Skoda builds electric trolleybuses for Pardubice and Ostrava
The Skoda Group has received orders from two Czech cities for up to 16 trolleybuses. The manufacturer will build ten 12-metre Skoda 32 Tr trolleybuses for Pardubice and four 18-metre Skoda 27 Tr units for Ostrava.
The city of Pardubice, with a population of 90,000, is located on the Elbe River. The public transport operator there commissioned the Skoda Group to build ten Skoda 32 Tr trolleybuses based on the bodywork of the manufacturer SOR. The twelve-metre-long buses each have a traction battery, enabling a range of at least twelve kilometres on routes without overhead lines. Skoda does not give a specific kWh figure. The company puts the order value at 145 million Czech crowns, the equivalent of about 6 million euros.
The Czech manufacturer is known to offer trolleybuses in cooperation with various body manufacturers. Recently, Skoda took orders from Slovakia and the Czech Republic for the 12-metre Skoda 26 Tr and the 18-metre 27 Tr articulated bus. Both are based on Solaris bodies and have a traction battery that enables operation on routes without overhead lines.
The 27 Tr is also the subject of another current order. According to an email to us, four units of this model will be delivered to Ostrava. The city has almost 300,000 inhabitants and is located near the Polish and Slovakian borders in the northeast of the Czech Republic. According to Skoda, the order is worth just under 98 million Czech crowns (about 4 million euros) and includes an option for two more units. In 2021, transport operator Dopravní Podnik in Ostrava (DPO) ordered 24 Solaris Urbino 12 electric.
According to Skoda Group, both cities – Pardubice and Ostrava – are long-standing customers. “This repeated choice reflects our clients’ confidence in our products and strengthens our commitment to continue to provide cutting-edge transport solutions. Our goal is to deliver innovative and reliable vehicles that ensure the best possible driving experience for passengers while contributing to sustainable urban mobility,” says Petr Novotný, President Components and Bus Mobility at Skoda Group. The group says it employs around 8,000 people and has several production sites in the Czech Republic and a factory in Finland. In addition to trolleybuses, the portfolio also includes BEVs and FCEVs.
Despite the name, Skoda Transportation and the Skoda Group do not belong to the Volkswagen Group, but to the PPF Group of Czech company Petr Kellner. Similar to the carmaker Volvo Cars and the commercial vehicle manufacturer Volvo Group or the luxury car brand Rolls-Royce and the manufacturer of aircraft engines, there is a common origin. But over time, the paths of Skoda Cars and Skoda Group have parted.
Source: Info via email
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