2023-09 SUSTAINABLE BUS

IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Euro VII remains unknown:
Daimler Buses and MAN
have stated that they do
not envisage steps beyond
Euro VI for the urban range.
No declarations have been
made by Iveco Bus so far.
46
THE E-WAY REVAMPED
A substantial range update is added
to the three 2023 novelties. The E-Way
has entered the ‘operating room’, and
has come out largely revised in the
‘internal organs’. The main novelty is
the change of battery supplier: FPT
Industrial modules arrive (the same
ones mounted on the Crossway LE
Elec and the eDaily). The 12-meter
will be delivered already this year with
the new storage systems, the 18-meter
will follow in the second half of
2024. They will start from a standard
capacity of 346 kWh for the 9.5-metre
to reach 624 on the articulated model,
with a wide range of intermediate
choices. On the 12-meter model, you
can choose between five, six or seven
packs (346, 416 or 485 kWh). The last
two options are in common with the
articulated model. Motor? After the
collaboration with BAE Systems, Siemens
(now Cummins group) remains
sole supplier. The CO2 heat pump will
also be available soon.
parison, the third generation NMC modules
launched on the eCitaro this year have an
energy density of 160 Wh/kg.
It will also be available in a version set up
for quick charging via pantograph.
Production will take place at Vysoke Myto
in the Czech Republic. This clarification is
made necessary by the fact that the manufacturer
has long since begun to move some
Crossway production quotas to the Turkish
plant of Otokar, in Sakarya, where Iveco
Bus aspires to manufacture 500 buses a year.
A surprise: Streetway Elec
However, the launch of the electric Crossway
was foretold. On the contrary, the
presentation of the Streetway Elec, held at
the end of May in Paris, was completely surprising.
A product that marks the doubling
of the manufacturer’s offer in the urban segment.
Presented in 2022, the Streetway is
the result of the partnership established by
Iveco Bus with the Turkish brand Otokar,
signed at the beginning of 2020. «Two sizes
and two traction systems. The 12- and
18.75-meter are available in diesel and
CNG versions», these were the coordinates
of the range as it was presented at the time
of launch. When it was stated: «The hybrid
and highly customizable versions will remain
with the Urbanway, which will remain
on sale throughout Europe». Plans have
since changed. Welcomed as the ‘low cost’
city bus (among the outlet markets, in addition
to central, eastern and southern Europe,
there are Asia, the Middle East, Africa), the
Streetway is undoubtedly a vehicle that has
‘value for money’ as its key feature, being
understood that the chassis is the same as
the Urbanway.
And here, a little over a year and a half later,
the Streetway Elec materialized in Paris. It
shares the type of traction and battery packs
with the E-Way (346, 416 or 485 kWh) and
the driveline with the Kent C by Otokar. Indeed,
the new e-bus model is powered by
the VEDS (Voith Electrical Drive System),
the propulsion system developed by Voith.
It is designed for depot charging via the
Combo 2 CSS connector. There is room for
more than 90 passengers on board.
Waiting for the fuel cell...
The long-awaited eDaily in the minibus
version, capable of accommodating up to
22 passengers and naturally also available
in chassis format, completes the picture of
the 2023 new products from Iveco Bus. It
joins the freight counterpart launched last
year in the group’s catalog. The eDaily Line
(this was the version presented in Paris:
other variants will arrive in 2024, including
the Access) can already be ordered and will
be delivered from 2024. Positioned at the
rear, the electric motor delivers 140 kW and
400 Nm. To complete the traction chain
there are three FPT Industrial battery packs
of 37 kWh each, integrated into the frame.
Total: 111 kilowatt hours per 270 kg.
In short, three new standard bearers for an
e-mobility offer that will be fully operational
by 2024. The market share achieved by
Iveco Bus in the European electric bus market
in 2022 was 8.4 percent. 347 vehicles
delivered (+26 percent compared to 2021).
In the first half of 2023, the manufacturer
stopped at 5 percent (131 e-buses registered
- see pag. 24-25).
There is room to grow. Now, only the fuel
cell is missing. But there may not be much
to wait for...