At this year’s World Expo in Astana, Kazakhstan, MAN Truck & Bus will be presenting the first low-floor city bus with CNG drive for Central Asia.
Gas engines are playing an important role across the globe on the road to reduced emissions as increased fuel efficiency means emissions values can be considerably reduced even without additional filter technology or exhaust gas aftertreatment. Using engines that run on biogas, which is possible at MAN without any technical modifications, means that the buses are almost CO2 neutral.
It is this reasoning that is winning over public transport managers in Kazakhstan. As a result, MAN Truck & Bus is now bringing a gas bus to market, produced locally as part of the joint venture with MAN Auto Uzbekistan. The 12m low-floor bus with CNG drive is based on a MAN chassis with aluminium body and offers space for up to 90 passengers in its various seating arrangements. The E2876 engine that is installed in this vehicle fulfils the EEV standard, offers 310 hp (228 kW) and has a range of up to 380 km. The aluminium body provides considerable weight advantages in comparison with the structures used previously. This all adds up to give this bus excellent efficiency.
“The motto of this year’s World Expo is ‘Future Energy: Action for Global Sustainability’. What would be more fitting than introducing the new low-emission city bus for Central Asia?” asked Jan Kohlmeier, Sales Director Bus Central Asia at MAN Truck & Bus, during the presentation of the gas bus in Astana on 8 August. “By combining the tried-and-tested CNG engine technology from MAN with the weight advantages of an aluminium body, this low-floor bus offers many benefits for operators and the environment alike.”
With the start of production of the new city bus, the MAN Auto Uzbekistan plant in Samarkand is developing into a competence centre for CNG vehicles. MAN Truck & Bus has been offering its customers the full portfolio of city buses for many years, and this includes the alternative drive variants. This means nearly all current models can be run on biodiesel or synthetic diesel (HVO – hydrotreated vegetable oil). Gas engines have been part of MAN’s portfolio for over 70 years now, and since the year 2000, over 8000 CNG city buses have been sold. This range welcomed its newest member in 2010, in the form of the MAN Lion’s City Hybrid. In the next step towards emission-free transport, MAN Truck & Bus is planning to start series production of a purely electric city bus by the end of 2019.
