Daimler Buses sends near-series eIntouro electric intercity bus to the Arctic Circle
In order to test the future electric intercity bus in difficult weather conditions, Daimler Buses sent two near-series Mercedes-Benz eIntouro vehicles to Rovaniemi in Finland. Temperatures of up to minus 30 degrees centigrade prevailed there during testing. According to the manufacturer, the experts on site in Rovaniemi paid particular attention to the behaviour of the batteries and the electric drivetrain: ‘To this end, they checked the cold start behaviour, the charging capability of the high-voltage system at extremely low temperatures and the cold protection of the drive components, software and interfaces, among other things.’ The thermal and energy management systems were also tested intensively.
The test engineers from Daimler Buses covered 3,000 kilometres in stages on their journey to Finland, using only publicly available charging infrastructure for recharging. The company now wants to ‘derive measures for further optimisation’ from the experience gained from this long journey and from the winter test itself.
Martin Teigeler, Head of Product Engineering Daimler Buses, comments: ‘Our extensive tests on the behaviour of the batteries and the electric drivetrain at extreme sub-zero temperatures and on the driving behaviour of the vehicles on slippery roads or in slush not only provided important findings for further optimisation. They also showed that the battery-powered eIntouro is fully operational even in wintry conditions.’
The eIntouro is based on the well-known diesel-powered Intouro high-floor bus and is now set to initiate the transition to electromobility on classic intercity routes, school bus journeys and smaller journeys. In addition to the eIntouro with a length of 12.18 metres, there will also be an eIntouro M with a length of 13.09 metres. This will cover seating variants from 50 to a maximum of 63 seats. And: ‘For the first time in a European bus, software updates can be installed over the air in the eIntouro without a visit to the workshop,’ emphasises the manufacturer.
By the way: Daimler Truck also recently sent the eActros 600 heavy-duty electric truck on a winter test drive across Scandinavia – and brought back some interesting measured values for energy consumption on ice and snow.
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