Company type | Public |
---|---|
OTC Pink: AZDDQ | |
Industry | Hybrid electric vehicle, electric vehicle, electric truck |
Predecessor | Solectria Corporation |
Defunct | December 2012 |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Scott T. Harrison, D. Campbell Deacon |
Products | Balance Hybrid Transit Connect Electric LEEP,Freeze,Lift Force Drive Electric |
Total assets | C$ 58.4 million (2009) |
Azure Dynamics Corporation was incorporated under the laws of Alberta, Canada, [1] having been spun out of BC Research Inc. Azure was headquartered in Oak Park, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The company's principal business was in the development and integration of its proprietary electric and hybrid electric drive technology, primarily for the light and heavy duty commercial vehicle categories. Azure filed for bankruptcy protection in 2012.
Solectria Corporation was one of the pioneering American companies developing commercial electric vehicles since its founding in 1989, based in Woburn, Massachusetts. On December 17, 2004, it was announced that Solectria and Azure Dynamics were merging. [2] Azure Dynamics Corporation acquired all assets of Solectria in 2005. Solectria is credited for the original development of the ForceDrive Electric drive train, the Solectria Force, [3] the Solectria E10, and the Solectria Sunrise. The Solectria Sunrise set an all-electric vehicle record by traveling 375 miles on a single charge during the 1996 NESEA American Tour de Sol. [4]
Due to financial difficulties, Azure filed for bankruptcy protection in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in March 2012, and production of the Transit Connect Electric van and Balance hybrid was stopped. [5] [6] As of December 2012, operating status of this company is now closed. [7]
The Transit Connect Electric is an all-electric van developed as a collaboration between Azure Dynamics and Ford Motor Company, but Azure is the official manufacturer of record. [8] Production began in December 2010, and will reach full capacity in April 2011 to produce between 600 and 700 units a year. [9] [10]
The Transit Connect Electric is produced using a vehicle glider at a Ford Motor Company facility in Kocaeli, Turkey and then shipped to Azure Dynamics U.S. upfitter, AM General in Livonia, Michigan, where the Force Drive electric drive train and other components are added to the vehicle. Azure Dynamics has partnered with Johnson Controls-Saft to produce the lithium-ion battery pack used in the Transit Connect Electric. [9] The vehicle is badged with both the Ford Blue Oval and Azure's Force Drive logos, with Azure Dynamics being the manufacturer of record. [8] [12]
According to Ford and Azure, the Transit Connect Electric has an all-electric range of up to 80 mi (130 km), [9] [10] but the official US Environmental Protection Agency range is 56 mi (90 km). [11] The electric van has a speed up to 75 mph (121 km/h). [9] [10] [13]
The rated the combined city/highway fuel economy at 62 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (3.8 L/100 km) based on the five-cycle tests using varying driving conditions and climate controls, with the same 62 mpg-e rating for both city and highway. The energy consumption for combined city/highway was rated at 54 kW·h/100 mi. [11]
The Azure Dynamics Balance Hybrid Electric vehicle is built on the Ford E-450 commercial stripped or cutaway chassis. The vehicle is modified with the Azure Force Drive Electric drivetrain technology, along with the Johnson Controls-Saft lithium-ion battery, by Utilimaster and then sent to one of Azure's bus body manufactures such as Collins Bus, Champion Bus, ElDorado National, Goshen Coach, StarTrans and TurtleTop where it is built as a shuttle bus, Class A school bus, delivery truck, etc. Azure Dynamics owns approximately 60% market share of the medium duty commercial hybrid truck market [14]
The Force Drive Electric is a proprietary electric drive train component developed by Azure Dynamics. This drive system is based upon the product originally developed by Solectria Corporation, which was acquired by Azure Dynamics in 2005. [15] The Force Drive drive train is integrated into the Ford Transit Connect Electric, Ford E-Series Balance Hybrid, as well has a number of other passenger and medium and heavy duty trucks. The Force Drive was used in the Wave II electric vehicle developed by Li-Ion Motors, the $2.5 million prize winner in the "Alternative Side by Side Class" category of the 2010 Progressive X-Prize competition. [16] [17]
A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids.
