Recently, Saudi Arabia's first electric city bus was officially put into operation in Jeddah. The bus route connects Khalidiyah and Balad through Prince Faisal Street, and crosses Medina Road to facilitate green travel of residents near Khalidiyah, Rowdah, Andalus, Ruwais and Baghdadiyah. It has also put an end to the long “dominance” of ICE vehicles in the local public transport. And this e-bus comes from Yutong Bus.

According to the local source, Yutong battery electric buses can travel 300 kilometers on a charge, as one of the most energy-saving buses nowadays. Compared with other e-buses, Yutong E11 pro (ZK6118BEVG) consumes 10% less energy than competitors on average. Its local operation is intended to meet the need of public transport development, coinciding with the recent “Vision 2030” plan of Saudi Arabia.

As a country mostly with tropical desert climate, Saudi Arabia has a maximum temperature up to over 50°C, which poses huge challenges to the operation of battery electric buses. Adapted to the local heat and dry environment, Yutong E11 pro (ZK6118BEVG) is fitted with an independent liquid cooling system for the battery and an electric A/C with high cooling capacity, sufficient to increase the vehicular safety and provide a cool and comfortable experience to the driver and rider. In addition, the motor is equipped with a unique mud guard to prevent foreign matters from being blown into the motor to cause failure; the special anti-collision beam structure of the battery pack is added to ensure safe and smooth operation.

The “Vision 2030” proposed by Saudi Arabia in 2016 is designed to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuel resources and persify economic development, while the vigorous development of NEV is an important goal of the Vision. Before the official operation of the electric city bus, a Yutong battery electric bus has been put into trial on campus in Saudi KAUST University (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), bringing high-quality green commuting services to both teachers and students.

Against the backdrop of global energy transition, Gulf countries have introduced transition plans to accelerate industrialization and economic persification. The Gulf countries represented by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar have incorporated energy transition into their national development strategies, causing rippling effect on the surrounding Middle East countries. Saudi Arabia plans to uplift the share of renewable energy in the energy consumption structure to 50% by 2030; The UAE plans to increase the share of new energy to 50% by 2050.

During the 2022 Qatari international sports event, the host country of Qatar introduced 888 Yutong battery electric buses for the first time, winning the recognition of fans across the world. JAN RICHARD K DEMAN, Director of Busworld Academy, spoke highly of the outstanding performance of Yutong pure electric buses during the tournament, and praised Yutong Bus as “NEV Pioneer” on behalf of Busworld. The demo operation of Yutong battery electric buses in the public transport of Qatar not only contributes to the persification of the country’s energy and economic structure, but also blazes a trail for the energy transition across the Gulf region.

Up to now, Yutong has sold more than 170,000 NEVs worldwide, covering more than 30 countries and regions such as Australia, Chile, Denmark, France and the United Kingdom. It is known that as the Saudi Arabia's energy transition continues in depth, Yutong will also engage in closer cooperation with the country, which means that Saudi Arabia, after Qatar, is expected to become the next “NEV Pioneer” in the Gulf region.