http://www.mcicoach.com/charge-ahead/Electric Coached brochure.pdf
MCI all-electric coaches UNVEILED - BUSRide
Research and development
According to David Warren, director of sustainable transportation at New Flyer, achieving a range of “over 200 miles” is more complicated than it initially sounds. In short, an all-electric vehicle’s range is predicated on numerous factors including application, componentry, accessories, and weather. Changing any one of these factors affects the true range of a bus, Warren said, so MCI and New Flyer spent a lot of time and effort developing a battery which would perform reliably across multiple applications with appropriate infrastructure requirements.
Maitland said that it was critical the all-electric lineup perform similarly to the company’s proven diesel lineup.
“MCI has established standards for vehicle performance,” he said. “We have to bring out an electric product that meets our customers’ expectations for reliability and durability.”
As such, Maitland said, vehicle testing has been extensive, and MCI is confident that its range and charge projections are accurate, although range will be specific to each customer’s expectation.
“Anybody can talk about a theoretical range of 500 miles that our customers will never see,” he said. “We could do that also, but then we’d set an unrealistic expectations of real-world performance. Our coach needs to deliver the miles in the planned application for many years. It is that performance that earns customer trust.”
MCI all-electric coaches UNVEILED - BUSRide
Research and development
According to David Warren, director of sustainable transportation at New Flyer, achieving a range of “over 200 miles” is more complicated than it initially sounds. In short, an all-electric vehicle’s range is predicated on numerous factors including application, componentry, accessories, and weather. Changing any one of these factors affects the true range of a bus, Warren said, so MCI and New Flyer spent a lot of time and effort developing a battery which would perform reliably across multiple applications with appropriate infrastructure requirements.
Maitland said that it was critical the all-electric lineup perform similarly to the company’s proven diesel lineup.
“MCI has established standards for vehicle performance,” he said. “We have to bring out an electric product that meets our customers’ expectations for reliability and durability.”
As such, Maitland said, vehicle testing has been extensive, and MCI is confident that its range and charge projections are accurate, although range will be specific to each customer’s expectation.
“Anybody can talk about a theoretical range of 500 miles that our customers will never see,” he said. “We could do that also, but then we’d set an unrealistic expectations of real-world performance. Our coach needs to deliver the miles in the planned application for many years. It is that performance that earns customer trust.”
