Pelican Bus and Coach used the recent ALBUM conference in Nottingham to announce increases to the energy capacity and warranty coverage of battery packs fitted to the Yutong zero-emission bus range it supplies in the UK.
E10 and E12 single-deckers will be upgraded to 434kWh or 466kWh of storage, while the U11DD double-decker (pictured) will come with 434kWh or 465kWh. Previously each model was available with a maximum of 422kWh.
CATL will remain the battery supplier. Head of Yutong UK Ian Downie advises that no alterations to passenger capacities accompany the changes to energy storage.
Battery warranty for the E10 and E12 under the new approach will be 10 years or 800,000km to 70% battery state of health (SOH) as standard. For an additional cost, the buyer may upgrade that coverage to 15 years or 1.5 million km at 70% SOH. The same options will be available with the U11DD.
On the smaller E9 and E9L midibuses, the 255kWh energy capacity will remain the same but the standard battery warranty for those vehicles will be 10 years or 800,000km to 70% SOH.
Mr Downie notes how the introduction of a 15-year battery warranty option to the E10, E12 and U11DD will make a major contribution to certainty of operating costs over a vehicleā€™s life. He adds that across the coming months Pelican will deliver the 1,000th Yutong battery-electric bus in the UK.
The dealership recently reached the 2,000 milestone for all coaches and buses from the Chinese brand with a GT12 diesel for First Bus West of England that is used on FlixBus duties. The 1,250th coach was an example of the same model for Passenger Plus.
