100 Solaris hybrid buses to go to Sardinia

Solaris will deliver 100 Urbino 12 hybrid buses to Cagliari, the Sardinian capital. The contract is part of a framework agreement signed in 2021 with joint-stock company Consip owned by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF). Under that agreement, public transport companies (TPL, Italian: Trasporti Pubblici Locali) are allowed to order vehicles directly or make a call for tender targeting chosen suppliers. The Solaris vehicles will arrive to Sardinia in 2024.

Sardinia's largest public transport company ARST S.p.A. has ordered 100 low-emission Urbino 12 hybrid buses from Solaris. This is a continuation of the 2021 framework agreement with Consip. The vehicles will be delivered to the city of Cagliari, Sardinia. The Italian island already has dozens of the manufacturer's vehicles on the road. The hybrid buses will be delivered to Cagliari and enter service in 2024.

The Urbino 12 hybrid, which will run on Sardinian roads, will be fitted with a new generation hybrid drive system consisting of a 250 kW electric traction motor and an internal 150 kW Euro 6 combustion engine. This will enable a significant savings in fuel consumption as well as reduction of pollutant emissions into the atmosphere.

The Urbino 12 hybrid has been ordered in a 2-door layout. The comfort of the travellers will be ensured by efficient all-vehicle air conditioning and a spacious and comfortable interior fitted with USB sockets. The vehicles will be equipped with monitoring and a passenger counting system located above each door. A range of comfort solutions will be available to drivers, including an enclosed customised driver's cabin.

There are already more than 1,500 Solaris vehicles on Italian roads. Almost a third of these are zero-emission electric buses and trolleybuses. Soon, 100 of the ordered hybrid vehicles will also appear on the Italian Peninsula. Solaris is the European leader in the sale and production of low- and zero-emission buses. In recent years, Italian operators, through their green purchases, are making this market grow into one of the key ones when it comes to the transformation towards green mobility. Solaris is one of the main suppliers of zero-emission public transport vehicles to Italy.