This in-house exhibition, which takes place every two years, is a centre of attraction for private bus and coach operators and local public transport specialists from all over Europe. On the weekends of 13-15 November and 21-22 November, around 6000 visitors from 18 countries visited the event, in spite of the increasingly difficult situation for businesses. Around 120 buses and coaches were sold on these two weekends. Among the coaches, the one enjoying the greatest demand was the high-end Mercedes-Benz Travego. The newly-released special model "Travego Safety Edition", in particular, aroused great interest.

Apart from the numerous vehicles on show and the interesting side-event programme, customers were also able to witness three German premieres: the Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL hybrid, the economical Tourismo RH and the compact minibuses based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter equipped with new engines and transmissions. Also part of the programme: demonstration drives with the Citaro G BlueTec hybrid and the Mercedes-Benz Travego high-deck touring coach, which was recently crowned Coach of the Year 2010 by an international jury of experts.

A further attraction at the MOT was the "Chancellor Bus", standing in front of a picture of the Berlin Wall, as a symbol of German reunification 20 years ago. Next to the vehicle, a plasma screen displayed photographs and film footage of the two-plus-four talks, to which key politicians such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Gerhardt Schröder, Helmut Kohl and other heads of state travelled aboard this bus.

This vehicle exhibition, with ten buses and coaches for urban and interurban service, excursions and long-distance journeys, impressed not least thanks to the presence of a number of German premieres, such as for instance the spectacular Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL hybrid, the economical Tourismo RH and the compact minibuses based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, the latter equipped with new engines and transmissions.

And no less spectacular: demonstration drives were made with the Citaro G BlueTec® hybrid on the factory grounds, while other demonstration drives allowed participants to experience the enormous safety reserves of the Mercedes-Benz Travego high-deck touring coach, which had just been crowned Coach of the Year 2010 by an international jury of experts. All in all, the exhibition, presentation and test drive buses and coaches added up to the handsome number of 53 new vehicles. These new buses continue a noble tradition, as it was precisely in Mannheim that Karl Benz invented the omnibus in 1895.

In the adjoining Used Bus and Coach Centre (OGC), numerous well-kept used vehicles of all makes were available to choose from, as an alternative to new buses. The services on offer, too, are unique: central to these is the services brand Omniplus. This year again, the new fleet programme BusFleet is the focus of attention here, and already enjoys great demand.

"BUSiness & Christmas" – this year’s motto for the 2009 MOT meant information and business in a relaxed atmosphere aside from day-to-day work hectic. The title of the event already suggested this: the Mercedes-Benz Bus and Coach division transported its guests into a Christmassy atmosphere. The centres of interest were the attractive buses and coaches of full-line supplier Mercedes-Benz, various vehicle premieres and advice about services which – in such a comprehensive manner – can be offered only by the Mercedes-Benz Bus & Coach Division.