Emissions friendly and energy efficient vehicles have been widely talked about for years but the focus has usually been on passenger vehicles. However, more interest has been generated recently for energy efficient commercial vehicles especially buses, which promote the efficient movement of large numbers of people. While buses are efficient at moving people in a much bigger capacity than passenger cars, they consume more energy and fuel; thus producing higher greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2). As such, the reduction in harmful emissions for these vehicles will have a more significant contribution than individual passenger vehicles. Seeing this need, Hino Motors has been taking steps to play a part in contributing to the solution of reducing these harmful emissions by introducing emissions friendly buses with two types of technology.
Secondly, Hino Motors have been pursuing the hybrid engine bus development in both the hybrid electric and combustion engine form as well as the more efficient plug-in hybrid variants in their quest for cleaner and more efficient forms of transport. The Plug-In Hybrid technology is where the batteries of the bus can be recharged when the bus is at rest. It is more environmentally friendly as it does not require the bus’ engine to help recharge the batteries all of the time.
With the plug-in hybrid technology incorporated in the Hino Melpha Bus, the Melpha Plug-In Hybrid Bus can run as an electric or hybrid vehicle and supply electricity externally for relatively long periods of time from power generated by its diesel engine. This also makes the Hino plug-in hybrid bus useful for supplying electricity to evacuation centres and other facilities in times of emergency or natural disasters. This is made possible by developing hybrid systems with high-capacity lithium-ion batteries. This innovative thinking allows the bus' batteries to power the vehicle during a journey as well as being used as an emergency power supply unit too.
The Hino Hybrid bus has actually been spotted on our shores. The Hino hybrid bus recently had a test run over in Medini City in Iskandar, Johor (pictured above & below). The administrators of the special Iskandar region which is located at the south of Peninsular Malaysia had invited HINO to conduct its trial run through Medini City for a period of five (5) months. One of the efforts by the administrators of the Iskandar region is their push towards Green Technology and they have, from time to time, invited bus manufacturers to test out their vehicles.
The Hino Hybrid bus was operated by Handal Indah over six routes for the trial run which ended in December 2017. One of the routes was the Iskandar Puteri route that travels from Puteri Harbour Ferry Terminal to Larkin Sentral via Medini City. Hino Motors has proven that it is up to the challenge with this participation of its hybrid bus. Of course, these were just trial runs but it does put forward the fact that Hino is consistently trying out new technologies and are even committed to trying them out away from home.
Aside from championing the usage of emissions friendly vehicles as the future of public transport, Hino Motors offers a selection of bus chassis that are relevant to the needs of bus operators today. Hino Motors offers a wide selection of bus chassis with engines that have been designed with the environment in mind. All Hino buses sold in Malaysia by Hino Motors come equipped with Euro 2 and Euro 3 emissions standard powered by fuel efficient electronic common rail type injection system. In fact, Hino trucks and buses are already ready for the day when Malaysia opts for higher standards of emissions.
Right now, the current range of Hino buses in Malaysia had been upgraded at the end of 2016. As stated above, this latest range of buses features various types of power trains that are emissions friendly and efficient. The buses also are fitted with suspension systems that are engineered to achieve good ride comfort. The chassis has also been engineered to have an expansive loading capacity with ample passenger room (and taking into account passengers with special needs, if required). These chassis are well designed so that coach or body builders can easily work on during body installation.
Hino buses are well engineered to be efficient and cost effective to operate with reliability and uptime in mind. On top of that, Hino Motors have the confidence to provide a 12 months or 100,000km warranty on the bus chassis for customer peace of mind.
In the area of bus chassis development, the craftsmanship and philosophy that Hino have nurtured over the years through the development of their products has helped them produce quality buses. Hino buses are well known for their high level of comfort and performance here in Malaysia over the years, and now with their revamped bus line-up, it could be worth to state that Hino buses are not only safe and reliable, but environmentally friendly and efficient as well.
Photos: Hino Malaysia, Hino Japan & Hino Australia
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