Comparing electric buses in Germany

Nine manufacturers took part in the fifth electric bus comparison event staged recently by German magazine Omnibus Spiegel at Stadtwerke Bonn’s Friesdorf depot. Representatives from operators across Germany and beyond joined journalists in the three-day event which took the vehicles on a circuit from the urban streets of Bonn, across the Rhein and in to the hills beyond.

The main focus of the event this year was 12m electric buses and seven of the entrants met this brief: Daimler Trucks Mercedes-Benz Citaro; Hess LighTram; Iveco E-way 12; Ebusco 3.0; Ikarus 120E; Quantron Cizaris and Otokar e-Kent C. The products themselves were a mixture of first build concept vehicles and demonstrators taken from the production line. They were joined by smaller vehicles from MAN and Tremonia (the successor to Mercedes-Benz minibuses}.

Only the Citaro is currently available in the UK although Ebusco is working on a right-hand drive version of their 2.2 vehicle, initially for the Australian market. Despite Otokar and Tremonia having considerable experience in the right-hand drive market, both confirmed they have no current plans for this with their electric models.

• In advance of Bus and Coach Buyer’s full report on the event, we are pleased to present this gallery of the nine vehicles out and about on the more rural roads on the outskirts of Bonn during the event.