Car makers team up with SMEs to produce low-carbon vehicles

Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus and Nissan’s luxury car division, Infiniti, are collaborating with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to produce three low-carbon demonstrator vehicles this year through a £20.5m Technology Strategy Board (TSB)-backed project.

The project, entitled ‘Evolution of REEV Technologies — Building a UK Supply Base’ (REEVolution), began in 2010 and aims to deliver range-extended electric vehicle products while developing UK suppliers of new ultra-low-carbon technologies.

Infiniti’s EMERG-E, a hybrid supercar, was unveiled this week at the Geneva Motor Show as the first demonstrator vehicle, and the remaining vehicles are set to be unveiled this summer.

John Laughlin, the TSB’s low-carbon-vehicle programme manager, told The Engineer: ‘The vehicle manufacturers bring the industrial infrastructure, strong market understanding and the relevant standards, while SMEs bring intellectual know-how, innovation, technology and different ways of thinking and solving problems.

‘The consortium is working together to build early relationships and to start solving some of the complex technical barriers that need to be overcome to successfully open up the market potential of low-carbon vehicles.’