EVM has announced a package of enhancements to its Cityline Sprinter model, including the addition of an electric model to the range.
The firm says it took advantage of the lockdown in 2020 by putting its engineering team to work on several projects, revising the Cityline with improvements based on operator feedback.
Peter Flynn, Sales and Marketing Director for EVM, explained: “Success in international markets as well as domestic UK and Irish markets has moved the Cityline up the charts to become one of our best sellers. We are answering calls daily to operators around the country and indeed Europe-wide who we would have traditionally considered to be ‘big bus’ operators, but now embrace the Cityline as a real alternative for flexible and fixed service routes, particularly in rural areas.”
The engineering team at EVM, headed up by Cosimo Facecchia, focused on several points to create the latest version of the Cityline. A complete new low-floor structure was the starting point of a weight-saving exercise, yielding increased capacity to 25 passengers (18 seated and seven standees).
“Increased capacity for operators was a key milestone for us, taking the Cityline above the typical capacity for tendered routes,” said Peter. “We have a new model in the pipeline that will take capacity above 25 passengers with equal key benefits for the customer – watch this space!”
Fuel capacity has been increased to 93 litres from the original 75.
The vehicle has also undergone testing at Millbrook and been awarded a Low Emission Bus certificate. “A lot of our customers are using the Cityline on fixed services, so it made sense to complete the stringent testing by Millbrook and the ZEMO partnership to achieve the Low Emission Bus Certificate,” said Lorna Miller, representing EVM’s Accessible and Zero Emission range in Scotland and the north of England. “The increased support level for Scottish operators of 14.4p plus an additional 5p per kilometre makes our Cityline extremely attractive to operators.”
Furthermore, the Cityline now has PSVAR certification.
EVM also announced the addition of a full electric variant of the Cityline to the range, called the e-Cityline. The e-Cityline will have 150kW motors with three battery packs with a total capacity of 115kWh. The batteries will be located in the engine bay and underbody, one forward of the low-floor area and one behind the rear axle, while the drive motor will be mounted just forward of the rear axle.
EVM says the new model will produce a peak torque figure of 1250Nm, with the peak power of 150kW being reached at only 1000rpm. The expected range is 124miles, with a charging time of two and a half hours on a 50kW DC charger.
“EVM will have a complete range of electric solutions for all of its current range and indeed our forthcoming models in 2021,” said Peter Flynn. “We have a steep development curve mapped out to make zero-emission a real choice for our customers, no matter what the application.
“Our first e-Cityline lands in May and we will be pursuing the Ultra Low Emission Certificate immediately on arrival.”
For more information on range of accessible vehicles from EVM, contact Lorna, David or Peter on 0845 5205160 or visit www.evmdirect.co.uk.
