Vehicle manufacturer Etalon Corporation has released a prototype of the Malva Electro A08611 electric city bus, which has now passed all tests and is being prepared for certification, said Volodymyr Butko, president of Etalon Corporation.
“We want to be in the European Union, and electric buses are an environmental requirement, so we need to move with them, make technological changes in production and design. This is our first electric bus model, and we believe that it will be in demand,” Butko said during a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.
At the same time, he noted that although tenders for electric buses are currently held mainly for 12-meter vehicles, he believes they will not be as efficient as 9.5-10-meter ones. “And this is supported by those who started producing electric buses before us,” Butko supported his position.
According to the presentation of the electric bus, the electric bus was created on the basis of the Malva city diesel bus, which debuted last year, in cooperation with the company Informservice (Moldova), which supplies high-voltage traction equipment. The electric bus has a range of up to 200 km.
The main difference from the basic bus model is the superstructure on the roof of the electric bus, where the batteries are located.
The electric bus is designed for 24 seats (plus two folding seats) and 29 standing seats, and there is also a place for a wheelchair.
The exterior lighting is LED, manufactured by European companies. There is also a possibility of installing a liquid heater for the passenger compartment, which runs on Euro 6 diesel fuel.
“This solution makes it possible to better adapt to the conditions of winter operation in Ukraine and provides a longer mileage on a single charge,” the video presentation says.
Among the external features is a door for connecting a charger, which is typical for all electric buses.
“The characteristics of the new electric bus generally correspond to those of foreign analogues, and their further improvement will be achieved through the use of the latest batteries and traction drives, as well as some traditional units and components for electric buses,” the presentation says.
Speaking about the price of an electric bus, Butko noted that it is about three times higher than the cost of a diesel bus.
“The price of a diesel bus is about 100-110 thousand euros (excluding VAT), and an electric bus will be three times more expensive. But if we compare it with European analogues, for example, Polish Solaris or Turkish Otocar with almost the same functionality and length will cost EUR530-550 thousand (excluding VAT). That is, we understand that electric transport is not a cheap story,” said the president of the corporation.
He also cited the prices of trolleybuses for comparison: while the corporation sells ordinary 12-meter trolleybuses for EUR300 thousand and autonomous trolleybuses for EUR400 thousand, the Czech Republic sells Skoda trolleybuses for more than EUR700 thousand (all excluding VAT).
“That is, we have, let’s say, a gap due to the probably lower cost of electricity than in Europe, lower wages… And we probably don’t have the profit margin that they put into their production and sales. Ours is 10%, and that’s still good,” Butko summarized.
Etalon Corporation comprises 12 enterprises, including Chernihiv Automobile Plant (ChAZ), which produces buses of various classes and trolleybuses. The main areas of activity are vehicle manufacturing, mechanical engineering, and warehouse logistics.
