Electric buses are the future, and each year we've seen automakers add more EVs to their lineups. The European bus industry is drawing a low-carbon development framework in the future

The repeated novel COVID-19 pneumonia epidemic has put the global passenger car and passenger transport industry under tremendous pressure, and the global passenger car industry exhibitions have also been forced to stop. Even so, there are still many major events worthy of attention in the European bus industry in 2021.

On the whole, based on the principles of sustainable development and the development vision of healthy and smart cities, the European bus industry is drawing a low-carbon development framework in the future and is constantly strengthening the importance of total life cycle cost (TCO) in the bus industry chain. The ecological environment is in an important period of transformation of the travel and transportation industry.

EU: Introducing a new urban mobility strategy

Marked by the cooperation agreement signed between the International Union of Public Transport (UITP) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU has added a healthy slogan on the basis of developing sustainable urban travel, and accordingly extended the realization of low-carbon travel in the future. The transition to transportation depends on an urban mobility strategy with public transportation and sports mobility as the backbone, in which Active Mobility refers to walking and cycling.

Comments: After the COVID-19 pandemic, bicycle sales in European countries surged, and many cities actively added bicycle lanes and improved the walking and cycling environment. Among them, France has also passed legislation requiring car companies to encourage environmentally-friendly travel, and stipulates that all car advertisements (including TV, radio, print, and Internet) must appear on the words to encourage people to choose less polluting travel modes: daily travel by public transport, short-distance travel Optional walking or cycling, consider sharing rides, etc.

A number of companies have proposed a driving mileage requirement of more than 450 kilometers

The EU's zero-emission directive is driving the European passenger car industry to continuously increase the use of electrification and alternative energy. Compared with the Chinese market relying on policies and financial subsidies to support the large-scale purchase of electric city buses by public transport companies in major cities, most European cities are currently conducting small-scale trials or conducting electric bus evaluation and demonstration operations.
It is not difficult to find that European bus manufacturers and operating companies have put forward the technical indicators of electric buses in the next few years, and their requirements for the driving range are generally around 450-500 kilometers.

Comments: In the past one or two years, the promotion and application of new energy vehicles in the European passenger car industry has accelerated significantly. Even the city transportation department of Moscow, which has relatively difficult economic conditions, announced that the scale of electric city buses in the Russian capital has reached 1,000. Since the first purchase of electric city buses in 2018, relying on the support of green bonds, Moscow has continued to expand the scale of electric city buses. In 2021, it announced that it would stop purchasing diesel-powered buses, and plans to increase the number of electric city buses to about 2,200 in 2023.

In addition, the German passenger operator Flixbus is also committed to creating a green and reliable way of travel. Unlike traditional passenger transport companies, it does not directly own vehicles, but adopts the form of outsourcing and is operated by local leasing companies, thereby achieving asset-light and rapid expansion of the enterprise. At present, Flixbus has more than 2,500 pickup points in 35 European countries. It is reported that Flixbus will officially purchase hydrogen fuel cell buses in 2024, with a driving range of more than 450 kilometers. Fuel cell buses will become an important starting point for Felix to promote the sustainable development of the passenger transportation industry.

The Belgian bus manufacturer VanHool released the first double-decker electric bus TDX25E, which will mainly target the North American market and be used for group commuting or intercity passenger transportation with a driving range of more than 500 kilometers; Scania also announced that in the next 4 to 5 years, it will The driving range of electric city buses has been increased from the current 250 kilometers to more than 500 kilometers.

Self-driving buses welcome a breakthrough

The up-and-coming Turkish bus manufacturer has deployed several autonomous driving projects in Europe and is in the United States to test autonomous buses. Looking at the early development of driverless buses in Europe, almost all of its demonstration projects were mini-shuttle buses. The emergence of the 8-meter-class Karsan driverless medium-sized bus is particularly distinctive.

Turkey has always been famous for manufacturing medium-sized passenger cars. The 8-meter-class driverless passenger car launched by Karsan is based on the ATAK electric series. Different from the 12-meter full-size (Full-Sized) driverless bus launched by manufacturers such as Sedes-Benz, Sweden's Volvo and Scania, France's Iveco, and Spain's Isalil, it is a full-size medium-sized L4 class. The driverless bus (up to 52 passengers) has passed the inspection of the road and environmental conditions of the prescribed route and navigates safely without the need for human control.

Comments: The Karsan driverless bus is jointly developed with ADASTEC, an American autonomous driving company. It uses 5 short-range and long-range digital lidar sensors to fully cover the body, a 128-line sensor that scans 360° from the roof, four 32-line sensors The sensors are arranged on both sides to form a 270° field of view, providing a three-dimensional high-definition route map, real-time distance, and range information, to ensure that the vehicle moves safely in different directions in a dynamic road environment; the vehicle was tested at Michigan State University at an initial speed of 25 kilometers per hour. It has now increased to 40 kilometers, becoming the first L4-class driverless bus in Europe and the United States.

ADASTEC's autonomous driving technology also integrates thermal cameras, with a focus on enhancing the detection of people near roads or stations, with one installed at the front to scan forward and the other installed at the right rear to scan sideways. Full-size driverless buses are not only fundamentally changing urban commuting, they are also innovative in interior design to provide passengers with a comfortable experience.