Iveco S.p.A., an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company with headquarters in Turin, Italy. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy commercial vehicles. The name IVECO first appeared in 1975 after a merger of Italian, French, and German brands. Its production plants are in Europe, China, Russia, Australia and Latin America and it has about 5,000 sales and service outlets in over 160 countries. The worldwide output of the company amounts to around 150,000 commercial vehicles with a turnover of about €10 billion.
AM General is an American heavy vehicle and contract automotive manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. It is best known for the civilian Hummer and the military Humvee that are assembled in Mishawaka, Indiana. From 1974–1979 the company also manufactured transit buses, making more than 5,400 of them.
Global Hybrid Cooperation, formerly Advanced Hybrid System 2 (AHS2), is a set of hybrid vehicle technologies jointly developed by General Motors, Daimler, and Chrysler LLC, with BMW joining in 2005. It uses 2 or 3 planetary gearsets in an automatic transmission: one on the internal combustion engine (ICE) side paired with a second, forming the compound split, and possibly one third additional planetary gearset to multiply the number of fixed gear ratios. General Motors has stopped using the "AHS2" name as of 2006, preferring to call it simply a two-mode hybrid system.
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The Ford Transit Connect is a compact panel van sold by Ford since 2002. Developed by Ford of Europe, the model line replaced sedan-based vans with a dedicated commercial vehicle platform. The model line is the second-smallest vehicle of the Ford Transit range, slotted between the Ford Transit Courier LAV and the Ford Transit Custom LCV/MPV. In line with other Ford Transit variants, passenger-oriented models are marketed as the Ford Tourneo Connect with side windows and rear seats.
A hybrid electric bus is a bus that combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. These type of buses normally use a Diesel–electric powertrain and are also known as hybrid Diesel–electric buses.
Allison Transmission Holdings Inc. is an American manufacturer of commercial duty automatic transmissions and hybrid propulsion systems. Allison products are specified by over 250 vehicle manufacturers and are used in many market sectors, including bus, refuse, fire, construction, distribution, military, and specialty applications.
Hybrid vehicle drivetrains transmit power to the driving wheels for hybrid vehicles. A hybrid vehicle has multiple forms of motive power.
A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional vehicle or better performance. There is a variety of HEV types and the degree to which each functions as an electric vehicle (EV) also varies. The most common form of HEV is the hybrid electric car, although hybrid electric trucks, buses, boats, and aircraft also exist.
A123 Systems, LLC, a subsidiary of the Chinese Wanxiang Group Holdings, is a developer and manufacturer of lithium iron phosphate batteries and energy storage systems.
The Solectria Sunrise was an innovative electric passenger car, designed to be as efficient as possible to produce long range from available battery technology.
ISE Corporation was a manufacturer and integrator of heavy-duty hybrid electric powertrain systems for transit bus and truck use, based in San Diego and later Poway, California. ISE was founded in 1995 and filed for bankruptcy in 2010, shortly after raising $20 million in its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Solectria Corporation was responsible for the design, engineering, and manufacturing of energy management components for industrial applications, including electric vehicles, parallel hybrid drivetrains, and power generation applications. It was founded in 1989 and based in Woburn, Massachusetts. In December 2004, Solectria was acquired by Azure Dynamics.
Smith Electric Vehicles is a manufacturer of electric trucks. The company, founded in 1920 in the north of England, moved its headquarters to Kansas City, Missouri in 2011. Smith suspended all operations in 2017.
A battery electric vehicle (BEV), pure electric vehicle, only-electric vehicle, fully electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle is a type of electric vehicle (EV) that exclusively uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs, with no secondary source of propulsion. BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of internal combustion engines (ICEs) for propulsion. They derive all power from battery packs and thus have no internal combustion engine, fuel cell, or fuel tank. BEVs include – but are not limited to – motorcycles, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, railcars, watercraft, forklifts, buses, trucks, and cars.
A hybrid electric truck is a form of truck that uses hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technology for propulsion, instead of using only a combustion engine.
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and luxury cars under its Lincoln brand. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family. They have minority ownership but the majority of the voting power.
The Azure Dynamics Transit Connect Electric is an all-electric van developed as a collaboration between Azure Dynamics and Ford Motor Company, but Azure was the official manufacturer of record. Due to financial difficulties, production of the electric van was stopped in March 2012, as the company filed for bankruptcy protection in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.