In 2020, NEFAZ, a subsidiary of KAMAZ, made 202 electric buses. In 2021, it plans to double the production of this innovative transport.
Today, in Moscow has 400 working KAMAZ electric buses, half of which were supplied during 2020. “We can make machine, which became tech leader on domestic market. We could enter Moscow passenger transport market. It changes the scale of the business and our respect to own product,” says KAMAZ general director Sergey Kogogin.
In regions where price is a key factor, the complicated machines are not so much in demand. Although electric buses are more expensive, they have an advantage on technical specifications. Nefaz has completed an annual business plan calling for production of 1,560 vehicles made at a profit. The plant makes eight buses per day, but next year they plan to double this volume.
Also, KAMAZ has a program calling for further development of a 9-meter bus; an 18-meter vehicle is assembled and being tested now. It’s expected that this business will bring 30 Bln rubles in sales. (about 0.45 billion US$)
On top of this, reconstruction of a Sokolniki railcar repair plant is about to be finished. This plant is going to be an assembly site for electric buses in Moscow. It’s planned to start working this March, with production capacity of 450 buses per year.
PSR Analysis: It appears, NEFAZ made 1,560 electric buses in 2020, and shipped 202 of them to Moscow.
Electric buses for large cities is a centralized, State-sponsored project. The public transport operators with large fleets have sufficient recourses for service and battery charge, and the fleet is concentrated in a limited area. So, the project has a good chance for success even with an unfavorable climate. PSR
Maxim Sakov is Market Consultant – Russia Operations, for Power Systems Research.
