The Mercedes-Benz eIntouro, the new battery-electric intercity bus from Daimler Buses, successfully passed its first customer test drive at the beginning of April. The near-production prototype completed the approximately 380‑kilometre test drive on the regular route of the EUROBUS Rustexpress from Swiss Bassersdorf via Zurich to the Europa-Park theme park in Rust, Baden-Württemberg, and back. On board, representatives of the Swiss bus travel company EUROBUS and Europa-Park were extremely impressed by the advantages of the fully electric bus. Until now, EUROBUS has operated the Rustexpress with conventionally powered touring coaches, mostly from Daimler Buses.
Mirko Sgodda, Head of Marketing, Sales and Customer Services at Daimler Buses, explains: “Before market launch, all newly developed vehicle types at Daimler Buses have to go through a very extensive testing phase. This naturally also applies to the new eIntouro. We test the driving characteristics of the bus under a wide range of conditions, such as the recent winter test at the Arctic Circle at up to minus 30 degrees. However, this also includes extensive testing in real customer applications. This test drive in collaboration with EUROBUS, the Swiss market leader, is the first of many in which the eIntouro will prove its performance and reliability.”
Perfect for shuttle trips to Europa-Park
The eIntouro will celebrate its world premiere at the Busworld trade fair in Brussels in October. The start of production is planned for 2026. One of the first series production vehicles will then be used on one of the Rustexpress lines. Dr Thomas Knecht, owner of the Knecht Group, to which EUROBUS belongs: “Together with Europa-Park, we are working on concepts to make Rustexpress journeys even more climate-friendly. Our regular shuttle operations involve a single journey of 200 to 300 kilometres with a subsequent waiting time of several hours. It makes sense to utilise this waiting time and therefore to operate the route with electric intercity buses used as coaches. The Mercedes‑Benz eIntouro is the first electric bus to meet our requirements in terms of seating, equipment, ride comfort and range. The EUROBUS Group is a pioneer in the operation of electric buses for local public transport and will use this know-how productively for the intercity bus. That’s why we are very interested in this mobility solution.”
The test drive proved that the two high-voltage batteries of the eIntouro, with their total capacity of 414 kWh, offer more than enough reserves to cover the nearly 200‑kilometre single journey at any time of year, even with the heating or air conditioning switched on. At the same time, the participants were enthusiastic about the very quiet road noise of the electric drive. According to one of the participants, this brings travel comfort to a whole new level for the passengers.
SOURCE: Daimler Truck
