Ashwoods’ latest technology offers fuel savings for fleets06 August 2012

A fuel-saving technology for LCVs claimed to deliver payback within the first month is already proving a success, according to manufacturer Ashwoods Automotive.

The firm says its Lightfoot in-cab system is like having a training professional sitting next to every driver, every day.

It advises the driver on how to accelerate and when to change gear, with simple audio and visual aids.

It also monitors performance and sends email reports to the fleet manager on a weekly or monthly basis, identifying the best and worst-performing drivers.

Trials suggest that the technology saves up to 18% on fuel consumption.

Lightfoot is embedded in the vehicle, so it lasts the life of the LCV.

It uses a traffic light system to advise the driver if they are being too heavy on the pedal. Ignore two red warnings and the system logs a penalty that is reported to the fleet manager.

One of the first customers is Ring and Ride, the West Midlands Special Needs Transport service, which has 17 fully accessible 15-seat minibuses fitted with Lightfoot.

"We trialled Lightfoot on two vehicles and it had such an impact that we rolled it out to 17 vehicles in our Walsall depot," states Des Rogers, operations manager at Ring and Ride.

"We compared the fuel efficiency of the Lightfoot vehicles to similar high-mileage vehicles within the fleet and it is delivering substantial savings," he continues.

"This not only helps us reduce costs but also by using less fuel we are reducing our impact on the environment."

Author
John Challen

Related Companies
Ashwoods Electric Motors Ltd

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