Abstract
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) offer a practical way to reduce vehicle emissions by a factor of 2 to 3 compared to a conventional vehicle. The challenge is to make HEVs affordable whilst offering the same performance, practicality, and convenience of a conventional vehicle. For the aXcessaustralia Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) much thought was put into how these criteria could be met. The result is a novel, high performance, and low cost drive train that incorporates electrical storage in the form of both batteries and super-capacitors. The aXcessaustralia LEV is a series hybrid that utilises three electric motor/generators on one shaft. This arrangement of motor/generators allows for great flexibility in energy exchanges between the car's kinetic energy, petrol engine, batteries, and super capacitors without the need for high power DC/DC converters that are heavy and expensive.