Malaysia Testing Electric Buses as Part of Green Future

Malaysia is hoping part of the answer to its dirty air and traffic jams will come in the form of Chinese electric buses.

GreenTech Malaysia

Malaysian Energy and Green Technology Minister Mahdzir Khalid, holding flag, welcomes the start of the electric bus pilot test project.

The bus, built by Chinese automakerBYD Co.002594.SZ 0.00% Ltd., and called the K9 in China, is undergoing testing on how far it can travel on a charge. The goal is to put as many as 2,000 of these green buses on Malaysian roads by 2020, with the first bus traveling in downtown Kuala Lumpur by middle of next year.

“We expect the first batch of locally manufactured [electric] buses to be on the road by mid-2014,” said Hadri Haris, chief executive officer of Malaysian Green Technology Corp., the government agency also known as GreenTech Malaysia that is spearheading the project.

Malaysia has enlisted the local unit of Japanese electronic appliance makerPanasonic Corp.6752.TO +2.59%, among others, to develop outlets for battery charging as the nascent electric vehicle industry grapples with a myriad of challenges, ranging from socket types to charging times. The government’s role is limited to testing the buses. Bus Rapid Transit, which is state operated, will run the buses on high-demand routes to gradually replace the diesel-powered buses currently in operation. Later, private companies will run some of the lines.

The pilot project is part of a push to cut carbon emission by 40% in Malaysia by 2020 and also reduce traffic congestion by boosting use of public transportation. About 2 million people live in Kuala Lumpur, and more than 300,000 people ride a bus every day.

Twenty charging stations are located around Kuala Lumpur. GreenTech Malaysia wants to expand the network nationwide, and is working with First Energy Network Sdn Bhd, a unit of Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd,  which mainly assembles Nissan-branded vehicles in Malaysia, Panasonic Malaysia Sdn Bhd, and local research firm DFRAN Research Technologies Sdn Bhd.

Mr. Ahmad says that the initial tests will compare performance between electric buses and the diesel ones to determine whether it makes  economical and environmental sense to turn to battery-powered buses.

“The focus of the study is primarily on energy consumption and environmental impact,” he added.

The buses are expected to travel 250km on a single charge. Their lithium iron-battery could take five hours and forty minutes to be fully charged. BYD-built buses have been deployed in other developed countries, including Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the U.S.

“Based on the findings, we are confident that manufacturers and transport operators will be encouraged to adopt environmentally compatible green public transportation systems” that will help meet the national target of 10% electric vehicle use by 2020 from little use currently,  Mr. Ahmad said.

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BYD's electric bus on Big Apple's streets

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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority began testing a new electric bus built by Chinese automaker BYD. The bus will run in New York City for two months. Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit

New York City has started testing an electric bus by Chinese automaker BYD in a move to eventually reduce the 50 million gallons of diesel fuel its 5,700 buses use each year.

The test run is scheduled to last two months and then the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will evaluate if the bus meets the city's needs, according to MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz.

"The test will go a long way in letting us know whether the bus can operate under heavy traffic and other conditions that are specific to New York City," Ortiz said.

The bus will have to face "the twin challenges of operating in the stop and go traffic of Manhattan while maintaining high levels of passenger comfort and operational performance," according to a statement on the MTA website.

The bus needs a four-hour charge to be ready for service, and it can go approximately 150 miles on a single charge, which is being tested under New York City conditions with the pilot run, Ortiz said.

A BYD electric bus costs approximately $850,000, Ortiz said, compared to the $400,000 for a regular diesel bus. Though more expensive, Ortiz said he anticipates the electric bus will be more cost-efficient to run.

"We would certainly see a decrease in maintenance costs, simply due to the fact that we won't need to maintain both engines and transmissions," he said. "This bus essentially has two motors that operate and propel the vehicle, but no engine and no transmission."

"This test continues the MTA's commitment to examine new, cleaner and more efficient bus propulsion technologies that include hybrids, compressed natural gas (CNG), clean diesel and now potentially all electric-battery drive," said Darryl Irick, president of MTA Bus, in a statement on the MTA website.

The bus was manufactured by Shenzhen-based BYD, which stands for "Build Your Dreams" and is backed by investment giant Warren Buffett. Its vehicles are used in Colombia, Poland and Hong Kong. A BYD electric bus started operation in Tel Aviv last month, and fleets of electric taxis were launched in Bogota and Hong Kong, in September and May, respectively.

In April, BYD was awarded a $12.1-million contract with California's Long Beach Transit Authority to produce 10 zero-emission, all-electric buses, and then in July, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) on announced a contract with BYD for the manufacture and delivery of up to 25 all-electric buses. The contract is part of the county's $30-million clean air bus technology pilot project.

Under the contract, Metro will initially purchase five all-electric buses. After testing and evaluation, the transit agency could then choose to buy up to 20 additional buses.

The BYD contract contains a local jobs component in which final assembly will take place at its new plant in Lancaster, California, the international firm's first manufacturing facility in the United States. It plans to build as many as 1,000 plug-in electric buses a year in the Mojave Desert city.

In August, BYD said that its net profit increased 25 times in the first half, as its three core businesses in the vehicle, cell phone and new energy sectors all saw strong growth.

The growth comes after the company reported net profit slumped 94.15 percent year-on-year to 81 million yuan in 2012, the lowest level in at least four years.

