Search Results

This paper determines the market positioning of the electric vehicle, while applying tools like SWOT analysis, Porter’s five forces, external environment analysis or the Ansoff’s Matrix. It is important to note that these tools are applied looking from the perspective of the electric vehicle, i.e. how the electric vehicle impacts a conventional fossil fuel drive automobile manufacturer. There is no doubt that the electric vehicle - or at least some version of it - is the future of urban mobility. At the same time it has been considered as a new product among automotive industry. Nevertheless it cannot be neglected that the time of the electric vehicle has not come so far. It is more probable that there might be another evolution step, for example the hybrid electric vehicle, before the fossil fuel driven automobile will be replaced.

The main purpose of this research is to identify how the established quality methodologies, known worldwide as TQC (Total Quality Control) and TQM (Total Quality Management) are supported by the tools of the Quality 4.0 concept that similarly received influence from the disruptive technologies of Industry 4.0 in the last decade. In order to crosscheck the relationship among TQC and TQM and how Quality 4.0 supports these quality systems a qualitative investigation method was adopted through a survey questionnaire applied to one of the most important worldwide automobile company, based also in Brazil, Toyota of Brazil. Based on a literature review and relationship of concepts and synergy among them it was possible analyse and find out conclusions of this research work.

Hybrid vehicles have gained more and more of the global market. However, the industry is always looking for improvement and innovation. Nowadays, one of the most important points for these advances is sustainability. Hybrid cars marketed today operate on battery and combustion of alcohol or gasoline, which generates CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Currently, there are numerous automakers, education and research institutions conducting tests and looking for new sources of renewable energy as a replacement for the use of intern combustion in automotive vehicles. One of these new technologies is the hydrogen cell, the tenth most abundant chemical element on our planet. The Student H2 Challenge is a pioneer initiative that will allow students to have contact with cutting edge hydrogen technology by means of interacting with researchers, both national and international, industry professionals and the technological development of other teams.

The aerospace industry is undergoing a revolution with the large-scale development of eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-Off & Landing) and MEA (More Electric Aircraft). These aerial vehicles, many of them unmanned vehicles (UAV), will serve a variety of service-related functions: Search and Rescue (SAR), Medivac, delivery and lift operations, aerial mapping, and, of course, human transportation [1]. Despite its numerous functionalities, this type of vehicle has a serious problem, which is its usual batteries, the main means for its operation. Due to its autonomy not being so effective compared to its charging time, generating a considerable loss of time. In this context, it is necessary to find forms of components that can replace these batteries, so that the effective development of these vehicles is possible. Studies done in other means of transportation point out that the use of hydrogen fuel cells has grown a lot.

Although the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is still attracting enormous R&D interest because of its high energy density, its commercialization is hampered by many challenges including cutting cost, improving performance and increasing durability. While they could be solved by material selection, the durability of PEMFC is also affected by voltage reversals and fuel starvation. [1] Despite the problems related to the construction of the fuel cell, there are also problems in terms of safety. In the development chain of a technology, it is essential to take into account the origin of the materials used for their maintenance / after-sales. Knowing that hydrogen is a gas that has several peculiarities and among them the high combustion power, great attention is needed when handling it and therefore there is a sequence of good practices and standards to be respected from which will be discussed in this article.