IVORY COAST Iveco has signed an order for 400 Crossway Low Entry (LE) and 50 Crealis 18-metre CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) buses for the Abidjan transport company, SOTRA. The vehicles will be delivered from mid-2018 to the city of Abidjan.
Designed for heavy traffic routes, the Crealis artics will be operated in the entire Abidjan metropolitan area, providing improved service and comfort to passengers in a modern and welcoming interior. Iveco said passengers will enjoy high luminosity thanks to full-height windows, and a customised design with metallic materials inside (seats and poles) and outside (reflective strips on the sides of the bodywork).
Additionally, SOTRA is doubling its fleet with an order of 400 Crossway 12-metre LE buses. According to Iveco, the vehicles are the first high-value CNG buses on the African continent. This, it said, is a deliberate choice by the Ivorian government in favour of natural gas confirming it is a pertinent solution for the country and a real opportunity with the readable availability of natural gas. CNG vehicles are therefore an effective answer to environmental concerns.
Commenting on the order, Sylvain Blaise, IVECO Vice President in charge of Iveco Bus said: “We are very pleased with SOTRA’s choice, confirming a strong political vision of modernising and massifying the Abidjan public transport using sustainable solution. It was natural for Iveco Bus to position itself as a key enabler of such a vision with our products, services and financing solutions. We believe this will set the benchmark for many other countries in Western Africa. This is for us a real recognition of our leadership in BRT, gas and urban mobility solutions.”
