Mendoza launches Argentina’s first electric bus fleet

A total of 18 electric buses have officially gone into operation in the Argentine city of Mendoza. Some of the vehicles are from the Chinese group BYD, which is expanding its dominant position in the electric bus market in Latin America.

The BYD K9 is already in service in Santiago de Chile (100 units) and in Medellin, Colombia. In the future, twelve units of the twelve-meter version will also pass through Mendoza. The local public transport operator STM has opted for the low-floor version with three doors. The vehicles have 26 seats and special areas for wheelchairs.

BYD has done well in Great Britain: Together with its local partner ADL, the Chinese bus manufacturer has now sold more than 100 of its fully-electric double-decker buses. This brand was achieved by an order from the Midlands: The public transport operator from Birmingham has ordered 19 Enviro400EV units.

Only at the beginning of the month, the first five units of the Enviro400EV series were put into operation in London on line 43. The Enviro400EV is based on the well-known Enviro200EV but is larger. The new aluminium body is 10.9 metres long, 4.3 metres high and 2.55 metres wide. The bus is powered by wheel hub motors. The iron phosphate batteries have a capacity of up to 382 kWh, which, according to BYD, enables a range of 250 kilometres.

Source: PM via email