Mercedes-Benz Buses has once again been awarded a contract, this time to supply 239 buses to Sardinia by July 2010. The orders were placed by four Sardinian public transport agencies: CTM Cagliari, ATP Nuoro, ASPO Olbia, and ATP Sassari. These companies are looking to replace more than 60% of their city bus fleets. The order comprises 137 Mercedes-Benz Citaro city buses, 80 Mercedes-Benz Citaro K city buses, and 22 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter City 65 minibuses.

"We're very pleased about this order from Sardinia," explains Hartmut Schick, head of Daimler Buses. "It confirms that despite the economic crisis, our customers are still in the market for high-quality environmentally compatible buses. This order also ensures that capacity utilisation at our European bus manufacturing plants remains high."

Daimler Buses builds the vehicles within a flexible production network. The Mercedes-Benz Citaro and Citaro K city buses are manufactured at plants in Mannheim and Neu-Ulm. The Sprinter City 65 minibus is built in Dortmund. The Mercedes-Benz Citaro city buses are 12 metres long. The Citaro K short version measures 10.5 metres and the Sprinter City 65 is seven metres long. The buses are set to be used in cities and towns in the Sardinian provinces of Cagliari, Nuoro, Olbia and Sassari.

The economical, low-emission buses are equipped with environmentally friendly Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC® SCR diesel technology. They also meet the Euro V and EEV (Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicle) emission standards.