GERMANY City operator SWU Verkehr has awarded Daimler Buses a contract to supply 37 battery-electric Mercedes Benz eCitaro and eCitaro G buses for use in the city of Ulm. The contract was signed on 18 July. The contract includes the option of a further nine eCitaro electric buses, which if exercised would take SWU’s total investment to €34.6 million.
The 37 battery-electric vehicles will be delivered successively by the end of 2026, and the optional nine vehicles are planned to arrive from 2027. The new buses will replace existing diesel buses in the SWU fleet and will be used in the towns of Ulm and Neu-Ulm on the banks of the Danube, joining 14 eCitaro G articulated buses already in operation since 2024.
“Electromobility in public transport is an essential component for liveable cities. We are delighted to be able to support SWU in this forward-looking project – with our know-how, innovative technology and a strong team directly on site in Neu-Ulm,” said CEO of Daimler Buses Till Oberwörder.
“We are pleased that with Daimler Buses we have a reliable partner at our side which has already proven its competence many times over,” added Ralf Gummersbach, SWU’s Head of Transport. “We particularly welcome the fact that this is a German manufacturer located directly here in Neu-Ulm. In this way, a significant part of the value creation remains in the country – this strengthens our domestic economy and brings additional benefits for service and maintenance.”
The new SWU electric buses will be equipped with the fourth generation latest lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC-4) battery packs, with 111kWh of energy per battery pack to give high power density and a long service life. SWU Verkehr transports over 41 million passengers each year on its local public transport services. The arrival of the new eCitaros will mean that battery-electric buses make up over half of the operator’s from 2027.
