On 5 December last year, we reported that MCV Deutschland GmbH (MCV = Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles), a completely new bus manufacturer for Germany, has opened its permanent establishment in Bestwig, Sauerland/Germany. The Bestwig company is the German subsidiary of the Egyptian commercial vehicle manufacturer MCV, which was founded in 1994. MCV started as a general agency for Mercedes-Benz trucks and buses in the country on the Nile, but also began production under its own brand name in 1996. MCV’s first vehicles were built on Mercedes-Benz chassis.
This was followed relatively soon by the “MCV 240”, a midibus for urban transport in Cairo, which was based on a chassis from General Motors (USA). MCV thus demonstrated its independence from the Daimler Group.
In 2007, a cooperation agreement was signed with the Chinese manufacturer Dongfeng, which included the delivery of 800 Dongfeng chassis, on which MCV placed superstructures. As early as 2008, MCV made it unmistakably clear that it also wanted to deliver in Europe. At the IAA in Hanover, the high-deck coach “MCV 600” was exhibited in Germany for the first time – in this author’s opinion, a very handsome car.
In the meantime, the company has not only been active in the field of self-supporting buses for a long time, but has also followed the trend towards low-floor electric buses and coaches. MCV wants to enter the European market, not only the United Kingdom, for example, where it has been quite successful on the market for some time, but also Germany in particular. The “door opener”, as I said, was the low-floor 12-metre electric bus “MCV C 127 EV” last December, for whose distribution, after-sales services and maintenance the German subsidiary was founded in Bestwig.
MCV now reports that its “C 127 EV” is enjoying lively interest in Germany. The model designation: the 12 in 127 stands for the vehicle length of 12 metres, the 7 for the “seventh development stage” within the MCV portfolio. And “EV” of course means “electric vehicle”. The MCV C 127 EV was shown for the first time at a German trade fair at the end of March at the “Elekbu” electric bus conference of the VDV (Association of German Transport Companies) in Berlin.
Think big
MCV visibly sticks to the well-known principle of “don’t spill the beans, make do”. That is why, only seven months after the 12-metre electric bus, the company is now presenting its little brother, the 10.5-metre electric midi city bus “C 107 EV” (10 = about 10 metres long, 7 = seventh development stage). And “because it’s so nice”, the low-floor electric articulated bus is to follow next year.
About the C 107 EV
The new “little one” from MCV is 10,500 mm long, 2,550 mm wide and – like its big brother “C 127 EV” – 3,200 mm high. Whereby the vehicle height is somewhat dependent on the tyres chosen, the 3,200 mm applies to 275 tyres. It can have up to 29 seats and one wheelchair space.
The C 107 EV is powered by a central engine with an output of 250 kW (339 hp) and a maximum torque of 3,000 Nm. This makes it anything but “weak in the chest”. Its five battery packs are connected in parallel and find their place on the roof of the car; they have a capacity of 385 kWh. Also on the roof, the car has a heat pump with the refrigerant CO2.
The body frame is made entirely of stainless steel, the side planking of aluminium. It is divided in a repair-friendly way. Instead of conventional rear-view mirrors, the “small” MCV has a “camera mirror system” as standard. Exterior and interior lighting use LEDs.
The tyres are type 275/70 R 22.5 X Incity EV Z and come from Michelin; alternatively, type 295/80 R 22.5 X Incity EV Z tyres, also from Michelin, can be fitted.
The doors are from the Dutch manufacturer Ventura. The front door is always an inner swing door, the middle door can be supplied as an inner or outer swing door.
The car runs on the front axle ZF RL 82 and on the drive portal axle ZF AV 133, which means: both axles come from ZF in Friedrichshafen at Lake Constance.
