Berlin’s public transport operator Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) has temporarily taken around 70 battery-electric buses supplied by Dutch manufacturer Ebusco out of service after routine inspections identified fine cracks in the vehicles’ bodywork.
The affected vehicles are Ebusco 2.2 models and form part of BVG’s fleet of about 270 battery-electric buses. BVG confirmed that the inspections revealed small cracks in the vehicle frames. The operator said the findings do not pose a safety risk, but the buses were withdrawn from service as a precautionary measure and in line with standard warranty procedures.
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The buses are currently parked at the Indira-Gandhi-Strasse depot in Berlin’s Hohenschönhausen district. BVG said repair work is expected to begin shortly after the turn of the year and to be completed in the first quarter. The temporary withdrawal is not expected to cause significant disruption to bus operations in the German capital.
For Ebusco, the situation adds to a series of recent challenges. The manufacturer has been facing financial strain and production delays, leading to the loss of several electric bus orders in recent months, including from Verkehrsbetriebe St. Gallen, Connect Bus and Svealandstrafiken.
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German newspaper nd has reported that Ebusco has fully exited in-house production and now relies on contract manufacturing, a strategy the company formally announced about a year ago when it confirmed plans to outsource vehicle production to third-party suppliers.
