The call for tenders commission of Nantes Métropole has awarded the contract for the acquisition of new battery-electric buses to the manufacturer Iveco France to replace end-of-life buses and support the development of the Naolib network.
Semitan has been mandated by Nantes Métropole to lead this acquisition project, which is financed by Nantes Métropole (with a budget of €62 million excluding tax – a projected order of 70 buses.
The manufacturer will produce these buses at its HEULIEZ plant in Rorthais in the Deux-Sèvres region, 100 kilometers far from Nantes. The selected vehicle models are the GX 337 ELEC (12 meters) and the GX 437 ELEC (18 meters), from the HEULIEZ brand.
Around thirty standard buses will be put into service between late 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 at the Saint-Herblain Technical and Operations Center (Cetex). For articulated and Busway vehicles (18 meters), a gradual arrival is planned from 2027 at the La Vertonne Cetex in Vertou. These Cetex facilities will be adapted accordingly.
According to Pascal Bolo, President of Semitan: “With the acquisition of these new electric buses, Semitan continues to support Nantes Métropole in its desire for an energy transition towards more sustainable mobility. For the company, this represents a challenge in terms of project management and maintenance, on one hand, to adapt the existing technical and operations centers to this new energy source without disrupting the daily operations of the Naolib network, and, on the other hand, to maintain these new vehicles, involving an evolution of technical skills within Semitan.”
Giorgio Zino, Head of IVECO BUS Europe Commercial Operations said: “Iveco France’s expertise in clean vehicles allows us to maintain the trust of Semitan and Nantes Métropole. We thank them for choosing our latest generation electromobility offer, which represents a relevant and high-performance solution to meet the challenges of the energy transition. We are very proud of this new success, which reinforces a strong and long-standing partnership with our GX and URBANWAY natural gas solutions and now our GX ELEC models.”
SOURCE: Iveco
