New Vision Electric Bus Features Extended Range, Faster Battery Charging, and Increased Seating Capacity
MACON, Ga., July 11, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blue Bird Corporation (Nasdaq: BLBD), the leader in electric and low-emission school buses, will premiere its next-generation Vision electric school bus at STN Expo West, a leading student transportation industry and technology event in North America. The state-of-the-art, zero-emission vehicle will be on display for the first time from July 14-19, 2023, at booth 317 inside the Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nev.
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Blue Bird premiers its next-generation Vision electric school bus at STN Expo West. The state-of-the-art electric vehicle features an extended range, faster battery charging capabilities, and an increased seating capacity. Blue Bird’s new Type C school bus will be on display from July 14-19, 2023, in Reno, Nev. (Photo: Business Wire)
The Vision vehicle launch represents a continued partnership between Blue Bird and Accelera by Cummins, Cummins' zero-emissions technology business segment. This new Type C electric school bus features a proven powertrain platform and a next-generation battery with a capacity of 196kWh, a more than 25 percent capacity increase compared to today’s model bus. The battery enables a vehicle range of up to 130 miles on a single charge. The next-generation battery takes merely three hours to fully recharge since it supports a fast-charging rate of 80kW.
In addition, Blue Bird improved the warranty on the upgraded system to allow for 360 MWh of energy throughput, more than double the amount compared to the standard battery offering. This will benefit Blue Bird customers who utilize the batteries' revenue-generating vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities. V2G technology allows EV fleet operators to sell excess energy stored in school bus batteries back to electric power companies at a profit.