Name : Muhammad Harith Bin D.M.

Prem Najeeb

Student ID : 2015636518

Course : CPE 649

ASSIGNMENT 1

GREEN VEHICLE

Question 1

The car I chose to asses for this assignment was the BMW i8 eDrive that was manufactured in
2017. The BMW i8 is a type of green vehicle that runs on both petrol and electric. The term used
for this type of car is a plug-in hybrid. What it means by this is that this vehicle is powered by an
electric engine, but also runs on petrol engine when the battery is low or out of charge. This type
of vehicle in my opinion is better suited as in Malaysia, the ease of finding a power charger cable
in public outdoors are still difficult compared to western countries. A power charger cable can
only be found in certain areas such as Pavilion and KLCC carparks but are limited as well. The
difference between a standard BMW, which isn’t a green product and the BMW i8 is that, both
cars run on petrol if desired, but the BMW i8 can run solely on electric if charged enough with a
electrical source. All petrol fuel cars run on engine which work as energy converters (T. Stones,
2015) The machine releases the energy fuel such as petrol and diesel which turns into mechanical
energy when moving parts such as the wheels and gears begin to rotate. When is starts to rotate,
the wheels power the car, which transforms the mechanical energy to kinetic energy. This energy
proceeds to continue as long as there is enough fuel to be consumed. Petroleum are a source of
hydrocarbon which consists or hydrogen and carbon atoms. As combustion of hydrocarbon begins,
the carbon and hydrogen atom combine with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide gas and water,
while the energy released are mainly heat. Hence, vehicles running on petroleum or diesel fuel
contaminate the earth by releasing heat, carbon dioxide and other harmful gases which would lead
to health problems and environmental issues. However, hybrid cars which run on electricity which
are stored in a battery pack which powers an electric motor and rotates the wheels. Since these
vehicles run on battery, the only external cost is the electric source which is highly cheaper
compared to petroleum. Hybrid cars do not emit pollutants and are safer to both the environment
and surroundings which makes it a better option. The BMW i8 has a 7.1 kWH lithium ion battery
pack and intelligent energy management that can be driven of road for a distance about 37 km
under NEDC cycle (without the use of petrol at all). Whereas, under the EPA cycle, the range of
distance is about 24 km with gasoline consumption of 0.1 gallons per 100 miles. The total range
this car can run is approximately 530 km with a full tank of gasoline and electrical power.
Question 2

The BMW i8 plug-in hybrid has sustainability targets that has already been set in the early strategic
phases of the vehicle. The targets were monitored and pursued by LCA (life cycle assessment)
which is a technique used to asses the environmental impacts and effects associated with the stages
from the beginning of the products life in terms of raw material extraction, material processing,
distribution, manufacture, repair, use and maintenance (J. Smith, 2018). BMW’s goals and
achievements are to conserve the energy as well as produce maximum power which are completely
based on electricity and sources used to achieve that are based on renewable sources. To achieve
the desired goal, four wind turbines were built in the BMW i8. A wind turbine is a device that is
used to convert kinetic energy into electrical energy. 4 wind turbines can deliver a higher and faster
performance therefore making this vehicle a supercar and a hybrid at the same time. The turbines
are used to provide sufficient power to the electric cords which is the lowest relative greenhouse
gas emission, in other words, less environmental damage compared to fossil fuels. Besides that,
the materials used to construct this vehicle are based on renewable energy sources such as
aluminum (J. Smith, 2018). Besides that, the vehicle also uses carbon fibre which can boost the
hydropower up to 100% and reduce global warming up to 50% lower compared to other based
materials. Moreover, the BMW can run on both petroleum and electricity. By running on
electricity, the emission of unwanted gases and pollutants can be decreased as electric does not
cause pollution. The vehicle can be charged overnight and is able to perform a day’s worth of
driving which is handy for consumers as they do not need to rely on petrol. Hence, making this car
sustainable and efficient.
Question 3

Why is it hard for consumers to accept green technology? Based on hours of research I have found
that there are many reasons why especially in Malaysia, consumers find it difficult to switch to a
better, safer solution. The first reason is, just like the BMW i8 (RM 1.1 million) as stated above, a
standard hybrid car is not cheap. Considering the wealth of us Malaysians, the minimum wage
compared to other countries is highly low. The minimum wage in Malaysia is somewhere between
RM 900 to RM 1000 monthly (Trading economics, 2019). To add on to that, Malaysia has a tax
rate of 300% for imported cars. Therefore, purchasing a hybrid car triples the amount and most of
the population find it difficult to afford.

Besides that, Malaysia’s official car brand, which is Proton, do not offer hybrid cars. Compared to
the other available variety of car brands out there, Proton is by far one of the most affordable car
brands there is. However, the hybrid option is not available just yet making Malaysians stick to
the only available option, which is petroleum-based vehicles. The national brand should include
hybrid cars which are affordable to attract consumers to switch technology and lower the
consumption of petrol.

Other than that, the availability of car charges is too limited. A standard hybrid vehicle is able to
last somewhere between 6 to 8 hours on road (C. Gaylord, 2017). Users who use hybrid cars should
be able to charge their vehicles from time to time, not just at home. The limited number of available
chargers make it difficult for drivers to rely solely on electric. Therefor, most hybrid users are most
likely to switch from electrical use to petrol use. Places that do offer electrical charges however
are limited as well to as little as 10-20 parking slots. Pavilion mall can be used an example here.
The mall offers electrical chargers to drivers but are limited in space making it harder for all hybrid
users to charge their vehicles.

In order to fix this problem, a few suggestions can be made. Firstly, the national brand of Proton
should offer hybrid vehicles at a affordable price to capture the interest of consumers switching
from petrol to electrical based vehicles. Next, is to increase the minimum wage of Malaysians at
the same time lower the imported tax rate to a suitable percentage to encourage drivers to purchase
electrical hybrid cars since currently, there are no available national cars that support the use of
hybrid. Lastly, more electrical chargers should be available throughout the country. With more
electrical chargers, Malaysians would not eager to pump petrol instead as charging a hybrid car
does not take a long period of time. By offering more electrical chargers, hybrid users can eliminate
the usage of petrol completely and hence pollutants can be decreased significantly.
Refferences

- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/apr/17/why-cant-we-give-up-fossil-fuels
- https://tradingeconomics.com/malaysia/minimum-wages
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_i8
- "BMW Vision EfficientDynamics, Design Process, Surveyor Ziad Chahine, Exterior
Design (08/2009)". Retrieved 10 March 2013
- BMW Group (2013-08-07). "BMW Group presents prototype of i8 plug-in hybrid; first use
of new 3-cylinder engine". Green Car Congress. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
- BMW i8 eAxle Developed By GKN". HybridCars.com. 2014-11-12. Retrieved 2016-11-
20.
- "BMW at the 86th Geneva International Motor Show 2016"(Press release). Munich: BMW
Group PressClub Global. 2016-02-12. Retrieved 2016-02-12.