Ashok Leyland launched Circuit electric bus

Ashok Leyland, pioneers in the commercial vehicle sector has taken a step to help curb the increasing CO2 emissions in the country and also help reduce the eight lakh crore fuel import bill, with the launch of the Circuit electric bus.

The Circuit bus is not only the first electric bus in the country, but also is built ground-up by in-house engineers except for the battery, which is imported from the US.The company has not revealed information regarding the mechanical specifications, barring the power output, which is around 85kW. With a top speed of 85kmph the Circuit bus gets three variants depending on range – 70km, 120km and 150km. The battery can be charged in three hours and the bus also comes with on-board charging facility. Apart from this, on the inside the Circuit electric bus features reverse camera, on-board Wi-Fi, and USB charging ports at each seat.

Speaking on the occasion, T Venkataraman, Sr. V P, Global Bus said “The Circuit series vehicles are all exclusively engineered on India-specific platforms that can tackle varied topography, gradients, and usage conditions. It is built on a simple, mass-market platform that will enable the operator to cater to customers in city centres with minimal operational and maintenance costs.”

Ashok Leyland are yet to reveal the price of the bus but one can expect it to be priced between 1.5 to 2 crore. The company also plans to use the same Circuit range of vehicles on multiple platforms across their portfolio.