By Alzira Rodrigues | 5/31/23 | Translated by Jorge Meditsch
The communication office of the Presidence has confirmed the presence of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the inauguration of the new Eletra’s electric bus plant in São Bernardo do Campo, SP. The event will happen next Wednesday, June 2, at 11:30 AM. The plant is located in the same neighborhood as the Mercedes-Benz’s facilities.
With 27 thousand square meter, the new installation can produce initially 1.8 thousand buses a year (150/month). The volume can be expanded by 50% to 2.7 thousand units/year, if demanded. The Eletra lineup includes five new e-Bus models and the e-Troll (see the list bellow), designed to meet the topographic and urban characteristic of all Brazilian cities.
They are all fully made in Brazil, including the batteries, with 100% national technology, develped in partnership with local companies. The plant to be inaugurated this week has already start the pre-series production last year and the first models are already circulating in some state capitals, such as São Paulo, Salvador, Vitória and Curitiba.
Milena Romano, Eletra’s president, says the company is ready to meet the demand for electrification of public transportation fleets in any city in Brazil or abroad: “Our aim is to position us in the market as the best and more versatile electric bus manufacture in Latin America”.
Eletra’s history
Born in São Bernardo, in 1999, Eletra is a 100% Brazilian company, pioneering in electric drive technology for public and cargo transportation. It began operatins in one of Auto Viação ABC’s (a company from the same group) garage and was later transferred to the Montanhão neighborhood, in the same city.
Its first electric hybrid bus whith 100% national technology – an articulated 18 mter-long model – left the assembly line at the end of the 1990s.
Eletra exposed at the Electric Mobility Day event last Saturday, 5/27, two new electric buses 12m100 and 15 m-long, fully made in Brazil with electric drive technology and electrification e-Bus Eletra, Caio eMillenium body, and WEG electric motor, inverter and batteries – all Brazilian companies – and Mercedes-Benz chassis.
They were used by the public to go from Paulista Avenue to Pacaembu Stadium, place of the event. The models will be part of São Paulo’ electric fleet, part of the plan announced by Mayor Ricardo Nunes to reach 2.6 thousand electrified vehicles by the end of 2024.
New Eletra models:
• e-Bus 10m – Midi (Mercedes-Benz chassis, Caio body and WEG motors and batteries).
• e-Bus 12.1m – Basic (Mercedes-Benz chassis, Caio body and WEG motors and batteries).• e-Bus 12.8m – Padron (Mercedes-Benz chassis, Caio body and WEG motors and batteries).• e-Bus 15m – (Mercedes-Benz chassis, Caio body and WEG motors and batteries).• e-Bus 21.5m – Articulated (Mercedes-Benz chassis, Caio body and WEG motors and batteries).
• e-Trol – electric bus for dedicated traffic lanes and BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) systems with catenary power lines for recharge on the move and high autonomy range without contact with the wires.
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