GERMANY
VDL Bus & Coach has won another order for 50 electric buses from Kieler Verkehrsgesellschaft (KVG) in the northern German city of Kiel. The manufacturer will supply 50 new generation electric Citeas, with an option for 10 additional units. The vehicles will be delivered in 2024 and 2025, and take KVG’s fleet of VDL products to over 100 and meaning that its fleet will be over 50% zero-emission.
The order will consist of 30 articulated Citea LF-181 and 20 Citea LF-122 buses. The vehicles will be equipped with battery packs with a capacity of 522kWh and 429kWh respectively and will feature cameras instead of mirrors. They will be equipped with a pantograph for charging.
Thomas Mau, Head of Operations and Technology at KVG said: “We are pleased to take another step in the transformation of our bus fleet with our partner VDL. Once we have taken delivery of the 50 new city buses, more than half of our fleet will consist of battery-powered electric buses and VDL vehicles. These vehicles demonstrate a high technical standard and meet our requirements to the greatest extent possible. Collaboration, both during implementation of this new system and subsequently in the area of after-sales, has been first class in every way and highly cooperative.”
Richard van den Dungen, CCO at VDL Bus & Coach Richard van den Dungen added: “We are very proud that KVG has again chosen VDL Bus & Coach for yet another order of electric city buses. It is a great recognition when a highly respected customer like KVG once again trusts you to deliver the goods. Following our previous deliveries of Citeas SLF and SLFA Electric in 2020, 2021 and 2022, KVG will now get to experience the new generation Citea, which is also ideally matched to their operational requirements with its efficient energy consumption and optimal driving characteristics.”