SYNC R&D Sdn Bhd’s pioneering work in successfully building Malaysia’s first prototype electric bus is garnering quite a bit of national and international attention.
For a start, the company has been in positive preliminary communication with various local bus transport companies nationwide which have already or are in the midst of adopting the use of electric buses.
They include bus transport giant like RapidKL in the Klang Valley, Johor Corp’s Syarikat Pengangkutan Maju Bhd, which is looking out for the Iskandar region in Johor, and Panorama in Malacca.
Sync R&D chief executive officer Azlan Merican said that he also received interest from Kelantan.
He said a team from Sony recently visited the company to look into Sync R&D’s impressive prototype unit, called Electric Bus Innovation Malaysia (EBIM).
The two established informal links for the Japanese giant to look into the battery requirements of electric buses.
“People are starting to be aware of us,” said Azlan, adding that news reports and the company’s website are receiving attention, resulting in enquiries from various parties.
The company has spent RM30 million in the electric bus project and Azlan has been steadfast in facing hurdles, successfully building up his team of five pioneering engineers to a team of 60 people at the company today.
The prototype unit measures 12 metres, and carries 1,198 battery cells that give the vehicle the capacity to travel 220 kilometres with a passenger load capacity of 66 people.
The company designed the composite monocoque body in-house and integrated this with electronics and components, chassis from Germany, batteries from China and other components into the successful prototype.
The batteries take three-and-a-half hours to charge and have a lifespan of six-and-a-half years, while the bus carries a lifespan of 12 years.
The company is working closely with the regulatory authorities and has adopted UNECE Regulation, as provided by the Automotive Engineering Division of the Road Transport Department of Malaysia for Vehicle Type Approval (VTA) and TUV certifications for EBIM.
Currently, Sync R&D is building the second EBIM unit, which Azlan says is the certification unit, to be completed by September this year and obtain the VTA.
This will be followed by the production of five beta units for bus operators to use.
He expects commercialisation of the electric buses to start in the second half of next year.
Sync R&D will start commercial production of 50 units of these electric buses at the initial stage, before ramping up production to 100 units per year.
He foresees a big market for electric buses in Malaysia.
“Under the NKEA, Malaysia has set a target of having 2,000 electric buses in service by 2020,” he said.
Sync R&D chief operating officer Nurulhanom Laham said electric buses will save companies 60 per cent in operational costs.
“Many bus operators are having problems with their diesel-engine buses, especially with the high maintenance costs for diesel vehicles.
“As a result, we can see the demand for electric buses that have lower maintenance costs. They can be easily charged at the depots at night,” said Nurulhanom.
Azlan said electronic buses do not need a big workshop, as the bulk of it is made up of electronics, and diagnostic equipment can trouble shoot problems easily.
“We are selling the whole ecosystem in terms of after-sales service,” he said, adding that the problem with the electric buses in the market is the lack of after-sales service.
Azlan and Nurulhanom said Malaysia imports its electric buses from China.
China is the only country in Asia commercialising electric buses at the moment and Azlan hopes to put Malaysia’s name up there alongside China in this segment.
The engineering solutions provider hopes to market its electric buses at RM1.4 million each once they hit the market next year.
Currently, the electric buses from China cost between RM1.5 million and RM1.6 million each.
As the company moves towards the commercialisation of EBIM, Azlan says he has received some enquiries from investors interested in the company.
He said that the company is interested in investors who believe in technology and forward thinking.