Prototype Compressed Natural Gas Bus

When we think high tech sustainable automotive transport, the natural direction of thinking heads towards Daimler Chrysler, Toyota, General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, and the established powerhouses of the automotive market which have the turnover to generate the massive R&D budgets needed to explore and commercialise significant new technologies. We can now add another name to that list and it’s one most of our readers won’t know. Kosmo Motor Company Sdn Bhd (Kosmo Motor) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kosmo Technology Industrial Berhad (Kosmo), and was established in July 2005 with the aim of providing reputable and compatible commercial vehicles to the Malaysian market and the world. Yesterday the company announced it would be acquiring a 26 per cent stake in German automotive research and development Company Loremo which produces economically and ecologically friendly cars such as the featherweight 150 mpg Loremo LS and unveiled a prototype city bus chassis to be powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) at the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show.

Since its inception, Kosmo Motor has been aggressively pursuing various projects which would strategically position the Kosmo group as per its tagline, “Fuelled by R&D, Driven by Technology, Providing for the Global Community”. The compressed natural gas bus could prove to be a massively relevant form of transport in the fast-developing Malaysian automotive industry and already there are plans to export the bus to Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia from next year, and eventually to Australia. Kosmo Motor CEO Mohd Azham Mohd Noor expects the Kosmo bus to contribute more than 50% of company sales over the three years from 2007.

The Loremo L22 is a four seater with a fuel efficiency rate of 1.5 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers, at the upcoming Kuala Lumpur International Motorshow 2006 (KLIMS 2006). Loremo’s unique strengths are evidenced in the car’s bodywork and chassis concept. Its 95kg light weight steel chassis, which is a patented linear cell structure, low centre of gravity and torsional rigidity enable the car to perform well above average in crash simulations and provide excellent handling characteristics. The 20 PS (15kw) two-cylinder turbo-diesel motor powers the 450 Kg light Loremo LS up to 160 km/h. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 20 second and its aerodynamic form achieves a Cw value of 0.20. The L22 will be commercially produced beginning 2008 and expected to be available around the world at the turn of the decade.