Scania Australia commissions locally-built Hybrid-Electric city bus

In Australia, Scania Australia has commissioned a locally-built Hybrid-Electric city bus for demonstration duties in a bid to expose its real-world benefits to operators around the country.

The bus is similar in specification to that already in service with a number of operators in Victoria and South Australia. It offers fuel savings of between 25 and 35% as well as similar reductions in tailpipe emissions, plus benefits such as silent running mode for arrival and departures from bus stops.

The Scania Hybrid-Electric bus can travel on battery power alone up to 4 km and at speeds of up to 45 km/h on the flat, at a gross weight of 18-tons, before the combustion engine restarts to recharge the batteries. To recharge the battery pack from empty takes around 30 minutes of engine running, depending on conditions.

The Scania parallel Hybrid-Electric powertrain system comprises a 9.0-litre 5-cylinder Euro 6 compliant diesel engine producing 320 hp, and 1600 Nm of torque, which is able to run on regular diesel, biodiesel or HVO allowing for a CO2 reduction of up to 92% (depending on the fuel used).

It is mated to a Scania electric motor that can deliver up to an additional 177 hp
(130 kW) and 1030 Nm of torque and is integrated into the Scania Opticruise automated 12-speed transmission.

When running with the diesel engine assisted by the electric motor, the bus uses around 25% less diesel. Adding in the fully electric zero tailpipe modes, and the overall fuel saving climbs to between 30 and 35%, depending on driving styles and environments.