Oslo has long been a leader in the green revolution. With green roofs, bicycle rentals, a higher proportion of electric vehicles than any other city, and trams and ferries run from hydropower electricity, Norway’s capital sets the example for other cities to follow. Keeping in line with that tradition, Norwegian transport operator Unibuss, one of the country’s largest bus companies, recently purchased 76 all-electric Lion’s City E buses, 59 solo and 17 articulated, from Man Truck & Bus for its Oslo routes.
Electrifying Scandinavia
Norway is just the latest Scandinavian country to roll out the electric buses. Malmö, Sweden, currently has 22 Lion’s City E buses in service and transport operator Keolis has 75 Lion’s city 18 Es on the way. Sixty of the articulated electric buses will deploy to Gothenburg, with the other 15 going to Stockholm where they will join 10 Lion’s City 12 E buses currently in operation. Copenhagen, Denmark, also has 26 Lion’s City 12 E buses and Vikingbus in Odder has 12 more.
"We are very pleased about our first e-bus order from Norway, which fits seamlessly into a series of orders from Scandinavia—a great success!" says Rudi Kuchta, head of Business Unit Bus at Man Truck & Bus.
About The Lion’s City E
Unibuss chose the Lion’s City E to aid emissions reduction and for the flexibility the bus offers. The transport provider’s solo buses have five battery packs and the articulated buses have seven, which are down from the six and eight packs, respectively, that are the standard.
"Since this autumn, our customers have been able to decide for themselves on the number of battery packs," says Kuchta. "In this way, our all-electric city bus can be even better adapted to individual customer needs and requirements in terms of range and passenger capacity."
The Lion’s City E buses are loaded with safety features, including Man BirdView for a 360-degree bird's eye view of the vehicle's immediate surroundings and the OptiView mirror replacement system, which eliminates blind spots and aids drivers in low-visibility situations such as nighttime operation and inclement weather.
Unibuss opted for the carbon dioxide-based air-conditioning system. A new feature introduced in 2022, the system is cheaper than the conventional refrigerant R134a and uses less energy, increasing the range of the bus by up to 25 kilometres (15.5 miles). The regenerative braking system also extends the battery range with a range of 350 km (217 mi) possible on a single charge and, depending on usage, potentially as high as 550 km (341 mi).
Choose Your Power
Each bus length comes with the operator’s choice of battery packs to accommodate usage needs. The Lion’s City 10 E offers four or five battery packs with a capacity range of 320 to 400 kilowatt-hours. The Lion’s City 12 E comes with four to six battery packs for a capacity of 320 to 480 kWh and the Lion’s City 18 E has six to eight battery packs with a capacity of 480 to 640 kWh. The challenge, then, is to balance battery capacity against passenger capacity, which increases with fewer battery packs—fewer batteries also decrease charging time. All battery pack options charge fully in two and a half to five hours.
Find Your Next Man Vehicle
You’ll find a large selection of new and used Man vehicles for sale on TruckLocator.ie, including dozens of Man buses.
Source: Man