FOLLOWING its highly anticipated debut at the 2017 Hyundai Truck & Bus Mega Fair of its single-deck, 256kWh Elec City electric bus, Hyundai has essentially debuted a double-decker version at the 2019 Land, Infrastructure and Transport Technology Fair in Seoul, recently.
At a time when the company is well advanced in its fuel-cell bus projects (in conjunction with industry partners, the goal is to have 1000 hydrogen ‘fuel cell’ buses on the road across Korea by 2022), this latest 13-metre-long, 4-metre-high 384kWh water-cooled high-efficiency polymer-battery capacity (240kW output) electric double-decker is supported by the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport.
According to official Hyundai information, the bus can transport up to 70 seated passengers (11 seats on the bottom floor and 59 up top) – which is about 1.5 times more than a regular, single-deck bus – and the company is quick to point out there are two fixed-in-space wheelchairs, an automatic sliding ramp, and a low-floor design for extra mobility-impaired passenger accessibility.
LONG RANGE
As the company states, the new double-deck has a 300km driving range via a single charge, with said charge taking 72 minutes to complete.
The sole front driving axle uses an independent suspension system while towards the rear there’s a 240kW wheel motor axle plus a motor in the second rear axle said to minimise loss of electricity. Also, there’s rear wheel steering, it states. Additional features include: vehicle dynamic control, forward collision-avoidance assist and lane-keeping assist.
ECO-FRIENDLY
ByoungWoo Hwang, head of the Commercial Vehicle Advanced Engineering team at Hyundai Motor Company said: “The double-decker electric bus is an environmentally friendly vehicle optimised for global eco-friendly trends.”
“This will not only ultimately improve the air quality, but also contribute greatly to easing commuting hour traffic congestion by accommodating more passengers.”
Photography: courtesy Hyundai Motor Company