Colombiabus newsroom – William Marroquín / Transporte Carretero
CONVEYORS CHOOSE HYBRID INSTEAD OF ELECTRIC
Since 2007, Yutong has been present in Uruguay and throughout all that time it has been approaching the country’s transporters, including urban ones that have found in the hybrid vehicles of the Chinese manufacturer, the balance between performance, economy of operation and care of the environment. In 2018, the first bus of this type, which conquers more operators in the city, rolled for the first time on the streets of the capital Montevideo, now with a new batch of 25 units that are getting ready to roll through the streets.
These units correspond to the integral model ZK6125 CHEVG, 12 meters long, which combines a low consumption diesel engine from Cummins origin belonging to the ISDe family with 6.7 liters of displacement and 245HP of power, complying with the Euro III emissions standard. In force in the country, it is equipped with a turbocharger and intercooler and also delivers 925Nm of torque. For its part, the electric generator is Yutong’s own development, while the automatic transmission and other drive components have been provided by ZF.
The new buses have arrived for the routes of three operators in the Uruguayan capital: Corporación de Omnibus Micro Este (COME), Cooperativa de Obreros y Employeados del Transporte Colectivo (COETC), which was the first to have this type of units and Unión Cooperativa Obrera of Transportation (UCOT). Hybrid buses have the same configuration for each company, being able to transport up to 31 seated people, two doors to board, access for people with reduced mobility through a ramp thanks to the low floor, air conditioning and pneumatic suspension.
The operators are very satisfied with the result of the Yutong ZK6125CHEVG buses that have been operating since 2018, taking advantage of the fact that the Cummins diesel engine is widely known and reinforced with the economy in consumption, since with air conditioning on they are saving up to 35% of fuel compared to an equivalent diesel bus, without air conditioning they can save up to 45%. Considering the higher initial capital cost of an electric bus, the balance tips in favor of the hybrid.
