Local bus builders hop on the electric bandwagon

First electric bus made here to go on trial as Govt seeks to electrify public bus fleet

- Kok Yufeng

A made-in-Singapore city bus powered fully by batteries will go on trial in the coming weeks as local bus-building companies look to capitalise on the Government's commitment to electrify the public bus fleet here.

The 12m-long, three-door Volvo BZL-SC Neustar City electric bus was unveiled on Thursday after a year-long collaboration between Singapore company SC Auto Industries and Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer Volvo.

It is the first electric bus to be built in Singapore, and the prototype designed specifically to meet local bus standards will be tested on the roads here by the end of 2022, the companies said in a joint statement.

Volvo provided the chassis and the lithium-ion batteries for the bus, while SC Auto, which has decades of experience making private buses and coaches, designed, manufactured and assembled the bus body at its plant in Senoko.

Some key features include an emergency exit at the rear of the bus, a first here, and the fact that 90 per cent of the vehicle is recyclable, including the batteries.

SC Auto managing director Rachel Lee said her company already has the capacity to make 1,200 electric buses a year at its factories in Singapore and Myanmar, and it has invested between $2.5 million and $3 million in research and design alone.