1st HINO HYBRID BUS In MALAYSIA For MEDINI, ISKANDAR PUTERI
Commercial Vehicles

1st HINO HYBRID BUS In MALAYSIA For MEDINI, ISKANDAR PUTERI

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Mitsui & Co., Ltd (‘Mitsui’), Medini Iskandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd (‘MIM’), HINO Motor Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (‘HINO’) and Handal Indah Sdn Bhd (‘Handal Indah’) to bring to Medini City the first hybrid bus in Malaysia.

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The culmination of efforts between the four parties was made possible when Mitsui and MIM invited HINO to conduct its trial run through Medini City where the bus will be operated by Handal Indah. The trial run of the hybrid bus will go on for five months starting early July 2017. There will be six routes for the trial run, one of it is the Iskandar Puteri route that allows commuters to travel from Puteri Harbour Ferry Terminal to Larkin Sentral via Medini.

The MOU is signed at a perfect time as it is aligned with Iskandar Malaysia’s Low Carbon Society Blueprint, where it aims to reduce carbon intensity in Iskandar Malaysia by 58 per cent by 2025.  The introduction of hybrid bus could potentially be part of a future modern fleet of public transportation in Iskandar Malaysia, where they can offer economical and clean public transport system.

“A big part of Iskandar Malaysia’s journey towards becoming a Strong and Sustainable Metropolis of International Standing focuses on green environment and smart city living. We embrace ideas and initiatives that contribute towards these two agendas. As such, the possibility of having hybrid busses transporting people across the region is something very exciting and inspiring,” Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, Chief Executive, Iskandar Regional Development Authority.

Medini City, the Central Business District of Iskandar Puteri, is a catalytic development within Iskandar Malaysia led by MIM. With its vision of becoming the Icon of Future City Living, Medini is paving its way as a smart city development. A shareholder of MIM, Mitsui brings with them a wealth of experience in smart city development in Medini. Mitsui is also collaborator of HINO for future marketing of Iskandar BRT project.

Dr James Tee, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of MIM said, “Medini City will ultimately produce a smart and sustainable community where residents, visitors and investors alike can experience a place that is uniquely liveable, connected, efficient and safe. By delivering smart solutions like the hybrid bus initiative, we look forward to seeing local bus operators including hybrid bus models in their fleet.”

Being the first bus with hybrid technology to enter Malaysia, HINO Hybrid Bus, has the potential to be one of the Energy Efficient Vehicle (“EEV”) in the future. Powered by Euro 3 engine, this hybrid bus has the advantage in improving fuel efficiency with the combination of diesel engine and battery in HINO new HV system. This feature will improve fuel saving than a conventional diesel engine city bus. Apart from that, the hybrid technology reduces CO2 emission, hence it is environmentally friendly. Designed with wider air suspension for extra riding comfort, this is a low-floor designed chassis and has flexibility for special needs and able to cater capacity of up to 75 including standing passengers. Thus, HINO Hybrid Bus will venture into a new market segment in Malaysia with a class of its own in near future.

Continuous improvisation is required to ensure the success of this project. Mr. Ken Iwamoto, Managing Director of HINO Motors Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd highlighted that this hybrid bus has its advantages for smart city project where he added on to say, “Unique aspects of commercial vehicles include their comparatively large size and loading capacity, the long distances they travel, and their wide array of uses and places where they are used. Taking into account these varying conditions, HINO Motors considers type of environmental technologies that would be suitable. By providing users with optimally equipped vehicles, we believe HINO Hybrid Bus has the advantage in providing vehicle with improved fuel-efficiency and zero carbon.”

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Ms Lim Chern Fang, Managing Director of Handal Indah Sdn Bhd for Operations and Marketing Department said, “The role of Handal Indah is to provide the most efficient, reliable and friendly bus service to the commuters. We embrace change by constantly assessing and improving the public bus service with the new technology. We are keen to move towards a smart transportation to introduce a cleaner and more fuel-efficient means of urban transportation for the commuters and benefiting the community at large.”

After the signing ceremony, participants get a glimpse of the hybrid bus.

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