Shanghai, June 22 (Gasgoo.com) China's bus-maker Chengdu Bus Company and U.S. Fallbrook Technologies Inc. have inked a deal to put Fallbrook's accessory drive technology into buses manufactured by Chengdu Bus for use in the Chinese market, xconomy.com reported yesterday.
"China is searching for ways to reduce its oil consumption and we believe the NuVinci CVAD (Continuously Variable Accessory Drive) can make a real difference in the public transportation sector," said Bill Klehm, Fallbrook's chairman and CEO.
An accessory drive helps the alternator, air conditioning compressor, water pump, and other accessories run more efficiently. While accessories are powered by the engine, the CVAD enables each drive to optimize its own operating speed, regardless of what the engine is doing.
Klehm calls the memorandum of understanding that Fallbrook has signed with Chengdu Bus "a major validation" of his company's technology and its "potential to deliver fuel efficiencies for vehicle manufacturers."
Chengdu Bus makes 90 models of public transport vehicles for China's highway market, including urban buses, highway buses, tourist buses, gasoline-powered cars, and specialized buses.
The Chinese company produces about 5,000 new buses a year, but the San Diego company has not revealed yet how many of those will be equipped with its CVADs.
