ATP Trucks Automobile to launch the first Romanian electric bus, UpCity

By Emea Riga
The Romanian company producing road and passenger vehicles, ATP Trucks Automobile, announces that it will build the first Romanian electric bus, UpCity, whose prototype would be presented at the beginning of May. The vehicle has 83 seats, 25 (+1) on seats, low floor, 3 doors and a range of 200 km, which can be extended up to 360 kilometers.
”ATP Trucks Automobile, the Romanian company producing road transport vehicles and people, announces the entry on a new market segment with products in the development and production plan: electric buses. ATP Bus is the new product, and its trade name is UpCity. We are currently working on a prototype that will be presented in final form in early May. The prototype is in the process of approval at the European level “, the company announces.
The announcement about the realization of the new prototype of the Upcity electric bus comes shortly after the launch on the Romanian market, in August 2019, by ATP Trucks of the Truston truck, produced in Baia Mare, approved in two variants: dump truck and concrete mixer. 48 trucks have already been sold.
“The current context generated by problematic infrastructure in cities, aging, polluting and expensive bus parks, with a direct impact on local budgets, the health crisis that has shown us that public transport must be safe, economical and hygienic, together with the need to set up as quickly as possible what a new urban road network adapted to Smart cities in the 21st century looks like built and developed, led to the decision of this bold new project for ATP Group. It is a purely Romanian and absolutely necessary approach. UpCity is an innovative product, which does not depend on the existing route infrastructure and which will keep up with technology “, said Mircea Cirţ, President of ATP Group.
The first information available about the new electric bus is related to its transport capacity: 83 seats, 25 (+1) seats, low floor, 3 doors and a range of 200 km, which can be extended up to 360 kilometers. The components are purchased from established suppliers, and the major challenge in this project was choosing the battery. Finally, we went to the manufacturer CATL, the EV battery giant.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) is the manufacturer and supplier of batteries for the most prestigious car brands – passenger vehicles, but also commercial vehicles. CATL comes with innovation, its customers can further translate it into achievements anchored to current requirements in the mobility segment.
The structure of the electric bus is designed to be able to extend its autonomy up to 360 km. It will have 83 seats, but the manufacturer states that the series product can be optionally configured up to 90 seats, so as to ensure correct calibration of routes and have 100% load.