UQM powering new Hino Electric Buses

18 June 2012

UQM technologies, Inc. PowerPhase Select 200 electric drive systems are powering Hino electric city buses, featuring the ‘Poncho’ low-floor bus platform, already deployed in Japan.

The UQM PowerPhase Select 200 systems comprises a power-dense electric motor and advanced controller. The systems are rated at 900 N·m (664 lb-ft) of peak torque, 200 kW of peak power, and 115 kW of continuous power.

As part of this deployment, Hino has placed the new electric city-buses in service at the Hamura City and Tokyo Sky Tree tourist locations. Hino expects to put more buses in service this year as new routes are established in cooperation with Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

We have worked with Hino on this electric bus project for some time and it is extremely rewarding to have the buses put into public service. We are seeing growth in the electrification of the commercial-vehicle market, such as this program with Hino, as well as our volume-production passenger-car systems.

—Eric R. Ridenour, UQM Technologies’ President and CEO

Hino, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor, is a manufacturer of diesel trucks, buses, and other vehicles based in Hino, Tokyo, Japan. Hino-brand trucks and buses are marketed in over 70 countries/regions including the US, and worldwide sales exceed 120,000 vehicles a year.