Goldstone Infratech in collaboration with BYD - a
Chinese auto giant has launched a new urban electric bus in India. Called the
eBuzz K6, the electric urban bus is a 7-metre long, high floor bus that has a
range of over 200 kms on a single charge. The electric bus will essentially be
used as a 'feeder bus' for last mile connectivity. What this means is that the
bus will be used in dense urban areas on urban routes that have a high degree
of congestion. The electric bus will be made in India and will also be exported
to countries such as Nepal.
As we mentioned earlier, the electric bus has a
range of over 200 kms which it gets from a set of Lithium Ion Phosphate
batteries. BYD is also one of the leading manufacturers of
Li-On Phosphate batteries in the world. The batteries power and electric motor
that make 241 bhp of peak power and 1500 Nm of peak torque. The top speed of
the bus is limited to 80 km/h as per the norms for commercial vehicles in India.
The bus also has regenerative braking and gets disc brakes all around to
improve stopping power. The Goldstone BYD eBuzz K6 also comes standard with
ABS.
The Goldstone BYD eBuzz K6 electric bus can be
charged in about 4 hours from empty to full charge and uses an AC quick
charger. The electric bus also gets air suspension as standard on all four
corners for better passenger comfort. Currently, the levels of localisation in
this particular electric bus is at about 30 per cent but by 2020, BYD aims to increase
that level to 70 per cent or above. BYD is also looking at making the electric
batteries for their own vehicles here in India along with looking for local
partners to make the likes of major components like the electric motor.
The likes of the smaller Goldstone BYD
eBuzz K6 will help local public transport bodies like Mumbai's BEST offer a
cleaner solution to public transport as compared to the diesel or CNG busses
available currently.
