Developing a Standardized Test Procedure for Hybrid Vehicles: The Challenge of the SAE HEV Task Force

In 1992, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) established a task force to develop a procedure for measuring electric energy consumption, all-electric range, fuel economy, and exhaust emissions for hybrid vehicles; the procedure will be submitted to regulatory agencies as representing the automotive industry's recommendations. The draft procedure is currently being tested on hybrid vehicles.The University of Maryland's parallel hybrid was tested in September 1994, and the University of California-Davis' parallel hybrid and the University of lllinois' series hybrid will be tested in November 1994 and January 1995, respectively. The procedure is being modified to incorporate any lessons learned, and the task force hopes to recommend the final procedure to the SAE by mid-1995.