VW announces electric bus from Brazil

The Brazilian brand Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus (also known as Volkswagen Truck & Bus or VWTB) will begin production of electric buses in the second half of this year. The e-Volksbus is said to have a range of up to 250 kilometres.

According to VWTB, the bus sits on “the exclusive modular architecture solution for building electric vehicles” and will thus be offered in different lengths. Apparently, anything “from a nine-meter mini bus to a 23-meter super-articulated vehicle” is possible. The e-Volksbus, is currently being developed at the brand’s World Engineering Centre in Resende in the state of Rio de Janeiro. It offers a range of 250 kilometres and can be charged at the depot overnight “to maximise productivity.”

The manufacturer has not shared any additional technical details. However, the electric bus shares technology and components with the electric truck e-Delivery, which VWTB has series produced since 2021.

In the case of the e-Delivery, the architecture offers an electric powertrain with an output of up to 260 kW developed in Brazil and a lithium-ion-nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery pack that allows for a range of more than 200 kilometres. When the architecture was first introduced in 2018, VWTB specified that the battery, which is supplied by CATL, could be charged to 30 per cent capacity in 15 minutes and 100 per cent in three hours.

“We are taking another step towards electromobility in urban transport”, says Rodrigo Chaves, Vice President of Engineering at Volkswagen Truck & Bus. “After accumulating sufficient mileage in tests with VWTB’s electric chassis and also with the first electric truck developed in the country, we will start production in the second half of 2024. This will be an important step to adapt the bus chassis in the production line.”

vwco.com.br