Diesel-electric hybrid power in buses was long seen as a bridge to zero-emission. Scania believes that the same propulsion can be applied in coach with a plug-in hybrid pack that gives up to 80km engine-off operation.
Hybrid has been seen in coach before. The concept from Scania is said to have drawn interest from markets including Europe. Its application is relatively simple: An 89kWh battery pack with various means to charge, and twin electric motors inside the gearbox.
The motors work either instead of or alongside the diesel engine, with promises of major fuel savings in typical coach applications and a short payback period. Engine builder Cummins also points to hybridisation as having potential in coach.
Debut of the Scania hybrid option sits alongside diverging narratives around coach’s decarbonisation. Zero-emission in the segment – including from Scania – is at a watershed, although there is still much to do on uptake.
Against that sit cautious commentary on charging and fuelling infrastructure from some senior industry members.
The obvious ‘closed loops’ of scheduled work and school vehicles can be (and have been) tackled, but how to support a tourer or private hire coach in zero-emission format has no easy answer. Daimler Buses chief Till Oberwörder believes little will change in that respect by 2030.
Uptake of hybrid cars is growing, according to SMMT data. More are sold than battery-electrics. While full zero-emission is the endgame for coach as it is for every other sector, the benefit of hybrid power with engine-off capability in getting there should perhaps no longer be overlooked.
