BYD Unveils Battery-Electric Over-the-Road Coach Bus

BYD Motors Inc. unveiled the first long range, 100% battery-electric over-the-road coach bus (as opposed to a city transit bus) at the United Motorcoach Association Expo in New Orleans.  This first electric coach—the BYD C9—is a two-axle, 40' coach with the seating capacity to carry 47 people at highway speed for more than 190 miles.

The BYD C9 is the first of three battery-electric coaches the company will launch globally this year.  The other two, a 45' three-axle coach named the C10 and a 23' coach with executive and transport configurations named the C6 will be arriving by the end of 2015.  BYD is taking orders for all three of the coaches starting now.

The C9 uses BYD’s in-wheel drive axle with two 180 kW brushless AC synchronous motors (BYD-TYC180A), each of which develops 1,500 N·m (1,106 lb-ft) of torque.  The 365 kWh Li-ion iron phosphate battery pack can accept 200 kW charging for a charging time of less than two hours.  Top speed of the bus is 62.5 mph (101 km/h).

BYD projects the battery capacity will remain above 80% after 12 years of use.  The BYD Intelligent Battery Management System (iBMS) assists with balancing and charging safety.

BYD Motors Inc is an American company based in California.  Its parent company, BYD Company Ltd, is World's largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries.

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