NEWS
An article published in the Magyar Nemzet (Hungarian Nation) about transportation in Budapest also reports about buses designed and manufactured in Hungary.
Here's an excerpt from the article that mentions evopro's latest development, the urban hybrid bus:
“A Hungarian engineering group seems to have a forward-looking initiative: thanks to a 400 million Ft assistance from the EU and to an investment of their own in the same amount they have started development on a Hungarian bus based on a new concept. The engineers of evopro were approached by the Ikarus group to develop a new type of drive for an existing vehicle model and the team took the concept and ran with it. Together with young Hungarian engineers they lured back from Western Europe and with highly experienced designers of the once world-famous Ikarus bus manufacturer they are working on an innovative, cost-effective electric drive vehicle they hope to bring to the world stage.
“The advantage of the zero-emission electric bus is that its procurement can be financed up to 100% by the EU”, said Csaba Mészáros, the director of the company. “The disadvantage of electric buses we've seen so far is that the batteries – which are heavy to begin with – were put into metal bodies, making the vehicle even heavier. We are developing our new vehicle following the footsteps of NABI, which is the world leader in composite technologies, and thanks to our own patents we managed to reduce manufacturing costs, so the vehicle won't cost more than traditional ones. The first bodies, which are manufactured in collaboration with Hungarian suppliers and feature a newly developed Chinese battery, will begin appearing in the spring, and we expect the EU-approved prototype to be done by the end of next year. Another advantage of the electric bus is that the cost of electricity from the nuclear plant in Paks is practically nominal at night, so its operational cost will be a lot less, too.”
Here's an excerpt from the article that mentions evopro's latest development, the urban hybrid bus:
“A Hungarian engineering group seems to have a forward-looking initiative: thanks to a 400 million Ft assistance from the EU and to an investment of their own in the same amount they have started development on a Hungarian bus based on a new concept. The engineers of evopro were approached by the Ikarus group to develop a new type of drive for an existing vehicle model and the team took the concept and ran with it. Together with young Hungarian engineers they lured back from Western Europe and with highly experienced designers of the once world-famous Ikarus bus manufacturer they are working on an innovative, cost-effective electric drive vehicle they hope to bring to the world stage.
“The advantage of the zero-emission electric bus is that its procurement can be financed up to 100% by the EU”, said Csaba Mészáros, the director of the company. “The disadvantage of electric buses we've seen so far is that the batteries – which are heavy to begin with – were put into metal bodies, making the vehicle even heavier. We are developing our new vehicle following the footsteps of NABI, which is the world leader in composite technologies, and thanks to our own patents we managed to reduce manufacturing costs, so the vehicle won't cost more than traditional ones. The first bodies, which are manufactured in collaboration with Hungarian suppliers and feature a newly developed Chinese battery, will begin appearing in the spring, and we expect the EU-approved prototype to be done by the end of next year. Another advantage of the electric bus is that the cost of electricity from the nuclear plant in Paks is practically nominal at night, so its operational cost will be a lot less, too.”
A cikk az alábbi részletben említést tesz az evopro legújabb fejlesztéséről, a városi hibrid buszról:
„Előremutató kezdeményezésnek tűnik viszont egy magyar mérnökcsoport munkája: négyszázmillió forintnyi eurós támogatásból és ugyanennyi saját tőkéből nekifogtak egy új koncepciójú magyar busz fejlesztésének. Az evopro mérnökeit az Ikarus csoport kereste meg, hogy újfajta hajtást fejlesszenek ki egy meglévő járműtípushoz, és a csapat továbbgondolta a feladatot. Nyugat-Európából hazacsábított fiatal mérnökökkel és az egykor világhírű Ikarus tervezőinek még élő, tapasztalt szakembereivel dolgoznak azon, hogy innovatív, költséghatékony elektromos hajtású járművel jelenjenek meg a világpiacon.
– A nulla emissziós elektromos busz előnye – mondta lapunknak Mészáros Csaba, a vállalkozás vezetője –, hogy beszerzését akár száz százalékban is finanszírozza az unió. Az eddigi villanybuszok nagy hátránya, hogy az eleve nehéz akkumulátorokat fémkarosszériákba építették be, így még nehezebb lett a jármű. Mi a kompozit technológiában világelső NABI nyomdokain haladva fejlesztjük az új járművet, és saját szabadalmainknak köszönhetően sikerült csökkentenünk a költségeket, így nem lesz drágább a hagyományosnál. A magyar összefogással, hazai beszállítókkal és új fejlesztésű kínai akkumulátorral készülő jármű első karosszériái tavasszal jelennek meg, az EU-s engedéllyel rendelkező prototípus várhatóan a jövő év végére készül el. Az elektromos busznak az is előnye lenne, hogy gyakorlatilag jelképes áron vásárolható éjszakai áram a paksi atomerőműtől, így lényegesen olcsóbb lenne az üzemeltetés.”