The Etalon Corporation vehicle manufacturer has released a prototype of the city electric bus "Malva Electro A08611" which has now passed all tests and is being prepared for certification, President of Etalon Corporation Volodymyr Butko said.

"We want to be in the European Union, and electric buses are an environmental requirement, so we need to move with them, make technological changes in production, in design. This is our first model of an electric bus and we believe that it will be in demand," Butko said during a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine agency on Thursday.

He also said that although currently tenders for electric buses are held mainly for 12-meter vehicles, in his opinion, they will not be as effective as 9.5 and 10-meter ones. "And this is supported by those who started producing electric buses before us," Butko said.

According to the presentation of the electric bus, the electric bus was created on the basis of the Malva city diesel bus, which debuted last year, together with the Informservis company (Moldova), which supplies high-voltage traction equipment. The electric bus has a range of up to 200 kilometres.

The main difference from the basic model of the bus is the superstructure on the roof of the electric bus, where the batteries are located.

The electric bus is designed for 24 seats (plus two folding) and 29 standing places, there is also space for a wheelchair.

External lighting equipment is LED, manufactured by European companies. It is also possible to install a liquid heater for the passenger compartment, which runs on Euro 6 diesel fuel.

"This solution allows for better adaptation to winter operating conditions in Ukraine and provides a longer range on a single charge," the video presentation says.

External features include doors for connecting a charger, which is typical for all electric buses.

"The characteristics of the new electric bus generally correspond to the characteristics of foreign analogues, and their further improvement will be due to the use of the latest batteries and traction drives, as well as some traditional electric bus units and components," the presentation said.

Speaking about the price of the electric bus, Butko said it is approximately three times higher than the cost of a diesel bus.

"The price of a diesel bus is about EUR 100,000 to EUR 110,000 (excluding VAT), and an electric bus will be plus or minus three times more expensive. But if we compare it with European analogues, then, for example, the Polish Solaris or the Turkish Otocar with almost the same functionality and length will cost EUR 530 to EUR 550 (excluding VAT). That is, we understand that electric transport is not a cheap story," the president of the corporation said.

He also cited the prices of trolleybuses for comparison: if the corporation sells regular 12-meter ones for EUR 300,000, with autonomous running for EUR 400,000, then the Czech Republic sells Skoda for more than EUR 700,000 (all – without VAT).

"That is, we have, let's say, a gap due to, probably, the cost of electricity, which is lower than in Europe, wages... And also, probably, we do not have the profit margin that they include in their production and sales. For us it is 10%, and that is still good," Butko said.

The Etalon Corporation includes 12 enterprises, including Chernihiv Automobile Plant which produces buses of various classes, and trolleybuses. The main areas are the production of motor vehicles, mechanical engineering, warehouse logistics.