Electrification attempts by European bus makers

Just as European bus manufacturers and operators are speeding up the deployment of the electric bus industry, Alstom, the "electric shock pioneer", has reported that the production of the models has been discontinued. Several French media have reported that Alstom plans to suspend production of the Aptis model due to poor orders for the model. This model is Alstom's first solution for a clean city and efficient public transport system in the diversification of non-rail products.

Comments: In 2018, Alstom acquired NTL's electric bus business and created a wholly-owned subsidiary, Aptis. Based on Alstom's R&D and production experience in trams and rubber-wheeled vehicles, as well as motors and electronic controls, it integrates railcars. Tram advantages to improve ride experience and operational efficiency. In 2017, the model received an Innovation Award upon its launch, a conceptually advanced public transport model with a long wheelbase, a low floor, all-wheel steerability, and a cabin with a larger usable passenger area than a conventional city bus 25%, the body using composite materials also has a good performance in lightweight. After Alstom took control in 2018, a large number of optimized designs were carried out for the mass production of Aptis, and new production processes and verification methods were incorporated. At that time, Aptis, which cost about 1 million euros, was sold at a unit price of more than 500,000 euros. After the model came out, it received less than 100 orders and became a niche product. Clearly, this promising model is having trouble proving its reliability. At present, Aptis has delivered 25 vehicles, and there are still 62 vehicles not yet delivered (50 vehicles are ordered in Paris, France, and 12 vehicles are ordered in Toulon, France).

It is worth mentioning that Aptis's poor market performance is not unrelated to the rapid entry of Chinese and Turkish bus manufacturers with high-cost performance into the European market. Strong low-price competition is upending the European passenger car market.

However, there is no shortage of innovators in the European bus market. The bright sword of British electric vehicle rookie Arrival provides another option for the European market under the new crown pneumonia epidemic.

In 2021, Arrival has completed the road test work and started to put it on the market. This city bus is a European standard 12-meter three-door low-floor with a square shape. The electric vehicle platform created by its modular design can be customized and configured according to the needs of the customer's city. Models of different lengths, types and passenger capacities change the design concept of public transport for everyone and are loved by passengers, drivers, dispatchers, pedestrians as well as cyclists and city dwellers.

Founded in 2015, Arrival is a global emerging electric vehicle manufacturer founded by the former general manager of a Russian mobility supplier. It is headquartered in London, England, has a production base in North America and is listed on Nasdaq. It mainly produces light commercial vehicles ( logistics use) and city buses, making electric vehicles for Uber, and opening a product R&D center in India, the company seeks to revolutionize vehicle design and production with new approaches (rethinking vehicle design and production, proprietary components, composite materials, and smart robotic assembly) and micro Factory (local assembly with small footprint, low investment and rapid deployment), opening up a new generation of digital innovation services.

The classic and heritage of European passenger cars

Neoplan Cityliner series models celebrate their 50th birthday. In the European bus test event held in Slovenia, Neoplan Cityliner Platinum Edition won the overwhelming majority of the jury's votes among the four nominated models and won the 2022 European Bus of the Year Jackpot.

Comments: Bus of the Year and Passenger Car of the Year are the most authoritative awards in the European market. In 2021, due to the new crown epidemic, it will be awarded at the bus forum of the Mann Museum in Munich. The Neoplan Cityliner stands out as the winner in the road test evaluation with Setra S511HD, VDL Futura FDD2, and Volvo 9900DD. This win is the 11th time that MAN (Neoplan is a brand of the company) has won the title of European Passenger Car of the Year.

Since 1989, major commercial vehicle media in Europe have been organizing bus selection activities. The jury is composed of professional journalists from 22 countries to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the participating vehicles. The reviewers were impressed by the performance, cost-effectiveness, safety, comfort, and other aspects of Neoplan Cityliner, especially in the design heritage.

The first-generation Cityliner N 116 was designed by Swiss designer Bob Lee in 1971 and featured a split-level high-floor arrangement (with large luggage space, sleeping compartment, lavatory, bus air conditioner), a unique front wall, and a wide Line of sight, providing an all-round good-feeling ambiance, wide windows allow passengers to enjoy the view like in a movie theater, comfortable premium seats and ample legroom for an unforgettable travel experience.

In 1995, to commemorate Neoplan's 60th anniversary, the company launched a special platinum version of the model (60 units in total), which featured platinum paint on the sides, cowl, and rear, with platinum emblems and other chrome accents. Element trim, sporty wheel trim also provides an extra wow factor. With its elegant lines, the Cityliner won the Red Dot Award for Best Design (2007).

The high-roof design concept of Cityliner is unique among European road buses. In the past 50 years, a total of about 8,500 vehicles have been produced. Companies in Mexico, South Africa, and China have obtained the production license of Neoplan Cityliner. Some Chinese bus companies have also imitated its shape. The sixth-generation Neoplan Cityliner evolved into a Starliner model after MAN Commercial Vehicles took over Neoplan, with sharp front and rear designs and diamond cuts on the upper side windows that visually extend to the roof, retaining the typical front The look of the cockpit is not only functional but also attractive.