Mercedes-Benz has completed the delivery of 45 electric buses to Verkehrsgesellschaft Ludwigslust-Parchim (VLP), a public transit company in northeastern Germany. The order, placed in 2019, included the final 15 vehicles and was part of a project to provide electric buses for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with an additional 2 vehicles for Rostocker Straßenbahn AG (RSAG). The funding for the project was approved in December 2019, with Mercedes-Benz meeting the delivery deadline of late 2022.
First batch of 15 battery-electric eCitaro buses were handed over to VLP to complete the order. These buses, with a total battery capacity of 378 kWh and two charging plug positions, will be used by VLP, which is based in Hagenow, and will be supported by the installation of 49 charging stations at 12 operating locations.
VLP has also chosen the rough-road chassis for these buses, which has increased angle of approach and departure for challenging terrain. The company has already received batches of the e-buses earlier, and their practical experience with the first 30 buses “matches the expectations,” with ranges sometimes exceeding 300 kilometers and returning to the depot with a remaining battery capacity of around 15%. This means that an estimated mileage of 50,000 to 60,000 kilometers per year is achievable.
“The flexibility of our eCitaro is always amazing,” adds Mirko Sgodda, Head of Sales, Marketing and Customer Services Daimler Buses. “We are delighted that it can even prove its strengths as an inter-city bus with tailor-made equipment and a sophisticated deployment concept at the Ludwigslust-Parchim transport company.”
The Ludwigsburg-Parchim district in Germany is the second-largest in the country, and VLP currently operates 172 routes with around 200 buses. With the delivery of the eCitaro electric buses, VLP now has nearly one electric bus for every four buses in its fleet. Mercedes-Benz states that VLP is the first transport company in Germany to make a large-scale shift to electric buses in rural areas.
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