Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) has recently announced its plan to test the Hino Poncho Z EV electric buses in Langkawi. To be handled by its subsidiary MARA Liner, the trial is set to start this coming September and will be involving two test units that have since made their way to Malaysia.
According to the initial specs that were announced way back in June 2021, the Poncho Z EV is equipped with a 161kW motor and runs on a lithium-ion battery that has a capacity of 105kWh although its range was not revealed by the company. Capable of carrying up to 32 passengers, the minibus also comes with 11 seats.
It also features a CHAdeMO charging port which does not come as a surprise given that Hino is a Japanese company and CHAdeMO is the de facto standard for DC chargers in Japan. However, the actual specs of the Poncho Z EV buses for the trial in Langkawi were not revealed by either MARA or Hino Motors.
While the electric version might be new to Malaysia, Rapid Bus has been using the diesel variant in Penang and Klang Valley since a few years ago including for the free shuttle bus service to the Parliament. The test in Langkawi that will take place over a period of two years has the intention to test Poncho Z EV’s ability to adapt to the weather and road conditions in Malaysia.
Langkawi seems like a perfect test bed for the Poncho Z EV as MARA Liner has actually prepared the island for electric buses since last year. With the help of TNB, the company has already installed 120kW DC fast chargers at its depot in Langkawi complete with four charging bays.
Interestingly enough, these chargers are currently the only DC fast chargers on the island. MARA has previously said that it has plans to make these chargers available to the public but since they have not yet been listed on PlugShare, we assumed that the plan has not yet been materialized.
Through a collaboration with SKSbus Group, MARA Liner is currently operating a trial run for the Kuah to Padang Matsirat route. Based on the images from MARA’s Facebook page, the bus that is being used for the route is likely a repurposed SKSbus LEC-300EV from DBKL’s GoKL City Bus fleet.
