Intensive summer and winter testing
The technology of the all-electric Citaro as it goes to the start is well proven. Its superb quality is guaranteed by the tried and tested Citaro that is already in such regular use. This is backed up by the fact that it is manufactured at the company's bus plant in Mannheim, on the production line for the conventionally powered Citaro - where the test vehicles were also built. Key components such as the drive axle and the electrohydraulic steering system have already proved their worth in the challenging world of city bus transport. The design of the roof, with integrated heavy-duty rails for the batteries, is derived from the system used for the gas tanks on the Citaro NGT.
What is more, by the time of the series-production start-up, the all-electric Citaro will already have been through a comprehensive programme of testing. This bus has to pass all the same tests as any other bus that bears the three-pointed star, for the Citaro with all-electric drive system will offer the same high level of availability and the proverbial reliability of its stablemates with combustion engine.