Daimler Sells Bus Fleet to Italy

Fleet sales are extremely important whether we talk about cars, trucks or buses, especially in times of recession. As selling has became more and more difficult, Daimler Buses has just announced an important contract which states that the automaker will deliver a total of 239 buses to Sardinia by the end of July 2010.

This impressive order has been place by four Sardinian public transit authorities: CTM Cagliari, ATP Nuoro, ASPO Olbia and ATP Sassari. The buses will help replace 60% of the city fleets. According to the agreement, 217 Mercedes-Benz Citaro and Citaro K city buses as well as 22 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter City 65 minibuses will be provided by Daimler.

“We’re very happy about the big order from Sardinia,” says Hartmut Schick, Head of Daimler Buses. “The order confirms that our customers want our high-quality and environmentally friendly buses even in economically tough times. Capacity utilization at our European bus production locations will continue to be high as a result.”

Daimler uses a flexible network in order to manufacture its buses. The Mercedes-Benz Citaro and Citaro K city buses are produced at the plants in Mannheim and Neu-Ulm, while the Sprinter City 65 minibus is made in Dortmund. Mercedes-Benz Citaro city buses are 12 meters long. The short version of the vehicle, the Mercedes-Benz Citaro K, measures 10.5 meters in length, while the Sprinter City 65 minibus is seven meters long. The buses will be used for city transit services in the provinces of Cagliari, Nuoro, Olbia and Sassari.

All the buses will be equipped with the Mercedes-Benz BlueTec SCR diesel technology and meet the Euro 5 and EEV (Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicle) emissions standards.