VDL Bus & Coach and KVB expand Cologne fleet to 113 electric Citeas

For the third time in a row public transport company KVB Cologne has ordered electric VDL Citeas from VDL Bus & Coach. This time it concerns 51 articulated buses in BRT design. When these Citeas SLFA-181 Electric are all delivered in 2022, the bus fleet of KVB Cologne will consist of 113 VDL Citeas Electric. 

"This new order from VDL Bus & Coach underlines the decisiveness of KVB Cologne, already one of the frontrunners in Germany in the field of electric mobility," says Boris Höltermann, Managing Director of VDL Bus & Coach Deutschland GmbH. "We are proud of this renewed trust. It allows us to continue our cooperation in the field of e-buses, which we started in 2012. It also shows that we are playing in the Champions League when it comes to the electrification of public transport in Germany." 

Largest battery pack

VDL Bus & Coach will supply 51 articulated Citeas with its largest battery pack for the first time: 525 kWh. The entire energy requirement of the Citeas SLFA-181, including the climate control system, is covered by the battery. This makes the buses 100% emission-free. The BRT design gives the Citeas an innovative character, with which the vehicles contribute to a modern city image. 

The new Citeas will be used on lines 126, 142 and 146 on the left bank of the Rhine and on lines 151, 152, 155 and 196 on the right bank. In this way, seven more bus lines in Cologne will be converted to e-mobility starting in 2022. The Citeas SLFA-181 are charged overnight via a pantograph on the roof at the depot and, due to the heavy urban use, also en route at charging stations. 

100 million electric kilometres

The cities of Cologne, Münster, Osnabrück, Oberhausen-Bottrop, Leipzig and Kiel in Germany make a daily contribution to the principle of VDL Bus & Coach: 'Aiming for Zero'. This involves more than 100 vehicles in Germany, with a combined experience of more than 4 million electric kilometres in public transport. In the coming years the cities/municipalities of Plön, Völklingen, Neuss, Braunschweig, Verden and Goslar will also be added to this list. 

VDL has been active in the field of electric transport for over 25 years. Since the introduction of the first Citea SLF-120 Electric in Geneva, during the UITP Mobility & City Transport exhibition in 2013, VDL Bus & Coach has focused strongly on electric mobility. In 2021 VDL Bus & Coach will present the new generation of electric Citeas. Based on the VDL vision, a bus concept has been developed, entirely based on an electric drive train, that is ready for the future and where zero emission is a given. VDL Bus & Coach will be revealing more details through a special social media campaign and on its website until the beginning of May. 

With more than 800 buses in 10 countries and more than 135,000 kilometres travelled daily in many European cities and regions, the magic number of 100 million kilometres of electric mobility in public transport has been reached.  

Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG

Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe AG (KVB), the fourth largest municipal passenger transport company in Germany, runs the public transport system in Cologne and its surroundings. Its fleet consists of 382 trains and trams and 330 buses. More than 3,400 employees make sure that on the more than 60 bus, tram and railway lines everything works every day. KVB transports almost 800,000 people every day. At the beginning of 2020, KVB announced that it had ordered 53 Citeas from VDL Bus & Coach.

About VDL Bus & Coach 

VDL Bus & Coach is your partner in developing and transitioning to smart and sustainable transport solutions that add value for people. Now and in the future. We endeavour to find innovative solutions in everything we do. Our concern is always for people and the environment, and we never shy away from pushing boundaries and challenging conventional thinking in order to achieve this.