BYD premieres 12-metre e-bus with Blade battery chassis at BusWorld

Chinese electric bus manufacturer BYD has premiered two new pure-electric buses at Busworld 2023, which opened in Brussels on October 7. The 12-metre BYD eBus B12 and the BYD-UNVI DD13 double-decker coach both make their European debut at the global trade fair for the bus industry.

The all-new 12-metre BYD eBus is the first bus to utilise BYD’s Blade Battery Chassis, which integrates the Lithium Iron Phosphate Blade Battery within the chassis structure. This Blade Battery Chassis technology also utilises a new 6-in-1 controller with silicon carbide technology, together with two wheel hub hairpin motors. According to BYD, “These bring a multitude of benefits to BYD’s 12-metre eBus including enhanced energy efficiency, performance and durability.”

The Blade Battery, which has a maximum capacity of 500kWh, delivers a stated range of 600km in one charge. The Blade Battery, presented in March 2020, has been developed by BYD over the past several years. The singular cells are arranged together in an array and then inserted into a battery pack. Due to its optimised battery pack structure, the space utilisation of the battery pack is increased by over 50% compared to conventional lithium iron phosphate block batteries, states BYD.

Europe is a major market for BYD, which has over 4,200 of its electric buses plying in over 160 cities in 26 countries.