Enova Announces 16 Unit Hybrid School Bus Order; Initial Deployment of Federal Stimulus Dollars for School Buses
26 May 2010
Enova Systems confirmed today that they, along with Navistar International Corporation and its subsidiary IC Bus, will deploy 16 hybrid school buses (earlier post) used for a number of school districts.
This deployment represents the initial large scale utilization of US Department of Energy grants for clean school buses. Both Navistar, who claims 61% of the school bus market in North America, and Enova, say that this initial deployment is an important next step in the evolution of the hybrid school bus program towards long term production volume.
n 2005, we collaborated on the industry’s first production plug-in hybrid vehicle, and we’ve refined the technology since. The deployment of these initial systems is an affirmation of Navistar’s commitment to the hybrid school bus market. Enova supports this commitment by engineering a post-transmission hybrid drive system that integrates easily and non-invasively.
—Enova COO John Mullins
Several states and school districts have expressed interest in expanding their hybrid school bus fleets, Enova said. This interest should continue to grow as more tax credits and incentives become available to ease the transition to hybrid school buses.
Excellent first step towards extended e-range PHEVs for school buses
Posted by: HarveyD | 26 May 2010 at 07:54 AM
This is meaningful progress. I'd like to see the diesel engine portion of the hybrid fueled by LNG. This would eliminate all particulate emissions and reduce the carbon output to roughly a quarter of that of the diesel units.
Posted by: Sanity Chk | 26 May 2010 at 01:48 PM