In Japan, environmentally-friendly vehicles, such as HV, PHV, EV, and FCV, have been researched and developed as solutions to the energy and environmental problems, but none of these vehicles have been fully satisfactory in all respects, such as environmental performance, vehicle performance, and adaptability to existing infrastructure.
Hino Motors, Ltd. launched a hybrid bus in 1992 as a pioneer in hybrid commercial vehicles and has sold more than 10,000 hybrid buses and trucks. An electric-powered minibus designed under the concept of short travel distance and high charging frequency was developed to make use of Hino’s abundant experience in the development of HV and the past market results it has achieved. Since 2012, these buses have operated in three areas as community buses. The capacity of the lithium-ion battery (LIB) was able to be minimized through the development of an energy management strategy that took into consideration the specific characteristics of the vehicle’s operation.
This paper describes the technological development contents of an electric powertrain to realize the commercialization of zero emissions commercial vehicles that would be suitable for a use and utilize the existing infrastructure.