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Weight Elasticity

Determination of Weight Elasticity of Fuel Economy for Conventional ICE Vehicles,Hybrid Vehicles and
Fuel Cell Vehicles

Download the fka report.

Exaggerated claims are generally made about how much fuel savings are achieved by weight reduction. This study by Forschungsgesellschaft Kraftfahrwesen mbH uses carefully calculated data to assess this correlation. resulting in the following conclusions:

  • A 10% weight reduction can achieve 1.9 to 8.2% in fuel savings, depending on:
    -Driving cycle
    -Vehicle size
    -Powertrain selection, and
    -Whether or not the powertrain is proportionately adjusted to the vehicle’s reduced weight (in terms of acceleration performance originally calculated and designed for a heavier vehicle)
  • Powertrain efficiency has more influence on fuel savings than does weight reduction.

Download and read the report to get the facts on what’s really possible in decreasing the amount of fuel consumed by vehicles through lightweighting.