Electric buses will be installed on Russian bridges

The Murom Machine-Building Plant, with the help of funds from the Federal Investment Fund, will launch the production of one of the key components of electric buses, which are purchased primarily by Moscow. We are talking about electric portal bridges – they were supplied by the German ZF, but after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, manufacturers switched to suppliers from China. So far, the project from Murom has not concluded contracts with either GAZ or KamAZ, which produce electric buses for Moscow, or with Volgabas. KamAZ even says that they themselves provided the developments to the plant. But they claim that we are talking about their own bridge, including electric motors and inverters. The start of production is scheduled for the end of 2024.

The Federal Investment Fund issued a preferential loan of 1.75 billion rubles. to create the production of components for the Murom Machine-Building Plant. The total budget of the project is 2.2 billion rubles, it is planned to create the production of electric portal bridges, steering racks and tractor transmissions. IDF Director Roman Petrutsa noted that this is the fund’s 1,500th project and, under the Automotive Components program launched in 2022, the IDF has “already financed dozens of projects totaling over 55 billion rubles.”

Electric portal bridges are an important component for electric buses and trolleybuses. Dmitry Babansky from SBS notes that the portal electric bridge converts electrical energy into mechanical energy and transmits torque to the wheels. It includes, among other things, an electric motor, inverters, and a bearing assembly; this is a rather complex component.

The FRP reported that Murommashzavod is localizing bridges for KamAZ and Volgabas electric buses. The production volume will be more than 200 bridges per year with a subsequent increase in production, they note. Murommashzavod already produces a number of auto components, including drive reducers and gears for KamAZ trucks, as follows from these sites selling spare parts.

KamAZ is one of the suppliers of electric buses to Moscow, where the largest fleet of electric buses among European cities is assembled. In total, there are more than 1.25 thousand electric buses from KamAZ and the GAZ group on city routes. By the end of 2024, KamAZ and GAZ will supply another 1.2 thousand electric buses, Moscow authorities reported.

Before the crisis and sanctions restrictions, electric buses were equipped with portal bridges from the German ZF. As Autoreview wrote, then axles of the Chinese brand HanDe began to be installed in the KamAZ electric bus. However, KamAZ, with the involvement of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, has developed its own electric portal bridge for electric buses. As the automaker told Kommersant, it was this that KamAZ handed over “for the production of a pilot industrial batch in Murom.” “After its release and testing, our further actions will be clear,” KamAZ clarified, noting that they do not know what is meant by the statement about the supply of such bridges to Volgabas.

The Bakulin Motors Group company (Volgabas brand) told Kommersant that they are interested in cooperation with the Murom Machine-Building Plant. The company explained that today “technical parameters have been agreed upon and prototypes of electric portal bridges for electric bus prototypes have been ordered,” adding that they “have not yet been tested.”

In general, Volgabas vehicles differ from KamAZ vehicles (NefAZ) and the GAZ group (LiAZ), since the latter two were created to meet the unified requirements of the Moscow contract and have been supplied to the city fleet since 2018. LiaZ noted that they plan to use Russian-made electric portal bridges, and “they will decide on the supplier after testing the bridge as part of the electric bus.”

Electric portal bridges are a project of Murommashzavod using KamAZ developments, plant general director Sergei Baranov told Kommersant. In particular, the company will master the production of electric motors of its own design, inverters, and gears, he noted. The launch of production, according to Mr. Baranov, is planned for the end of 2024: “Currently no contracts have been concluded, deliveries are expected to the entire market, and KamAZ, as its leader, is, of course, among the priority customers.” By organizing production in the Russian Federation of this key component with the attraction of funds from the Federal Investment Fund, it is expected to minimize the increase in cost or even reduce the cost of the component relative to imports.

Dmitry Babansky notes that the prospects of the project depend on the economics of production and the final cost of the product, since the positive effect of a short logistics lead can be offset by a low production volume.

Olga Nikitina