Auto Expo 2018: Ashok Leyland unveils electric bus with swappable batteries

The new technology facilitates vehicle recharge in under four minutes, as the battery is separated from the bus

Commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland unveiled its first electric bus, Circuit-S, with the swappable battery technology of Sun Mobility, at the AutoExpo 2018 on Wednesday. Sun Mobility is a joint venture led by Chetan Maini, previously founder of Reva (now Mahindra Reva), and Uday Khemka, vice chairman of SUN Group. Ashok Leyland and Sun Mobility in July 2017 had announced a collaboration on electric vehicle projects using the latter's swappable Smart Battery technology.

Designed for Indian conditions with a seating capacity of 25-35 seats, the electric bus runs on easily swappable, smart batteries that are small and one-fourth the weight