Small cracks: BVG withdraws 70 Ebusco e-buses from service

As reported by the daily German newspaper nd, routine inspections of around 70 out of 270 battery-electric buses operated by Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) have revealed damage. A BVG spokesperson confirmed this to several media outlets, stating that small cracks had been found in the vehicle frames. While these cracks are not considered a safety risk, the affected buses—all from manufacturer Ebusco—have been temporarily withdrawn from service, ‘as is standard in warranty cases,’ according to the BVG.

The Ebusco vehicles are currently parked at an area of the Indira-Gandhi-Straße bus depot in Hohenschönhausen. BVG expects repairs to begin shortly after the turn of the year and to be completed in the first quarter. The temporary withdrawal of the 70 electric buses is not anticipated to cause significant disruptions to operations.

For manufacturer Ebusco, the BVG complaint adds to a series of setbacks. The company has been facing financial difficulties for some time and is now in a critical situation. As a result, the Dutch manufacturer has lost several e-bus orders in recent months due to production delays, including from Verkehrsbetriebe St. Gallen, Conectar autobúsy Svealandstrafiken.

nd reports that Ebusco has completely abandoned its own production and now outsources all work on new vehicles. The company officially announced its shift to a contract manufacturing model a year ago, confirming that production would be outsourced to third-party providers.

nd-aktuell.de, rbb24.de (ambos en alemán)