Flemish public transport company De Lijn has placed a large order of up to 500 electric buses with Iveco, of which 65 articulated e-buses, a first for De Lijn. It’s a tough blow for the Dutch VDL group, which has a new e-bus factory in Roeselare (Belgium) but only gets an order of 75 e-buses from De Lijn.

De Lijn has chosen a supplier for its largest shipment of electric buses to date. The Italians over at Iveco Bus came out as the winners of the tender put together by the public transport company. However, this was contested by VDL, which felt it was mistreated.

Council of State says no foul play

VDL was hoping for the large order by De Lijn to fill its capacity at its new Roeselare e-bus plant, where a part of the large order from Dutch public transport company EBS is also being built. However, De Lijn estimated that the buses from VDL would not have a sufficient electric range to fulfill their needs.

VDL went to the Belgian Council of State to contest these results, but no foul play by De Lijn could be found. Therefore, VDL will have to make do with the smaller order of 75 e-buses it received. Dutch bus manufacturer Ebusco also contested the tender process at the Council of State but to no avail.

Up to 500 E-Way buses, 65 by 2024

Iveco will, therefore, be the one to build up to 500 E-Way articulated electric buses for De Lijn, with a length of 18 meters. The first 65 buses should start delivering by 2024, with a price tag of 48 million euros and creature comforts such as USB charging points for passengers, info displays, and an electric ramp for wheelchairs and strollers.

The driving range of these articulated buses should be around 300 km thanks to a “unique high-performance battery pack”, which is sufficient for a day’s work. If De Lijn chooses to order a total amount of 500 buses, deliveries will continue for the rest of the decade.