Auto Expo 2016: Buses and Trucks Follow the Ecological Trend
Published On Feb 08, 2016
Auto Expo 2016 has become a stage for launching environment friendly products. This was evident when bus and truck manufacturers flaunted their ecological vehicles at the ongoing event in Delhi.
Scania Commercial Vehicles India Pvt Ltd has raised curtains for its bio-fuel powered Citywide bus in Auto Expo 2016. Speaking on this Mikael Benje, MD, Scania, said that the company's Citywide Bus is the first of the many products that were to be released with sustainability as its focus.
He further added, "The Citywide bus can run on diesel, Bio-fuel, CNG, biogas and ethanol. We also plan to set up a biogas project where waste will be converted to generate fuel for buses."
Taking the Green awareness to the next level, JBM, in partnership with premium bus maker, Solaris Bus and Coach, has revealed the first electric bus, Ecolife for the Indian market. Powered by lithium batteries, this zero-emission motor is capable of covering 150–200 km on a single charge.
While speaking on this release, Nishant Arya, Executive Director of JBM Group, said, "With pollution being a serious health concern in metros, it has become imperative to shift our mass transport from fossil fuel to non-fossil fuel. We believe electric bus will be an apt solution."
Joining the bandwagon, Mahindra & Mahindra released electrically operated commercial van, Supra. In addition to this, the company showcased a hydrogen bus that it had developed jointly with IIT and ministry of new and renewable energy. One of the company's spokesperson also added, "We have also introduced electric scooter and electric sedan to promote the cause of environment friendliness."
Auto Expo's another highlight were the tyres that generate electricity. Good Year Tire & Rubber Co. has developed this electric tyre concept, which the company expects to make available for the customers.
Mike Rytokoski, the Vice-President of Good Year said, “This tyre generates electricity and has built-in heat and motion sensors. It captures heat from the tyres as well as motion from the road and converts that into electricity. So, if you have an electric car, it can help recharge that on the go as well as when car is parked. In sun, when car is parked, it will absorb heat from sun and convert it into electricity.”
As the awareness on pollution and poor air quality increases, manufacturers are increasingly becoming conscious about the environmental requirements. By 2020, India is planning to bring six million electric vehicles on the road. In this regard, the government is expecting to save 2.2 to 2.5 million tonnes of fuel, thus saving INR 14000-15000 crores. This movement can reduce the carbon dioxide levels by 1.5% and can facilitate the sale of electric vehicles to 800,000 units in the next two years.
Taking environment as a primary concern, market leaders like Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland too have showcased electric and hybrid buses.
Tata Motors has unveiled a hybrid CNG bus and Ultra Electric bus at the Auto Expo 2016. Following the same trend, Ashok Leyland too has launched “Hybus,” a CNG hybrid bus and has also unveiled BS-VI compliant truck. In addition to these, Toyota and Hyundai too joined the green car movement. Toyota Motors has showcased Mirai, the fuel cell vehicle which is claimed to have zero carbon dioxide emission. Hyundai Motors is also out with the Hybrid version of Sonata.
In this event of this green-patronage, Renault Motors expressed doubts about the feasibility of these products in the domestic market. Speaking on this, Gerard Detourbet, Vice-President, Renault SA, said, “We have lots of solutions. We are selling these kinds of cars in some other countries. India is a very sensitive market. When you are adding cost to your car, you are not sure to find some customers. That is the problem in India. It is an emerging market. Our objective today is not to bring this kind of technology; it is to increase our market share. We can bring this kind of technology, but this is too expensive.”
See Also:
Auto Expo 2016: Ashok Leyland Showcases Guru, 4940 Euro 6 and Hybus
