Mercedes-Benz Bus and Coach unit was able to secure two orders and will deliver 425 buses to the Netherlands by December. The largest order ever from the Netherlands comes from Qbuzz, a private bus operator with its head office in Amersfoort, and comprises 350 Mercedes-Benz urban and rural-service buses. The vehicles will be used in the two provinces of Drenthe and Groningen.

The second major order is for 75 natural-gas-powered Mercedes-Benz urban buses and comes from Connexxion, the largest Dutch transport company, which has its head office in Hilversum. The environmentally friendly, low-emission gas buses will be used in the Arnhem-Nijmegen region.

Hartmut Schick, Head of Daimler Buses, commented: “We are very pleased about the major orders from the Netherlands. They show that our high-quality and environmentally friendly buses are still successful, even in economically challenging times. We can plan on using our European bus production sites to their full capacity until the end of the year."

For both of these customers Mercedes-Benz Bus and Coach unit is producing urban and rural-service buses under the Mercedes-Benz brand name. Qbuzz ordered Citaro LE and Citaro NF buses in solo and articulated versions, and all the vehicles have a low-floor construction. The Citaro LE and NF solo buses are 12 metres long and the Citaro NF articulated buses are 18 metres long. There are 53 seats available for passengers. The economical and low-emission buses use future-proof Mercedes-Benz BlueTec® SCR diesel technology and comply with both the Euro 5 and the EEV (Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicle) emissions standards.

Qbuzz also ordered Mercedes-Benz Integro rural-service buses which are each equipped with 47 seats and are 12 metres long. Low operating costs, the long life of the vehicle and vehicle components, high quality standards and flexible applications are what make the Mercedes-Benz Integro an attractive and economical solution for bus operators.

Financing for the entire order is being conducted via Daimler Financial Services Netherlands, and repairs and maintenance of the vehicles is the responsibility of EvoBus Service Partner Wensink.

An environmentally friendly option was a priority for Connexxion when it chose the 75 natural-gas-powered Mercedes-Benz Citaro CNG urban buses. For the current order Mercedes-Benz Bus and Coach unit is supplying the Citaro CNG in two variants: as a solo vehicle with a length of 12 metres and as an articulated bus with a length of 18 metres. The solo vehicle’s engine has an output of 185 kW and the articulated bus is equipped with a 240 kW drive system. The customer ordered 69 solo vehicles and 6 articulated vehicles. All 75 vehicles produce few pollutants and also comply with the EEV standard. Today over 1200 Mercedes-Benz Citaro CNG buses are already being used by customers.