We’ve covered quite a few stories of electric bus sales, but the number of them vary. Many smaller US transit agencies buy one or two electric buses, to dip their toes in the water. Larger agencies, or those with experience from their past toe-dipping bus buy, tend to pick up a few more at a time as buses wear out and reach the end of their serviceable lives. In a few cases, a dozen buses, or maybe two dozen buses, is a big sale.
But, this is a story about Norway. Yes, the very same Norway that Will Ferrell and Kenan Thompson were trying to get to during that Super Bowl commercial.
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Texas does everything big…except EVs. The king of embiggening EV sales is definitely Norway. Yes, that makes me a little miffed, too, but not at Norway or a globe that happens to be sitting in my garage. I’m more miffed at the US for not keeping up. While virgin transit agencies in the US are buying a couple of electric buses, the chad Norway’s transit agency is buying several times more at a whack.
Ebusco, a company that specializes in electric buses and charging systems, has signed a contract with Nobina for 76 Ebusco 3.0 buses. Delivery of these secured vehicles is set for late 2023. With this new deal, Ebusco substantially improves its standing in Norway’s market share.
Yeah, in the United States, selling 76 buses would corner the market in a region. In Norway? That just ups your market share. Damn. And, it’s even more embarrassing for the US when you consider that they sold 60 buses at a time in 2019, to a fleet of 159 electric buses.
Ebusco is a regular client of Bina. This Norwegian purchase comprises 22 Ebusco 3.0 12-meter buses and 54 Ebusco 3.0 18-meter buses, making it the largest order for Nobina to date in the Nordic region. This is Ebusco’s first time being used by Nobina in Norway, as opposed to previous orders from Denmark.
“In 2014, when Ebusco was just starting out, Norway already showed concrete interest and dared to strengthen its ambitions around sustainability by investing in electric buses.” said Peter Bijvelds, CEO of Ebusco. “It is great to see that in line with our growth ambitions we are now signing a substantial contract for the supply of our buses with our repeat customer Nobina.”
The 76 Ebusco 3.0 buses will be used by the Public Transport Authority Ruter in Norway and will operate in and around Oslo.
“As the largest public transport operator with largest fleet of electric buses in the Nordic region, we take great interest in the development of new sustainable buses, technology, and materials from Ebusco.” said Jens Råsten, Fleet Manager at the Nobina Group. “Also, in Ebusco’s enhanced European production capabilities for our passengers and PTA´s in the Nordic region.”
Whenever Will and Kenan finally arrive in Norway, they’re probably going to want to take advantage of the transit while they’re there. There’s now a pretty good chance that by the time they get there, they’ll need to ride in an Ebusco bus.
Featured image provided by Ebusco.
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