Monterrey, NL, October 30, 2018.- Through Solistica, FEMSA and Grupo QUIMMCO, both interested in sustainable mobility, developed the prototype of an electric vehicle, which was presented today during Nuevo León’s Mainforum.
The integration of the electric powertrain solution of this vehicle was developed by QUIMMCO Technology Center in accordance with the operational and social responsibility needs of FEMSA and its Business Units.
“The project contributes to the sustainable mobility of operations by reducing emissions, thus seeking to improve air quality in urban areas in Mexico. The unit is more comfortable to operate for the operator, as it generates fewer vibrations and does not emit noise compared to a diesel unit” said Alex Theissen, Director of Institutional Relations at FEMSA Negocios Estratégicos, during the presentation of the prototype.
Currently, 5 additional units are under construction. They will have the same characteristics as the one presented, in order to carry out pilot tests in the coming months in FEMSA’s Business Units. At least one of them will be integrated into a circuit within a project headed by ITESM, which corresponds to a program promoted by the Secretary of Energy and the National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT in Spanish).
The prototype that was presented today is part of FEMSA’s Sustainable Mobility Committee projects, which was born in 2013 with the aim of developing and coordinating strategies to take advantage of clean technologies and alternative fuels to supply vehicle operations in a sustainable manner, thus reducing the consumption of fossil fuels.
“Through FEMSA’s Sustainable Mobility Committee, a consortium of technology co-development was created with QUIMMCO Technology Center for Sustainable Vehicles, with performances that made economic sense for FEMSAs operations”, said Víctor Treviño, FEMSAs Director of Sustainability and Energy.
This committee is composed by heads of technical areas of sustainability and supply of FEMSA, Coca-Cola FEMSA, OXXO, Solistica and Heineken.
QUIMMCO developed this prototype through its Atmovum initiative, its technological arm focused on the development of innovative solutions for sustainable urban mobility.
In the development of the electric vehicle, Solistica contributed with its operational knowledge and the necessary specifications for the unit, and QUIMMCO, who is a specialist in manufacturing components for the automotive industry, in cooperation with Solistica agreed to develop a solution based on a platform widely used in FEMSA’s logistics operation: Isuzu’s ELF500 model.
“The development of the electrification of this unit involved the search and integration of cutting-edge technologies in motors, batteries and control units, as well as the adaptation of some of the existing systems in the original truck,” said Manuel Valdés, Director of Operations of the QUIMMCO Group.
The design and development of this integration is Mexican, and the goal is to look for components of national origin in the future.
About FEMSA
FEMSA is a leading company participating in the beverage industry with Coca-Cola FEMSA, the largest franchise bottler of Coca-Cola products in te world; and in the beer industry, through its ownership of the second largest equity stake of Heineken, one of the worlds leading brewers with operations in over 70 countries. FEMSA participates in the retail sector with FEMSA Comercio, which operates various small-format chain stores including OXXO; a Fuels Division operating the OXXO GAS service stations chain; and a Health Division that includes pharmacies and related operations. In addition, through FEMSA Strategic Businesses, the company offers logistic services, point-of-sales cooling solutions and plastic solutions for FEMSA’s companies and external customers.
About Solistica
Solistica is part of FEMSA’s Strategic Business Division. It offers integral logistics services with a high focus on innovation and security, generating value to its customers. It is a source of employment for more than 21,000 employees with presence in 7 countries: Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and the United States.
