XL Fleet to electrify wheelchair-accessible ARBOC buses with hybrid system
By Bradley Osborne - 2nd August 2021
USA / Canada – Winnipeg-based bus and coach manufacturer, NFI Group Inc, has announced a partnership between its US-based subsidiary, ARBOC Specialty Vehicles LLC of Middlebury, Indiana, and XL Fleet Corp, a Boston-based provider of vehicle electrification solutions, to electrify ARBOC’s line of wheelchair-accessible buses with a hybrid propulsion system.
So far this year, ARBOC states it has already sold 39 of its vehicles with the XL Hybrid electric propulsion system fitted, and it is now planning to install the system in its 24-foot and 27-foot ARBOC Freedom low-floor bus models, which are built on either the Ford or GM chassis cowls. The XL propulsion system works in parallel to the OEM vehicle drivetrain, assisting in both deceleration and acceleration. The idea is to improve the vehicle’s fuel economy and to reduce its emissions without the need for a costly charging infrastructure.
