AutoPartsAsia | AUGUST 2017 | 13Ashok Leyland's Circuit' Series - first Electric Bus Made in IndiaTo Accelerate Use Of EVs In Alliance With SUN Mobility
expanding its capacity to meet the
customer demand for it.
Current Challenges
The current challenges in electric
mobility include higher acquisition
cost, long recharging time and range
anxiety. SUN Mobility addresses
these issues and offers sustainable
solutions. In India operating efficiency
is the key in commercial vehicles.
Therefore, the objective of this alliance
is to work towards developing a
solution that will have operating
economics similar to or even better
than diesel vehicles. It will contain
emissions and also improve operating
economy, Dasari said.According to Maini, SUN Mobility has
filed two core patents on smart battery
interchange station that includes
battery swapping and charging
technology. Both partners will bring
in their core competencies and
develop cost effective solutions for the
customers.Ashok Leyland has three different
strategies for electric vehicles and
one of the most exciting is ‘Swapping
and Charging’ stations, in which SUNMobility has expertise. Ashok Leyland
will find ways to integrate this solution
to its electric vehicles which have
motors, drivetrain and controllers.
Both the partners will jointly develop
solutions primarily for vehicles
of State Transport Undertakings
(STUs), companies and educational
institutions that run for shorter
distance and stop in-between.
According to a study conducted
by Ashok Leyland, the average
distance run by an STU in the intra-
city operation is 23km and therefore
the swapping and charging system
is ideal as the power pack can be
replaced during the short halt at the
terminus, in-between the regular
sorties. The unit can be either a battery
pack or a ultra-capacitor, Dasari
said. The company will develop the
prototype before January next and the
first vehicle will be up and running in
less than 18 months.The consumers will prefer to buy an
electric vehicle if it is available at a
competitive cost. Currently the electricvehicles are four to six times more
expensive than the diesel vehicles.
The higher cost is for batteries and
the charging systems. Five years
ago the cost per kW of battery was
around USD 1,500, but now it is USD- Once the price reaches half
of the current level there will be a
surge in demand for electric vehicles,
Dasari said. Both the companies are
studying the options to locate the
manufacturing facility for swapping
and charging stations.
By removing the batteries and the
charging system, the electric buses
will be cost competitive. By using
swapping and charging stations, the
time to charge can be reduced to a
few minutes from up to five hours of
charging. Battery pack for high-end
vehicles are robotically swapped while
it can be done manually for small
vehicles. This will also address range
anxiety as the vehicle gets enough
power and increased range.
“Our strategy is we manufacture
only those that we design and we
design those that differentiate us from
competition. By 2020 at least 10 to 15
percent of our portfolio in buses will be
electric, from the current nil,” Dasari
said.
Circuit Series
It may be recalled that Ashok
Leyland recently unveiled ‘Circuit’
an electric bus having long distance
range. “The Circuit series of buses is
another testament to Ashok Leyland’s
commitment to leverage India’s
technological innovation to deliver
relevant and best-in-class solutions for
India and the world. As a world leaderin public transport, we can proudly say
that we have created a product that
will enhance the environment in the
cities,” Dasari said while unveiling the
vehicle.
Indian ObjectiveIndia plans to move to electric vehicles
by 2030 and it may even achieve
the target faster if the economics is
similar to the fossil fuel counterparts.
China, for instance, which produced
about 1,000 electric buses five years
ago manufactured over 80,000 in- There is immense potential for
electric vehicles in India and if the cost
economies help by providing finer and
cleaner solutions, growth will be much
faster, Maini said.
SUN Mobility is a 50:50 joint venture
between Virya Mobility 5.0 and SUN
New Energy Systems, pioneers in
areas of electric mobility and clean
energy. The company is led by
Chetan Maini, founder of Reva and
Uday Khemka, Vice Chairman of SUN
Group, two of India’s well-established
leaders in the new energy economy.SUN Mobility will partner with multipleOEMs to integrate its proprietary
smart battery solution into a range
of innovative electric vehicles – cars,
buses, rickshaws, scooters etc.
The smart batteries will be modular,
easily swappable, highly secure,
IoT- enabled and can be easily
refuelled on a pay-as-you go basis.
This energy infrastructure, integrated
with electric vehicles, smart batteries
and clean energy, will accelerate the
transformation of mobility towards a
sustainable, pollution-free future.