More and more newcomers are entering the market for electric buses, and all existing manufacturers must also adapt to the rapidly changing demand and take on the challenges of converting their product portfolios to e-drive solutions. One of the options, especially for medium-sized and smaller manufacturers, is to cooperate with a technological partner.
The Spanish bodybuilder Castrosua is now going down this path together with the Chinese manufacturer BYD. After previous attempts with Castrosua’s own model, both companies entered into such a partnership a few months ago and now presented their first joint model at the major industry event UITP Global Summit 2023 in Barcelona.
The well-known BYD technology components can be found in the 12-metre E-bus on offer, and Castrosua, as a body manufacturer that has been established on the domestic market for decades, contributes the body. The NELEC model offers space for up to 92 passengers, 29 (optional configuration up to 39) of them on seats. The e-bus chassis comes from BYD along with a battery pack of up to 422 kWh total iron phosphate battery capacity, which is said to allow up to 450 km range under optimal conditions. BYD also points to its ‘Battery Thermal Management System’, which keeps the temperature of the batteries within a predetermined range at all times.
The model is undoubtedly aimed primarily at the market in Spain and Portugal, which should thus become much easier for BYD to tap into due to the cooperation with a domestic manufacturer. Through the cooperation with BYD, Castrosua gains easy access to established e-bus technology.
