The BYD BD11 is the latest vehicle to feature a Blade battery, and boy is it a big one.
BYD has revealed the BD11 – a double decker bus with a gigantic Blade Battery. The BYD BD11 is designed specifically for London, a city known for the iconic red-painted double decker bus. The BD11 was unveiled at the London Bus Museum, which also houses the BYD K9E chassis – the first electric bus used by the London public transport network. It can transport up to 90 passenger at a time. Two 150kW wheelhub hairpin motors which operate quietly with 95.5% efficiency provide propulsion and up to 600Nm of torque.
This new bus features a Blade Battery with a massive 532kWh capacity, making it one of the most energy dense batteries of its kind. Thanks to dual-gun charging and pantograph fast charging up to 500kW, the BD11 can go from 0% state of charge to 100% state of charge in just 2 hours. Yes, that sounds like a long time, but you have to take into account how large the battery is and the fact that this isn’t a private vehicle, so there will time set aside to recharge it before it begins its route. Its official range has yet to be confirmed.
The BYD BD11 is equipped with an integrated thermal management system which optimises energy utilisation. It also has active suspension control which prioritizes driver and passenger comfort. A suite of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems is also integrated for better occupant safety. This includes an Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS), Driver Drowsiness and Attention Warning (DDAW), Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM), Forward Collision Warning (FCW), and Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA).
The BYD BD11 will enter service in the UK later this year with a provincial model to come soon. There are already more than 1,800 BYD electric buses running on UK roads, and they’ve cut the equivalent of 137 million kg of CO2 emissions. More specifications for this new BD11 bus can be found here.
