Hyundai Motor Company held a letter of intent (LOI) signing ceremony at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan, on the 18th of this month with the Iwasaki Group, which operates transportation and tourism services mainly in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, to supply the zero-emission electric bus Elec City Town. The contract for the Elec City Town also began in earnest today.
The signing ceremony was attended by more than 40 officials from both companies, including Won-sang Cho, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Japan (HMJ), and Yoshitaro Iwasaki, President and CEO of the Iwasaki Group.
The letter of intent precedes the main agreement and sets out the general outline of the mutual agreement, excluding some specific contractual terms. Under the letter of intent with Iwasaki Group, Hyundai will deliver a total of five electric buses by the first quarter of next year, starting with the delivery of the first electric bus, the Electric City Town, which will be launched in the fourth quarter of this year.
"Although Chinese-made electric buses are currently available in Japan, we chose Hyundai's electric buses because of their high quality and reliability," said Yoshitaro Iwasaki, President of Iwasaki Group, in his remarks at the signing ceremony, "and we plan to replace all of our vehicles in Yakushima with EVs in the future." The Iwasaki Group will operate the E-City Town, which it will purchase from Hyundai, as a route bus in Yakushima.
What is particularly noteworthy about the signing of the letter of intent is that Yakushima, which was declared a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 1993, was pre-selected as the location for Hyundai's first electric bus in Japan, the Electric City Town.
Yakushima is a 504-square-kilometre island (about a quarter of the size of Jeju Island) located at the southwestern tip of the Japanese archipelago, with mountains over 1000 metres above sea level and a climate that is both subtropical and boreal, resulting in a diverse plant ecosystem and a unique natural environment, including cedar forests and wetlands that are thousands of years old.
Yakushima is known as the "Alps on the Sea" for its stunning natural scenery and is one of the world's leading eco-tourism destinations, so it's fitting that Hyundai chose it as the location for its first electric bus fleet in Japan.
Hyundai will debut the E-City Town in Japan, a 9-metre-long, medium-sized, low-floor electric bus specially developed for local conditions, with a 145-kilowatt-hour battery and a high-efficiency motor with a peak output of 160 kilowatts.
This will enable a maximum range of more than 220 kilometres (in Japan) per charge, and the charging system will be CHAdeMO, which is tailored to local conditions in Japan to improve access to charging infrastructure and enable rapid charging of up to 180 kilowatts (based on two-prong charging).
The Electric City Town also comes standard with a range of high-tech safety features, including Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC), which controls the brake pressure and power of the wheels to improve driving stability; Rear Park Distance Warning; and Safe Exit Warning, which uses ultrasonic sensors to detect and warn passengers of approaching objects or obstacles in their blind spots when entering or exiting the vehicle.
In May, the E-City Town test vehicle successfully conducted driving tests on two of the toughest courses on Yakushima's local bus routes, receiving positive feedback from the Iwasaki Group and local operators about its excellent performance.
To minimise downtime due to maintenance or repairs, Hyundai will also have an inventory management system that can deliver parts for the 95% and above within two days. Hyundai is also working with local insurance companies to provide the highest level of after-sales service (AS) in the bus industry, including a plan to support part of the replacement cost for a certain period of time for parts that are prone to damage, such as windshields, side mirrors and tyres.
Hyundai has been presenting only 100% electric models in the local passenger car market, including the NEXO hydrogen electric vehicle, Kona Electric, and the high-performance electric vehicle IONIQ 5 N. Hyundai plans to lead the transition to electrification in the Japanese automotive market by introducing a new compact electric vehicle model next year to appeal to a wide range of customers. In addition, following the launch of Electric City Town, we will consider introducing additional commercial EV models in consideration of the electric vehicle market in Japan.
"It is even more meaningful to supply Hyundai's first electric bus in Japan, the E-City Town, to Yakushima, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site," said a Hyundai Motor official. "By introducing electric commercial vehicles after passenger cars, we will further solidify our position as a leading brand in electrification, and will continue to introduce electric vehicles to provide differentiated 'EV Life' value to local customers while contributing to Japan's carbon emission reduction policy."
Article roadtesting editorial (dhseo1208@gmail.com)
Photo Hyundai Motor Company