Where mobility meets sustainability BredaMenarinibus

where Mobility Meets sustainability

Industria Italiana Autobus (IIA) is Italy’s largest and foremost bus manufacturer. It is the designer, producer and distributor of the famous European Menarininibus brand. Philip Yorke reports on a company that has come through a difficult period in its history, to emerge as a much stronger and more innovative leader in its field.

The IIA Menarinibus company was founded in January 2015 by Finmeccanica and the Del Rosso group, which specialise in the manufacture and distribution of leading bus brands in Italy. In addition to inheriting the production plant of BredaMenarinibus in Bologna, the company also took over the former Irisbus plant of Valle Ufita located in Flumeri. A few years later, the company entered into an agreement with Rampini Carlo SpA for the development of eMobility vehicles and components.

Today Karsan (Koç Holding Group), which has already owned the production license of the BredaMenarinibus brand buses since 2010, became the key foreign partner of the newly formed company.

Currently IIA builds and markets a broad range of vehicles from 8 to 18 metres long and with all sizes and types of motive power. It is also the owner of the Padane brand, which is well known for its tourist vehicles

that were built between 1943 to 1996 and still remains a symbol of engineering excellence today. The company currently employs more than 500 people at its offices and two state-of-the-art production sites in Italy.

Providing modern, tailor-made solutions

The Italian province of Rome recently ordered 227 buses from Industria Italiana Autobus SpA (IIA), in which today Karsan is a 70 per cent shareholder. The 10-metre and 12-metre diesel and CNG buses ordered by the Rome Municipality will be manufactured by Karsan in their Bursa facility in Turkey for delivery by the end of 2019. The new Menarinibus Citymood buses will be focused on serving Rome, a city that receives approximately 7.2 million tourists every year.

Karsan’s CEO, Okan Baş, stated that with the buses to be delivered in Rome, the total orders the company received in 2019 reached 320 units amounting to EUR 61.3 million. He commented: “From the commencement of our cooperation with IIA, we will have exported a total of over 1000 units of Menarinibus Citymood buses by the end of this year”.

By providing modern and tailor-made solutions to meet the mass transport needs for every city, Karsan continues its significant increase in exports helped by its 70 per cent shareholding in Industria Italiana Autobus SpA. The latest result of this strategic move has provided Karsan with an order of 227 buses for the province of Rome which is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Karsan will be manufacturing these luxury 10-metre and 12-metre buses at its Bursa facilities and will be delivering them by the end of 2019. The latest Menarinibus Citymood buses will be put into service in Rome forthwith.

A spokesperson for IIA told Industry Europe: “The IIA partnership is a crucial move in our strategy to become a global brand. Our increased share in IIA gives us the opportunity to move forward in Europe with stronger and more confident steps. The year 2019 has become particularly importance to us in the export of our highly successful Menarinibus Citymood buses.

“With the buses ordered for Rome, we have reached a total commitment of 320 units for the Menarinibus Citymood range, amounting to EUR 61.3 million in the first five months of this year. Moving forward from our cooperation with IIA, our total exports of the Menarinibus Citymood will exceed 1,000 units by the end of this year”.

Sustainable mobility

The move to producing more sustainable and eco-friendly transportation has taken off in a big way in Italy. Natural gas and electric powered vehicles are seen as the current answers to achieving far greater protection of the environment and more sustainable manufacturing processes.

The new natural gas buses are equipped with three double-leaf doors, a large internal corridor and 23 seats, four of which are reserved and specially designed for people with mobility problems. This innovative layout allows for a total load of more than 100 passengers.

The latest LNG-fuelled vehicles have already made their debut in Rome. Their recent purchases also form part of the company’s three-year investment plan of over EUR 211 million, which includes new buses that offer high environmental compatibility, including a range of new electric vehicles.

Cutting-edge urban transport

In terms of innovative high-tech solutions, IIA’s urban transport portfolio is impressive. The Vivacity 8 is the leading bus range in the segment for medium-short buses, which are ideal for service on crowded roads and found in small and medium-sized cities across Europe.

The company’s latest Citymood range comes in three different lengths from 10.6 metres to 18 metres and combines stylish Italian design with innovative technical solutions. In addition, the all new Citymood 12E is also available today with the latest electric drive engines and are the first of their kind in Italy. n

For further details of IIA’s latest eco-friendly buses and customer services visit: www.industriaitalianaautobus.com

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