UK / Brazil / Argentina – On show at the low carbon vehicle event held by Cenex at the Millbrook Research & Testing Ground in Millbrook, UK, last month, was a fully electric low entry Agrale chassis with Toda bus body. The electric bus featured an electric drivetrain and associated electrically powered auxiliary systems, supplied by a consortium made up of five UK companies that came together for this project under the name CELEB (Cost effective ELEctric Bus) with EquipMake Ltd of Norwich, a 20 year old supplier of electric motors, power-electronics as well as complete EV drivetrains, being the lead company.

Working with chassis partner, Agrale Argentina of Mercedes, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina (the Argentine subsidiary of Brazil’s commercial and agricultural vehicle maker, Agrale SA of Caxias do Sul, RS), the CELEB consortium says its goal was to produce a low cost fully integrated electric chassis that would enable bus and coach builders to produce electric buses without the necessary electric vehicle know how.