Scania’s First Electric Bus to Arrive in Mexico

Swedish heavy-vehicle OEM Scania, in collaboration with Mexican body manufacturer Beccar, announced Volt and E-Urviabus, which will become Scania’s first 100 percent electric bus to arrive in the Mexican market in 2022 and the first electric bus to be body-built in Mexico.

Unlike other e-buses available in the country, Scania México and Beccar partnered to develop a specific product for the Mexican market, given the country’s particular conditions and specific needs. That said, the vehicle’s powertrain is based on the original used for the main cities in Europe, according to Jorge Navarro, Director of People Transport Solutions at Scania México.

“It is a bus with a load range of over 300km. A night charge of around 5 hours (is enough) to circulate all day. The unit features the E-Urviabus body, a totally new development that is exclusively adapted to our Scania Volt,” said Navarro.

To truly adapt the Volt to Mexican needs, Scania has deployed in Mexico City its City Wide bus with a Volt chassis, a completely European vehicle focused on collecting information regarding its performance. Engineering and design teams from Scania and Beccar are working with the data collected by this unit to adapt the powertrain and personalize the body.

“Electromobility is not simply about bringing a bus, receiving it at the port and rolling it. When we talk about electromobility, we are talking about a group of actors and industries that have to agree on a bus being in operation. That is why we are taking care of the details, we are doing tests to be able to present a product designed for the needs of Mexico's cities and carriers,” said during the Scania Volt’s digital presentation Eduardo Olvera, Buses Product Engineer at Scania México.

The E-Urviabus is the first electric-oriented design done by Beccar. The Jalisco-based body manufacturer already had interest in developing a product for e-buses, so it immediately accepted Scania’s proposal, according to Benjamín Tovar, Director Commercial of Beccar: “Scania has a great reputation in Mexico, not only for its powertrain but for its aftersales service. We have worked jointly developing diesel-fueled buses and when Scania invited us for this project, we knew it was a great opportunity to achieve this milestone.”

A Paradigm Shift

While there are no dramatic changes between a diesel-fueled bus and an e-bus, engineering and processes are completely different and new to the Mexican market, said Navarro. In addition to changes in production, introducing these vehicles to Mexico involves other challenges related to infrastructure and overall city transformations. Still, the benefits outweigh these complications. “The benefits are huge but we know the investment is considerable. This is why we have dedicated the expertise of Scania and Beccar to develop a bus that meets all the specifications to operate properly in the main cities of the country, such as Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey,” said Navarro.