Big Swedish-Norwegian Hybrid Bus Order

Swedish bus-maker Scania will supply its largest ever single delivery of hybrid vehicles as part of a Norwegian contract.  The company is to deliver 140 buses for public transport in Kristiansand, south-west of the Norwegian capital Oslo. The delivery includes Scania Fleet Care, a service in which Scania takes full responsibility for repair and maintenance of the fleet.

All of the buses, which feature Scania Euro 6 engines, can run on biodiesel and 70 of them have hybrid drive technology, making it Scania’s largest single delivery of hybrid vehicles to date.         

“This is an example of Scania’s wide range of sustainable transport solutions. “We’re not focusing on one solution, but many, which has helped us to fulfil the customer’s requirements,” said Karin Rådström, senior vice president and head of Buses and Coaches at Scania.

The delivery includes Scania Citywide LE Suburban Hybrid, Scania Citywide LE Suburban and Scania Higer A30 buses, each in a range of specifications. All buses can run on biodiesel. The buses will go into service in July 2018 and will be operated by transport company Boreal Buss, on behalf of the public transport operator Agder Kollektivtrafikk. Boreal Buss already operates 170 Scania buses in Norway.

The deal also includes a seven-year contract for Scania’s repair and maintenance programme Fleet Care.

According to Scania, Fleet Care improves total fleet utilisation, provides better cost control and can also have a positive impact on cash flow. As part of the programme Scania’s engineers and technicians continuously diagnose and plan preventive action, thereby minimising disruptions in the transport flow, Scania added.

In addition to being Scania’s biggest order for hybrid buses yet, the order is also Norsk Scania’s biggest bus contract. Norsk Scania, Scania’s subsidiary in Norway, has 45 service points across the country. The company employs some 1000 people, mainly in the service business.