The disclosure relates to a vehicle body element connecting joint for connecting a first body element to a second body element, which connecting joint comprises first and second elongate profiles arranged along adjacent edges of the first and second body elements, respectively. The connecting joint comprises a first projection protruding from the first elongate profile parallel to a side surface of the first elongate profile and extending towards a free end of the first elongate profile, a first recess arranged in a side surface of the second elongate profile and arranged parallel to an edge of the second elongate profile, wherein the first projection is inserted into the first recess. A first and second dovetail section protrude from the first and second elongate profile, respectively At least one fastening strip contacts the first and second dovetail sections to clamp the first and second elongate profiles to each other.

An electric bus exhibiting a seat arrangement. The electric bus includes a side wall, a wheel with an electric engine disposed in the rim, a seat with a seat base and a leg area. The leg area is below the seat base and vertically level with the wheel. The electric bus also includes an electric energy storing device powering the electric engine of the wheel and arranged transversally between the side wall and the leg area of the seat.

A stiffness improvement structure includes a plurality of transverse reinforcement frames formed in parallel to the transverse frame and provided with an interval from each other in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and a plurality of longitudinal reinforcement frames formed in parallel to the longitudinal frame and provided with an interval from each other in the width direction of the vehicle, and thus vehicle body stiffness is improved by reinforcing stiffness of a towed portion of a vehicle body being towed and which reinforces stiffness of the vehicle by being provided in a vehicle body including a transverse frame formed in a width direction of the vehicle and a longitudinal frame formed in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle,.

A passenger compartment of the modular vehicle, such as a bus, includes a roof panel and sandwich-type side panels coupled to structural joiners to form the passenger compartment. The side panels and the joiners may include pultruded beams for increased structural integrity. A chassis of the vehicle has channels integrated therein for coupling of the side panels and passenger compartment to the chassis. This coupling to the chassis channel may also include the use of a bonding agent.

A passenger compartment structure that includes: a passenger compartment that serves as an accommodation space for vehicle occupants; and a wall portion that is capable of selectively being put into a partitioned state and a connected state, the passenger compartment being partitioned into a plurality of individual spaces in the partitioned state, at least a neighboring pair of the individual spaces being connected with one another in the connected state, and in a case in which an operation to put neighboring individual spaces into the connected state is performed in each of the neighboring individual spaces, the wall portion putting the neighboring individual spaces in which the operation has been performed into the connected state.

The disclosure relates to a vehicle body element connecting joint for connecting a first body element to a second body element, which connecting joint comprises first and second elongate profiles arranged along adjacent edges of the first and second body elements, respectively. The connecting joint comprises a first projection protruding from the first elongate profile parallel to a side surface of the first elongate profile and extending towards a free end of the first elongate profile, a first recess arranged in a side surface of the second elongate profile and arranged parallel to an edge of the second elongate profile, wherein the first projection is inserted into the first recess. A first and second dovetail section protrude from the first and second elongate profile, respectively At least one fastening strip contacts the first and second dovetail sections to clamp the first and second elongate profiles to each other.

A low floor electric bus is provided. The bus includes a frame extending longitudinally from a front end to a rear end, the frame having two sidepieces and a plurality of crossmembers extending between and coupled to the sidepieces, wherein the frame has a central section positioned at a lower height relative to the front and/or rear sections. The bus further includes a battery pack mounted to the central portion of the frame; a powertrain having an electric motor and a driveshaft, wherein the electric motor is mounted to the rear section of the frame behind a rear axle coupled to the frame and the driveshaft extends from the electric motor to the rear axle; and a cradle coupled to the front section of the frame. A mixed-material cabin is also provided. The cabin includes a passenger cabin with a floor, sidewalls, and ceiling having steel, ceramic, and composite components.

A side-impact crash structure may be positioned proximate an end of a vehicle to reduce impact forces imparted to an occupant during a side collision. The side-impact crash structure may include energy absorbers positioned on lateral sides of the vehicle between the passenger compartment and a longitudinal end of the vehicle. The energy absorbers may be configured to absorb impact forces over a limited ride-down distance (the distance over which the deceleration occurs) to prevent damage to both the occupants and one or more components or systems of the vehicle. The energy absorbers can be configured to deform along an oblique axis of the vehicle under a compressive force. The side-impact crash structure may include one or more load spreaders disposed between the energy absorbers that disperse the impact force to other portions of the vehicle.

A vehicle body module connecting joint for connecting a first body module to a second body module. Elongate profiles are arranged along facing edges of the first and second body modules, respectively. The profiles are clamped together by locking wedges arranged parallel to the profiles and connected by fastening means extending between facing profiles on the first and second body modules. The connecting joint includes a first profile arranged along a side edge of a first body module along a surface remote from the connecting joint and a second profile arranged parallel to and in form-fitting contact with the first profile along facing side surfaces. The assembled first and second profiles forming a single first dovetail section along a surface facing the connecting joint.

A motor vehicle and construction method for a motor vehicle, such as a bus, wherein fabricated subassemblies or modules are joined using mechanical fasteners to form an integrated, load carrying structure. The fabricated subassemblies are configured to allow substitution of subassemblies with alternative configurations in order to produce a number of unique vehicle configurations each sharing a common architecture. Modular construction techniques allow for simplification of construction processes, reduction of welding processes, and the application of physically smaller subassemblies. Interchange and substitution of subassemblies with shared attributes may also facilitate production of vehicles having different characteristics.