Toshiba to Start Electric Bus Demonstration Test in Kawasaki in 2025

Toshiba announced today that it will start a demonstration test of electric buses in Kawasaki City from November 2025 in cooperation with Kawasaki Tsurumi Portside Bus, etc. in Japan.

The electric bus is equipped with Toshiba batteries and supports fast charging, which can be fully charged in about 10 minutes.

A power supply pantograph will be installed at the bus stop and charged from the top of the vehicle. The use of pantograph-type electric buses is continuously expanding, and currently it is mainly used in Europe. This will be the first test of such products on public roads in Japan.

Toshiba announced that vehicles powered by Toshiba lithium-ion batteries can travel about 25 miles on a single charge. At the press conference held by the company on the same day, Satoshi Takaoka, the head of the company's battery department, said: We can take advantage of the fast charging and long life characteristics of the battery and hope to continue to expand its use in electric buses.

The commercial vehicle developer Drive ElectroTechnology will convert the diesel version of the Kawasaki Tsurumi Portside Bus into an electric bus. From 2026, in addition to the sales office, the company also plans to increase the number of locations where chargers are installed in Kawasaki City.