The bus sector is on the move, but of course buses with internal combustion engines are still being manufactured, as diesel, hybrids with recuperation modules and also gas engines. But while the proportion of diesel engines is falling, the proportion of electric buses is increasing, to more than 2,000 Europe-wide in 2020, according to MAN.

But with 690,000 and an average age of 11.7 years they still form an overwhelming majority, which of course the manufacturers see as huge potential. Of course, there are also modern diesel buses with a huge exhaust gas aftertreatment system. In addition, the manufacturers of electric buses cannot deliver as quickly as desired, which in turn is also due to various subsidies in Germany, for example.

Even with the current electricity mix, one optimistically expects 60 to 80 tons of CO₂ savings. And as for cars, there have also been 'binding emission standards in municipal fleets' for buses since mid-2021. However, with their emergence, hydrogen technology will still compete with the pure electric bus to a certain extent.

Here we speak mainly, in addition to the Lion's City E, which has been available since last year (we reported), mainly about its version as an articulated bus with the designation 18 E. As one emphasizes at MAN, it should have a range of 200 km under all circumstances. 270 km would also be possible because the battery has a capacity of 640 kWh. The position of the battery exclusively on the roof has the advantage that it remains undamaged in the event of an accident.

Overall a low-floor bus, but at least two steps are necessary to get to the rearmost nine seats. The transparent bellows make it pleasantly bright between the front and rear of the vehicle. It is also available with two driven axles. Included the middle motor drives a portal axle. The two engines are also justified with more energy that they can recuperate.

No, except for the speculation that 800V can be used throughout the group, little is known about this area, which is important for such a large battery. Sure, it will be a CCS system, as you can see from the plug above, but it is still unclear whether charging can only take place in the depot or, for example, at terminal stops, too.

There are two different sized packages for electrical management. In addition to 'instant charging', the basic package S also allows the the programming of being charged at a certain departure time. In the case of a bus, the appropriate conditioning of the interior is of course particularly important as long as it is connected to the network. Incidentally, this is also continuously checked and, if necessary, reported, as are the charging parameters.

Version M enables more analysis, as driving data such as consumption and recuperation are also included. And that can then be viewed together with the charging data saved as a history and conclusions can be drawn from it. Of course, this also includes all data about the battery and, for example, its temperature profile.