurovisionNim
Formex Industries is a metal forming and assembly company that supplies a variety of complex products to the local automotive industry and the export market. The company is based in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropole, South Africa’s foremost region for automotive manufacturing and export.
Formex specialises in producing components for the catalytic converter industry, as well as metal components and assemblies for the various vehicles. Formex is positioned as one of the foremost suppliers for the South African automotive industry by 2035, aligning itself with the South African Automotive Masterplan (SAAM) which takes effect in 2020.
Formex is a Level 2 B-BBEE supplier with over 80% black ownership, of which more than 40% are black women. The company is owned by Deneb Investments Limited – a subsidiary of Hosken Consolidated Investments Limited (HCI) – one of South Africa’s biggest true B-BBEE companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
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