Iveco is expecting a significant order worth over 150 million euros to be placed by Turin. A tender by the city’s primary transport operator GTT has just closed, and Iveco is the preferred bidder for all three lots.
The final contract award is due at the end of August after a “standstill period”. It will then comprise 225 electric buses and charging infrastructure delivered by Enel X. The energy group and Iveco managed to outbid rivals such as BYD Europe, EvoBus Italia, Irizar and YES-EU-AS in a tender process that GTT describes as “very strategic”. Because of this, the operator was “especially pleased” to have seen “the participation of the main players in the sector,” said Serena Lancione, CEO of GTT.
She added, “These buses will radically change the face of public transport in Turin in the coming years and will allow a total renewal of the fleet: 63 per cent of GTT’s buses will be electric and with the strengthening of the tram and metro system, more than 80 per cent of travellers in Turin will move about on electric vehicles, therefore without polluting.”
The expected order for Iveco includes 135 E-Way buses in the 12-metre version and 90 articulated buses measuring 18 metres; 28 of these will be Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) models. The tram-like buses are “roomier,” says Iveco, and can run on overhead wires on a new line 2 in Turin.
Domenico Nucera, President of Iveco’s Bus Business Unit, called the deal with GTT the first example in Europe of a “turn-key” contract. “It includes not only our vehicles but also recharging and spare part services through winning teamwork with Enel X and Iveco Orecchia. Naturally, it fills us with pride to know that our company’s most modern electric buses will circulate on the streets of the city where Iveco Group is headquartered.”
Iveco has a history in Italy. While the company stopped producing buses in the country in 2011 – at that time, Iveco still belonged to Fiat Industrial, which later merged with the Italian-American company CNH Industrial – Iveco revived Italian bus production last summer in Foggia, southern Italy. The company also considers setting up battery engineering and production in Turin, where the Group opened a new powertrain plant last October.
Apart from Turin, the company has won other large tenders in Italy. The order from Turin would be Iveco’s third significant order for e-buses this year. Busitalia signed a framework agreement with Iveco Bus in January for up to 150 E-Ways in several Italian cities. A month later, in February, Iveco also won a tender from public transport operator Autoguidovie for 120 E-buses.
As for Turin, the Iveco buses won’t be the only zero-emission vehicles on the road. Another transport company, Miccolis, reportedly placed an order with Quantron for new electric buses that will serve a new bus route starting this October in Turin.
Keyword: Iveco is about to score a major bus deal in Turin