Tata Motors poses Hybrid bus challenge to Volvo India

Mar 21, 2016

 

Tata Motors has pitched a challenge to Volvo India in Hybrid bus sector as it confirmed a bulk order from Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

India’s largest bus maker said it will supply 25 units of low-floor Tata Starbus Diesel Series Hybrid Electric Bus to MMRDA.

Claiming this as a single largest order in the Indian automotive industry for hybrid buses, Tata Motors said the company has designed and developed the hybrid bus technology indigenously. The eco-friendly bus is also economically viable and safe, the company said.

The engineering design allows the Tata Starbus Diesel Series Hybrid Electric Bus to run without the requirement of external charging infrastructures as it is integrated with on- board charging, through a Bharat Stage IV (BSIV) compliant engine & energy storage through advanced Lithium Ion Nano-Phosphate Batteries.

The batteries are re-charged when Diesel powertrain is on run while the system also regenerates braking energy via advanced electronic braking system. This enables the operators to run the buses at low investment cost as it does not need charging stations at bus depots or enroute. This gives flexibility for fleet operators to shift bus routes as per demand and need.

Tata Starbus Diesel Series Hybrid Electric Bus also comes with top notch telematics solutions covering Intelligence Transport Systems (ITS) for public information, through Global Positioning System (GPS) via electronic destination display boards, indicating expected time of arrival at bus stops and route announcements within the bus.

Other attractions are softer suspension, tubeless tyres, bucket type seats and lower Noise, Vibration & Harshness (lower NVH), ensuring that passengers are comfortable.

In addition, the CCT cameras have been provided inside Tata Hybrid bus to  record movement inside the running vehicle for safety purpose.

It may be noted that on February 15 this year, Volvo India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swedish bus giant Volvo has commenced hybrid bus supply to Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport Corporation (NMMTC), which is buying five hybrid buses from Volvo Buses India.

Volvo India is manufacturing these hybrid buses at its production facility in Hosakotte near Bangalore in Karnataka.

Now with Tata Motors, which is known for its affordable vehicle solutions, attracting a public transport operator with a bulk order for 25 hybrid buses, industry experts said the hybrid bus market in india will further expand in the years to come.

 

Source: Automotive India News