The production line of the first electric bus, which uses 70% of domestic components and is totally designed and produced by Iranian experts, has come on stream.
The bus, produced by Shetab Manufacturing Company, is the first electric vehicle to be manufactured in Iran, Donyaye Khodro reported.
“The goal of Shetab company is to produce public and commercial electric vehicles. The first product of this company was unveiled during April 21-May 21 [the second month of the current Iranian year], which is a 12-meter bus equipped with an all-electric drive and a lithium battery,” Kambiz Moradi, the CEO of Parsan Electric Bus Manufacturing Company (Shetab), said.
The official noted that the bus can travel 250 kilometers with each charge and if it is connected to a fast pantograph or even a normal 600-kilowatt charger, it will be fully charged in half an hour. Usually, 300-kW chargers are used for these vehicles, which take an hour for a full charge.
Zima is the first Iranian electric bus produced by Parsan Electric Bus Manufacturing Company (Shetab), in cooperation with MAPNA Group and Oghab Afshan Industrial and Manufacturing Company.
“If we use the flash or super-fast charger on the route, as part of the charge received at each station, there will be no need for nightly charges. The propulsion of this product is an axle system equipped with motors close to the wheels with about 318 kWh of battery,” he added.
According to Moradi, the electric propulsion is produced by MAPNA Group and the body and trim are manufactured by Oghab Afshan Industrial and Manufacturing Company, while Shetab performs the final assembly and offers after-sales services.
Named Zima, which means ‘Earth’ in Persian, the bus pursues the motto of ‘clean Earth, clean air’, he added.
Electric vehicles are considered zero emission and zero pollution in terms of both air and noise.
New Orders and Production Cost
A total of four buses have been produced so far, as the commercialization process is complete and mass production begins.
The Shetab CEO stated that Mashhad Municipality and the company have signed a contract, adding that this city is the first customer of this vehicle and the company is in the process of obtaining the standards.
The main reason behind the low number of orders placed for these vehicles is their high price.
Lack of resources has led officials to renovate buses or buy diesel vehicles, instead of purchasing more expensive electric buses.