- Citaro: The undisputed No. 1 among urban buses operates in 40 countries
- Safe and clean: First urban regular service bus with ESP and Euro VI emission standard
- Minibuses with the Mercedes star: Market leader in Europe and heading for a record
- Minibus range extended to 24 models, all with Euro VI drive
The No. 1 among regular service buses is now the bestselling Mercedes bus of all time: with a total production of 40,000 units to date, the Mercedes-Benz Citaro has set a new record. The same applies to the minibuses from Mercedes-Benz: they have now exceeded the 20,000 mark. The anniversary buses were handed over at the bus plant in Mannheim today. Voyages Emiles Weber in Luxembourg took delivery of a Citaro GÜ, and Sandfærhus Parkering from Norway collected a Sprinter City 65.
Citaro: The undisputed No. 1 among urban buses operates in 40 countries
The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is an international bestseller: with sales of 3027 units and a market share of 16.4 percent, it was once again the No. 1 among urban regular service buses in Europe. In Germany the Citaro likewise reaffirmed its leadership with a market share of 37 percent. The Citaro is in operation in almost all major European cities, from London to Bucarest and from Madrid to Helsinki.
It carries passengers in Mexico, Japan, Singapore and Abu Dhabi, and even on the island of La Réunion in the Indian Ocean. It is also the backbone of BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) services in Strasbourg, Istanbul or Nancy.
The Citaro operates in 40 countries around the world. Current large-scale orders in three figures have been placed for the European capitals of Brussels, Budapest and Vienna, for the Italian city of Florence and for Zug in Switzerland.
Premiere in 1997, continuous further development ever since
Mercedes-Benz first presented the Citaro at the 1997 UITP Congress in Stuttgart, the world congress for transport operators. Series production commenced one year later. With its striking interior and exterior design, passenger-friendly low-floor construction, advanced safety technology with an electronic braking system and electronics based on a CAN databus system, it set new standards right from the start. The same applies to the variety of variants ranging from urban and inter-city buses in different lengths to an articulated bus.
Continuous further development is a major factor in the success story of the Citaro. This is evidenced by the extensive model facelift in 2005/2006, and additions to the model range in the form of the Citaro LE, the short Citaro K and a derivative, the large-capacity CapaCity bus.
Safe and clean: First urban regular service bus with ESP and Euro VI emission standard
On its completely new introduction in 2011, the current model series once again presented a surprise with a striking design, a new cockpit and revolutionary fuel-saving technology. The new Citaro was the first urban bus available with the electronic stability system ESP. This was followed by another premiere one year later: the Citaro was the world’s first urban regular service bus in series production to be available with engines meeting the Euro VI emission standard. A successful concept: Mercedes-Benz already delivered the 1000th Citaro with Euro VI in spring 2014.The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is produced in the ultra-modern bus plants in Mannheim and Neu-Ulm, and also in Ligny, France for certain export markets.
Minibuses with the Mercedes star: market leader in Europe and heading for a record
The minibuses bearing the three-pointed star are likewise on course for a record, and are the European market leaders by a wide margin. There is an extraordinary success story behind the 20,000 minibuses produced to date by Mercedes-Benz Minibus GmbH. It began in 1998, with a shareholding in the minibus manufacturer Karl Koch in Mudersbach near Siegen and assumption of the production management role. Within a short time Mercedes-Benz built up a wide product portfolio based on company locations and Europe-wide cooperative arrangements.
In 2004 the Karl Koch company was taken over completely. Shortly afterwards, production was relocated to the expanded plant in Dortmund in several stages. Around 330 personnel produce the minibuses on three bodyshell and four assembly lines. The minibuses are sold to more than 40 countries. The largest market is western Europe, however customers in Australia, South-East Asia and the Middle East are also part of the regular customer base. Last year Minibus GmbH sold 1206 buses, coming close to the limits of its capacity.
The Mercedes-Benz minibus portfolio is based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. The bus range currently consists of 24 models with permissible gross vehicle weights from 3.5 t to 6.8 t, based on Sprinter panel vans and chassis. The model designations Sprinter Transfer, Sprinter Travel, Sprinter City and Sprinter Mobility indicate the different operating specialities of the 16 left-hand drive and 8 right-hand drive variants. The most eye-catching model in what is still Europe’s widest minibus range is the Sprinter City 77, a compact urban regular service bus with a unique three-axle low-floor chassis and space for up to 40 passengers.
Many major and minor factors have contributed to the success story of Mercedes-Benz minibuses, and “100 percent Mercedes-Benz minibuses” is a very important one. The minibuses are closely linked to the development and production of the Sprinter, and all processes are subject to the same, stringent guidelines of Mercedes-Benz – which means quality from a single source.
Minibus range extended to 24 models, all with Euro VI drive
The minibuses from Mercedes-Benz also benefit from the new Sprinter in model year 2014. Apart from the striking appearance, impressive features include the very latest drive and safety technology. Accompanying the Sprinter model changeover in mid-2013, the minibus series Transfer and Travel were extensively modified, the Mobility series was extended with the Mobility 35 and Mobility 45, and all the resulting 24 models were gradually and systematically changed over to the stringent Euro VI emission standard.
