Aura Systems, Inc. announced today that the AuraGen will be used on the first 135 parallel hybrid electric Ford E-450 vehicles sold by Azure Dynamics Corporation to AT&T, Federal Express, and Purolator. This represents the first production orders of over 250 hybrid electric chassis that Azure expects to produce over the next five months.
Azure evaluated several technologies for use in the hybridizing kit before settling on the AuraGen power system earlier in the year. These units are part of the 1000-unit order Aura has started to deliver on that was previously announced on March 3.
According to Azure, these hybridized Ford vans show an improvement of 40% in fuel economy and a 30% decrease in maintenance costs over the standard gasoline powered vehicles. On June 12, 2008, the Sopp Ford dealership in Los Angeles showcased the parallel Hybrid Electric Ford E-450 that includes the AuraGen on a Federal Express hybrid van as well as other commercial vans.
The company's AuraGen/VIPER is now available in 5 kW, 8 kW and 16 kW continuous power levels. All power levels are available in configurations that provide AC or a combination of AC and DC power. The AC power is available in 120 VAC or 240 VAC or both voltages simultaneously. The DC power levels are available in 14 VDC or 28 VDC or both simultaneously. The combined AC/DC system provides the user with the ability to use simultaneously all four different voltages. Later in the year, the company will offer a 230 VAC 3 phase solution and support for European and Asian AC standards.