NEW YORK (Commodity Online): The BYD electric buses are set to shed weight with Alcoa (NYSE: AA) all-aluminum space frame which was earlier implemented on the world's hotest brands like Ferrari and Audi, among others.
All new BYD Electric Bus body will reduce weight by 40% or nearly one ton against steel options. The first two bus prototypes were launched this week in Changsha City, Hunan Province, China.
In addition to reducing the weight of the bus body, Alcoa solutions including Alcoa forged wheels and Huck Spin® fasteners reduced the overall bus weight by 1.2 tons in total. The combined weight savings are expected to help improve the overall range of the electric bus by at least 10 percent. The new bus has a range of approximately 300 kilometers (188 miles) on a full charge.
“It is certainly impressive that we were able to drop more than 1.2 tons from the weight of BYD’s new electric bus compared to steel. However, this design is about more than just weight. The new design is durable, corrosion resistant, infinitely recyclable and expected to increase the range by at least 10 percent and withstand the rigors of everyday city driving.”said Jinya Chen, President of Alcoa’s Asia-Pacific region.
BYD plans to produce thousands of the electric buses for the China and Southeast Asia markets and will also export the buses globally. Alcoa will be the exclusive supplier of the new bus design as well as sheet product from its Bohai rolling mill in Qinhuangdao, Hebei. Alcoa will also be the exclusive supplier of forged aluminum wheels and fasteners to the project. Additional terms were not disclosed.
The new bus design builds on Alcoa’s leading capabilities in safe transportation design, including automotive and ground transportation space frame technologies for leading brands such as Ferrari and Audi, among others.
“We are pleased to have worked with a global expert in transportation such as Alcoa as we began work on this new electric bus program and the design and materials combined with our expertise in the market will make this new bus the best in the industry in terms of emissions, range, safety and performance.” said Xie Shibin Vice President of BYD Auto Research Institute.
