Photo: Kia
South Korean manufacturer Kia announced on Tuesday plans to launch a new mild-hybrid powertrain in 2018, one that can be fitted into any existing vehicle architecture.
To be called EcoDynamics+, the powertrain combines a diesel engine with a 48V electric motor and a new mild-hybrid starter-generator unit. It is the first such development at Kia under the company’s electrification strategy.
The first vehicle to get the combustion-electric combo - the mild hybrid will be mounted under the boot floor - will be the Sportage which will be launched later this year. It will be followed by the third-generation Kia Ceed in the early months of next year.
According to Kia, the EcoDynamics+ uses a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) emissions control to lower CO2 emissions by up to four per cent on the new Worldwide Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) and by up to seven per cent on the existing New European Driving Cycle (NEDC).
The mild-hybrid itself is comprised of a 0.46 kWh 48-volt lithium-ion battery and a starter-generator unit.
The system makes use of a moving start-stop function, meaning that when it detects the battery has sufficient charge, the combustion engine turns off automatically during in-gear deceleration and braking. Reigniting the engine is done by pressing the acceleration pedal.
The mild hybrid will be paired to both manual and automatic transmissions and will work as described on all types of drivetrain layouts - front-, rear- and all-wheel-drive.
Kia did not say how much range the Sportage will have with the engine switched off when using the system. The carmaker says more details about the hybrid and its implementation will be released “in due course,” at first for the UK market.
The strategy envisioned by Kia for the electrification of its range BY 2025 includes the launch of five new hybrid cars, five plug-in hybrids, five battery-electric vehicles and, among the few to do so, a fuel-cell electric vehicle sometime in 2020.
The first vehicle to get the combustion-electric combo - the mild hybrid will be mounted under the boot floor - will be the Sportage which will be launched later this year. It will be followed by the third-generation Kia Ceed in the early months of next year.
According to Kia, the EcoDynamics+ uses a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) emissions control to lower CO2 emissions by up to four per cent on the new Worldwide Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) and by up to seven per cent on the existing New European Driving Cycle (NEDC).
The mild-hybrid itself is comprised of a 0.46 kWh 48-volt lithium-ion battery and a starter-generator unit.
The system makes use of a moving start-stop function, meaning that when it detects the battery has sufficient charge, the combustion engine turns off automatically during in-gear deceleration and braking. Reigniting the engine is done by pressing the acceleration pedal.
The mild hybrid will be paired to both manual and automatic transmissions and will work as described on all types of drivetrain layouts - front-, rear- and all-wheel-drive.
Kia did not say how much range the Sportage will have with the engine switched off when using the system. The carmaker says more details about the hybrid and its implementation will be released “in due course,” at first for the UK market.
The strategy envisioned by Kia for the electrification of its range BY 2025 includes the launch of five new hybrid cars, five plug-in hybrids, five battery-electric vehicles and, among the few to do so, a fuel-cell electric vehicle sometime in 2020.
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