Ashok Leyland Ltd, India’s second largest commercial vehicle maker, has unveiled the HYBUS, the country’s first electric plug-in CNG hybrid bus, at New Delhi’s Auto Expo 2010. The series-hybrid HYBUS concept vehicle combines a conventional CNG engine with an electric propulsion system. The engine is operated at optimal efficiency to drive the generator for charging the on-board battery. The Lithium-Ion battery that powers the electrical drive system provides the propulsion. Compared to a conventional bus, the HYBUS promises to offer fuel savings of 20-30 percent.
The company plans to make the buses available during the Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi in October to test the market for such a product. In unveiling the bus, Ashok Leyland’s Managing Director R Seshasayee said “We are happy to lead with green bus technology once again, following CNG buses in 1997 and hybrid electric vehicle in 2002”.
Ashok Leyland has urged the government to provide incentives to help it promote hybrid buses in the Indian market and to help offset what at this stage is an undisclosed price tag.
Anumita Roychowdhury of India’s Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and frequent supporter of CNG technology spoke with NGV Global: “This goes to show India can lead innovation to address the environmental imperatives. India’s investments in CNG programmes and especially in CNG based public transport programme in cities to clean up the air and protect public health has created this opportunity. It is encouraging that our industry is responding to this opportunity and making the paradigm shift to future technology concepts in the bus sector. We now need regulatory and fiscal strategies for rapid uptake of advanced technologies to make our transport system more fuel efficient, clean and climate friendly.”
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