Edison Motors Expands Domestic and International Markets with Unrivaled Electric Bus Technology... Sales 'Up'

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Edison Motors, an electric bus specialist company affiliated with Semisysco, announced on the 18th that its SMART 110 electric bus, with significantly improved quality and performance, is expanding its market both domestically and internationally.

SMART 110 was launched in July. It is the successor model to the New e-FIBIRD, the best-selling 11-meter large low-floor electric bus model in Korea. The product has been greatly improved to realize field quality and customer satisfaction.

The driver's visibility and operability have been enhanced. The front door was changed to a folding door, expanding the use of domestically produced parts. The inner cover and the opening angle of the side door were increased to facilitate vehicle maintenance.

To expand the electric bus market, Edison Motors released a direct-seat electric bus developed for intercity buses with 33 passenger seats, equipped with an Autonomous Emergency Braking System (AEBS) and Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), available for both non-commercial (private) and commercial use. The battery is equipped with LG Energy Solution NCM Cell 348kWh, achieving an Environment Ministry certified single-charge driving range of 475km (DOD 92%, over 500km at DOD 100%).

Thanks to new vehicle development, Edison Motors’ order volume in the first half of the year reached 177 billion KRW, double last year’s sales of 89.8 billion KRW. Given the transportation industry’s tendency to concentrate orders in the second half, sales of 250 billion KRW are expected this year.

Besides electric buses, Edison Motors is preparing for electric trucks, autonomous electric buses, electric yachts, and electric ship businesses. The electric truck SMART T1, capable of driving up to 130km on a single charge, is gaining inquiries from the delivery industry.

In the autonomous cooperative driving platform sector of the Pangyo 2nd Techno Valley Smart Industrial Complex project ordered by the Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Development Corporation, Edison Motors is developing two large autonomous cooperative driving electric buses in collaboration with KT for trial operation starting this November.

Edison Motors is also participating in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s national project for real-time demand-responsive autonomous public transportation mobility service technology development. Through this, Edison Motors is laying the foundation for internalizing autonomous driving technology and plans to showcase autonomous driving technologies across various mobility fields in the future.

Meanwhile, Edison Motors resolved to actively expand new businesses at the Semisysco extraordinary shareholders’ meeting held on the 23rd at Semisysco’s Suwon headquarters. The meeting added business purposes including autonomous driving solution and platform development, electric ships, and secondary battery development and manufacturing. Additionally, to promote full-scale cooperation in the electric vehicle business between Semisysco and Edison Motors, Edison Motors appointed CEO Kang Young-kwon and automotive industry experts Han Cheon-su, Lee Jeong-ik, and Yoon Yong-jin as new directors.

An Edison Motors official said, "Recently, export inquiries have been increasing from several overseas countries, especially from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Asian countries. We are discussing technology export and local factory establishment with a major Kyrgyzstan company. We expect sales to double again next year."

CEO Kang Young-kwon of Edison Motors emphasized, “Just as Edison Motors has led the development and distribution of eco-friendly vehicles for 20 years, we will open an innovative future automotive era beyond the existing mobility paradigm.”