Isuzu Motors Limited, Hino Motors Limited, and Toyota Motor Corporation announced that all three companies will strengthen their efforts to electrify buses towards carbon neutrality by 2050.
The trio pledges to expand their respective lineups to increase customer options and reduce vehicle costs in addition to making sustainable electric vehicles and popularizing them to the public. The three brands won’t be alone in this endeavor as they are also partnering up with Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Co., Limited which also works to solve social issues through the spread of CASE technologies.
Both brands have been in collaboration since 2002, and both have been responding to the requirements of bus operators in Japan. Fast forward 20 years later, and the world is calling for sustainable and eco-friendly transportation, and the duo will be there to answer the call.
As for the BEV Flat-Floor Bus, the model will be developed by Isuzu, adopting the BEV powertrain from the brand. The model will have zero emissions as a result and the brand’s platform serves as a perfect solution for a decarbonized society by offering the freedom of layout thanks to the flat floor area, and an emphasis on safety for its passengers.
Furthermore, the three brands will be working together in a study for the planning and development of next-generation FCEV route buses. These buses will combine the BEV platform and Toyota’s fuel cell system found in the Mirai and its SORA fuel cell buses. The companies will share the same components between the BEVs and the FCEVs to reduce costs. With Toyota being one of the leaders in fuel cell technology, the trio aims to provide longer-life and higher-added-value electric vehicles.
All this will hopefully result in a zero-emissions future, where Toyota, Isuzu, and Hino will contribute to the realization of a hydrogen-based society in Japan.