In the first half, BYD sold about 250,000 vehicles in China, up 24.72 percent year-on-year, doubling the domestic market's year-on-year growth of 12.3 percent.

The strong performance was the result of the company's efforts to gradually improve the technology, quality and branding of its products in the past three years, the report said.

Even though BYD made its name in the global automotive market with leadership in the electric-vehicle segment, analysts said the company's business will mainly depend on vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines, which contributed more than half of the company's total profits.

BYD Motors President Stella Li has said the company expects to produce 50 buses a year by 2015 and to continue increasing production, with the intention of reaching the plant's capacity of 1,000 buses annually within two decades. The buses will be powered by BYD's iron-phosphate batteries, which will be manufactured at another plant near the Lancaster bus factory.

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王傳福：已研發媲美特斯拉的超跑 百公里加速3.9秒

新浪財經訊  9月10日消息，比亞迪世界級技術解析會今日在深圳舉行，比亞迪集團總裁王傳福介紹發展戰略時透露，已研發出與特斯拉競爭的超級跑車，百公里加速為3.9秒。

王傳福表示，未來比亞迪將實施雙擎雙模車型布局，這其中，包含三款車型：秦、唐以及暫命名為E9的超級跑車。其中，秦將於2013年四季度上市，suv車型唐將於2014年上市，而預計與特斯拉競爭的超級跑車，王傳福並未透露上市時間，僅公布了其百公里加速時間：3.9秒。

在王傳福看來，這意味傳統(機械式、多片離合器式)4驅技術終結者很快就要來臨，這也是王傳福首次公開“雙擎雙模”車型布局戰略意義所在。“雙模技術將在比亞迪90%的車型上運用，今後，百公里加速超過7秒的車都不是車”，王傳福說，秦百公里加速5.9秒；四輪獨立驅動suv-唐，百公里加速4.9秒。

王傳福進一步闡釋說，一輛汽車上油箱有油，但因為電瓶沒電，這車就發動不了，不能開。這是不正常的，就好比家里還有米，但家里的孩子卻餓死了。“都是能源，為什麼不能轉換，比亞迪要做的就是技術集成和能源管理，雙模雙擎的車會大量上市，只要車有電或油就都能開。而且百公里加速要從5.9秒向3.9秒前進。”

當天會議，王傳福以泊車輔助的技術演變，比亞迪在其中的垂直整合、集成創新的努力，解析如何圍繞用戶體驗不遺余力進行創新開發。BYD戰略中的能源進化路線為，自然吸氣、TID、綠混、雙擎雙模最後到純電動。

之前，王傳福信心滿滿的表示──家庭消費一旦起動，比亞迪“分分鐘”可以造出“特斯拉”，曾引發外界極大關注。(曹磊 發自深圳)

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廉玉波：比亚迪造出特斯拉无障碍 不造源于定位不同

廉玉波表示，对于比亚迪来说，造出特斯拉这样的电动汽车，从技术角度来说没有任何障碍。之所以没有造这样的产品，是企业定位不同。　

　【第一电动网】（记者 王慰祖）9月7日，在天津召开的第9届“中国汽车产业发展(泰达)国际论坛”上，深圳比亚迪戴姆勒新技术有限公司(以下简称“比戴”)首席执行官廉玉波接受了第一电动记者采访。廉玉波表示，对于比亚迪来说，造出特斯拉这样的电动汽车，从技术角度来说没有任何障碍。之所以没有造这样的产品，是企业定位不同。

　　第一电动：特斯拉现在势头很猛，你怎样看待他们的电动汽车?

　　廉玉波：对于特斯拉我不方便评价。我上个月也去看过特斯拉，也去开了一下他们的车。特斯拉和比亚迪走的不是一个方向，它走得高端、时尚一点，作为环保人士的第二辆第三辆车，而比亚迪还是走经济、实用、环保、节能的电动汽车路线，比如在深圳运营的大量电动出租。

　　第一电动：比戴即将上市的腾势电动汽车的竞争对手会是特斯拉吗?

　　廉玉波：现在电动汽车车型还只有几款，不存在竞争的问题。我觉得实际上是一种互相的推动的市场的关系，电动车如果只有少数几款产品，这个产业做不大。只有多一点品牌，这个产业才会好起来。所以我觉得现在应该是共同把舞台做大。

　　我认为所有企业都应该迈着大步，多多的往里面投入，这个市场才能做起来，我一直坚持这种想法。

　　第一电动：此前有媒体报道称比亚迪总裁王传福曾说“分分钟造出特斯拉”，您怎么看?

　　廉玉波：我觉得对比亚迪来说，从技术角度没有任何的障碍。特斯拉从电动汽车的角度来看，跟我们没有太大的区别。中间放了个很大的屏幕，看上去好像很不错，但要是按照中国的强化路面实验标准来测试，跑不了多久这个屏会裂掉。好的产品还是需要市场来检验。

　　第一电动：但特斯拉今年销量这么好，按照你的意思，是不是可以说明特斯拉已经做得非常好了?

　　廉玉波：半年销量几千台就说好?现在还不能下这个结论。对比亚迪来说，电动汽车的相关技术，我们已经全部掌握了，从奔驰和我们合资就能看出我们的实力。技术对我们没有任何障碍。

　　第一电动：你认为什么是好的电动汽车产品呢?

　　廉玉波：现在能够取代燃油车的电动汽车就是最好的产品。

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