Daimler Buses has successfully completed one of the largest orders in its history and one of the most extensive tenders in Europe in 2021 and 2022: 864 Mercedes-Benz buses are now taking over urban and intercity transport in the AML (Área Metropolitana de Lisboa) region around the Portuguese capital Lisbon. Deliveries began in 2021 with 111 vehicles and were completed at the end of December 2022.

“The record order from Portugal with 864 Mercedes-Benz buses is an outstanding success for Daimler Buses and a real milestone for EvoBus Portugal,” says Mirko Sgodda, Head of Sales, Marketing and Customer Services at Daimler Buses.

The order from Portugal consists of 633 Mercedes-Benz Conecto low-floor buses, 157 Mercedes-Benz Intouro inter-city buses, 50 compact Mercedes-Benz Citaro K low-floor buses and four Mercedes-Benz OC 500 bus chassis. Another 20 minibuses based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter are also part of the order.

Daimler Buses will deliver the 864 buses to the Alsa Todi (154 vehicles) and Barraqueiro Transportes (710 buses) transport companies as leaders of a consortium that includes Barraqueiro Transportes, Scotturb, Viação Alvorada, Rodoviária de Lisboa and Vimeca. Alsa and Barraqueiro are the largest bus and coach companies on the Iberian Peninsula. Daimler Buses has always been very well represented in their fleets, with several thousand vehicles each.

The AML (Área Metropolitana de Lisboa) region consists of the Portuguese capital and a further 18 districts in the surrounding region. Nearly a third of the Portuguese population lives here, totalling almost three million people. It is also the country’s economically strongest region.

The tender includes buses for all districts and cities in the AML region, except for the capital Lisbon, Barreiro and Cascais on the Atlantic coast. The Mercedes-Benz buses will significantly rejuvenate the region's fleet in one fell swoop.

The new buses bearing the star are both safe and comfortable, with equipment ranging from the active brake assistant Preventive Brake Assist, tire pressure monitoring (TPM) and air-conditioning systems to USB ports for passenger devices. The driveline of Conecto, Intouro and Citaro K consists of economical and low-emission Mercedes-Benz OM 936 engines with an output of 220 kW (299 HP) and Voith Diwa 6 converter automatic transmissions. Thanks to a recuperation module for energy recovery, the buses/coaches are exceptionally economical and environmentally friendly.