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DAIMLER SNARES KEY ELECTRIC CITARO ORDER BEFORE WORLD PREMIERE

GERMANY’S LARGEST bus operator and transport authority, Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), has ordered 15 fully electric-powered Mercedes-Benz Citaros to ‘enter the electric era’, just months before the product has made its official international debut, the company reports recently.

The coup follows an earlier-reported record-breaking order recently for up to 950 city buses from Berlin, meaning its comprehensive bus fleet will offer its city commuters a locally made emissions-free Citaro, as well as the combustion engine-powered, low-emission variant of this “world bestseller”, it’s stated.

This is already the third order of electric Citaros before the world premiere at the forthcoming 2018 International Commercial Vehicle Show (IAA).

Till Oberwörder, head of Daimler Buses, said: “We are very pleased that the largest German bus operator is also opting for Mercedes-Benz where fully electrically powered buses are concerned. And this even before the official premiere of the new bus.”

The 15 buses will be delivered from the first quarter of 2019 onwards.

In terms of high-tech components to reduce energy consumption and maximise range, the Berlin Citaros have 10 battery modules. They will be charged at sockets in the bus depot, it’s stated. They are powered by an electric axle with electric motors near the wheel hubs, and a “highly advanced thermal management system with high-tech components”, such as a heat pump, lowers energy consumption, it’s claimed.

 Related article: Iconic Citaro heads up big Polish order of 150 buses
Related article: Iconic Citaro heads up big Polish order of 150 buses

According to Daimler, the passenger compartment of the fully electric-powered Citaro is the same as that of its conventionally powered equivalent. The BVG versions of the Mercedes-Benz electric buses have some insightful interior appointments; for passengers with restricted mobility seated against the direction of travel, there are suitably positioned monitors to provide information while visually impaired customers particularly benefit from tactile grab rails with a ribbed surface, the company states.

ON WITH THE SHOW

The 67th IAA Commercial Vehicles (CV) event in Hannover, Germany, from September 20 to 27, 2018, will address the question of what the future of commercial vehicles will be like, organisers state. The particularly important topics here are automation and connectivity, safety and security, environmental protection, electric mobility and new logistics and traffic concepts for the towns of the future, it adds.

The IAA CV occurs in Hannover every two years and is the world’s leading trade show for transport, logistics and mobility, it’s claimed. It offers “a unique cross section of the entire value chain in the industry, from vehicles to transport and logistics, and from manufacturers to the many medium-sized suppliers”.

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