USA
Foton America, U.S. arm of the 28,000-employee Chinese OEM Beiqi Foton Motor, is firming up plans to launch a full-size transit bus that’s fueled by clean burning compressed natural gas (CNG) — but is to cost no more than current diesel models. Key to the Foton America strategy is a Chinese-made chassis, with drivetrain and fuel system (as well as tires and CNG-fueled auxiliary heater) made in the U.S. to satisfy the Buy America requirements that are a must for federally funded transit agency purchases.
Chassis by Beiqi will be fitted with Cummins Westport ISL G engines and
Allison B400 transmissions. Fab Industries will do the installations,
and will develop and install fuel systems including as many as eight
roofmounted CNG cylinders. Jared Schnader,
Foton America’s Mississippi-based business development VP says. “The
bus itself is rather light, and we believe that we can achieve a 300
mile range on only six fuel tanks.”
Foton will wait until the American Public Transportation
Association meeting in the fall (October 5-8 in San Diego) to unveil
the CNG vehicle.
Apart from obvious environmental benefits, the cost benefits are
significant.“With natural gas costing so much less than diesel, between
$.75 and $2.00 (roughly), we feel that this is a significant
improvement to any fleet’s bottom line. Couple the price of natural gas
with a CNG bus that not only meets FMVSS and Buy America requirements,
but also comes with little to no incremental cost, and you have a Foton
America bus. These are 40-foot low-floor buses that can be configured
however a customer may want them."
The bus was launched into Asian markets late last year – see NGV Global article.
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