For all car manufacturers, decrease both fuel consumption and polluting emissions of a car is practically an obligation, but today it also becomes a necessity to obtain a good positioning on the global market.
In fact, manufacturers try to prove theirs particular interest in the reduction of carbon dioxide emitted. By transforming the new Panda Hybrid City Cross to methane, Ecomotive Solutions and Autogas Italia (Holdim group) have made the FCA city car even greener, which already records very low consumption. The 999 cc 3-cylinder engine with 69 horsepower has kept both the agility and the liveliness that the 6-speed gearbox allows even during the hybrid phase almost unchanged.
The latter, obtained thanks to the 3.6 kW (5CV) electric motor generator powered by a small battery under the driver’s seat, recharges during slowdowns. Below 30 km / h it is possible to switch off the heat engine for one electric only operation, positioning the gear lever to “N”, an indication that also appears on the dashboard.
The test su strada (we had already seen a similar experiment on the Fiat 500X) wanted to evaluate performance and consumption both in petrol and methane operation and took place on a route of 123 km (46% motorway, 44% suburban, 10% urban) between the provinces of Alessandria and Asti, touching varying levels from 116 at 305 meters above sea level, repeated in succession first on petrol and then on methane.
Source: Press Office
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Once the test run is complete, the results have confirmed the efficiency of methane conversion of Panda Hybrid City Cross, recording an economic saving of more than 60% and making the city car even more “green”, with carbon dioxide emissions reduced by over 45% compared to running on petrol.
The consumption of petrol was found to be 6.5 liters (18.7 km / l) with a cost of about 9 euro, while the consumption of methane was 3.3 kg (37 km / kg) at a cost of 3,25 euro. The reference price of the fuels used for the test was 1.385 for a liter of petrol and 0.985 for a kg of methane.
The Autogas Italia methane conversion kit interacts with the car’s OBD system to maintain correct carburetion. The change from one fuel to another can be managed autonomously by the electronic system or manually by the driver via a selector on the dashboard. On the car they were installed two tanks of 24 liters each. Ecomotive Solutione and Autogas Italia explained: “The charge of the two tanks can vary from 7 to 7.7 kg of methane, for an autonomy of 260 to 300 km, sufficient for this type of car”.
Source: Press Office
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