Sustainable mobility is no longer a dream of the future. Hansea is impressive proof of this: the leading private bus operator in Belgium already has 90 MAN Lion’s City E buses in successful operation. The transport company has now ordered a further 181 e-buses from MAN Truck & Bus – bringing its fleet to a total of 271 of the fully electric city buses. A success story that began back in 2021 with the test deployment of a Lion’s City E.
“With this new order, the Hansea fleet will grow to over 270 MAN eBuses, making it the largest zero-emission bus fleet in Belgium,” says Barbaros Oktay, Head of Bus at MAN Truck & Bus, adding: ”We are incredibly proud that Hansea has once again opted for our eBus. The order clearly shows how satisfied Hansea is with our Lion’s City E and that it is proving its worth day after day.”
The vehicles will be delivered this year and next. “Sustainability is a key issue for us as well as for MAN. The order is definitely a milestone that confirms our joint commitment to sustainability,” says Joris Larosse, CEO from Hansea. He continues: “Our goal is to fully electrify our entire bus fleet by 2035. We have relied on MAN to convert our fleet right from the start. Over the last ten years, we have developed a trusted partnership based on intense professional cooperation.”
Maximum flexibility: Hansea orders 10-, 12- and 18-meter buses
In addition to the environmental friendliness of the city buses, reliability and flexibility also played a decisive role for the Belgian company. This is why Hansea has ordered the MAN Lion’s City E in the 12-metre solo version as well as in the compact 10-metre version, which scores particularly well in narrow city centers thanks to its outstanding manoeuvrability. MAN is also supplying battery-electric 18-meter articulated buses, which show their strengths on routes with particularly high passenger volumes. Thanks to the different variants, Hansea can use the new bus fleet for a wide range of applications throughout Flanders. This is extremely important for the company, as it operates local and long-distance bus routes as part of a contract with the public transport companies De Lijn and TEC. Hansea also offers school buses, employee transportation and coach services.
To ensure that drivers and passengers arrive relaxed at all times, Hansea attached great importance to extensive comfort and safety equipment. MAN OptiView, for example, makes turning easier for the bus driver, especially in heavy city traffic. This is because the mirror replacement system makes the blind spot visible and thus ensures greater safety on the road, particularly when turning, but also when changing lanes and maneuvering. The equipment also includes a reversing camera, LED headlights, electric sun protection, a light/rain sensor and a comfortable driver’s seat. Passengers are also seated in comfortable seats with high-quality seat covers and USB ports.
Pioneer from the beginning: first eBus in operation in Belgium in 2021
Another decisive factor for the new order was the many years of good cooperation with the Belgian bus division of MAN Truck & Bus as well as the delivery capability and the strong MAN service network, which Hansea can always rely on – just as it has been able to rely on MAN’s eBuses for many years. In 2021, the first MAN Lion’s City E was already making its rounds in Belgium on Antwerp line 36. Hansea tested the electric bus, which was part of the MAN Truck & Bus eBus demo fleet, for a year. The successful test deployment formed the basis for the follow-up orders for initially 90 and now a further 181 eBuses from MAN.
“This is a real success story that we are extremely proud of. After all, it also played a key role in our becoming the market leader for eBuses in Europe last year and the production figures for the Lion’s City E are steadily increasing,” explains Oktay. However, MAN is not “only” the market leader in the overall European market, but also number 1 in a number of national eBus markets – including Belgium.
SOURCE: MAN Truck & Bus
