The call for tenders commission of Nantes Métropole has awarded the contract for the acquisition of new battery-electric buses to the French manufacturer IVECO BUS 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 euros excluding tax – a projected order of 70 buses.
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).
Pascal Bolo, President of Semitan, says: “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.”
And he continues: “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, states: “Our 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,” he adds.
About the new “GX ELEC” buses
Measuring 12 and 18 meters long, the GX ELEC buses are equipped with the latest NMC battery technology from FPT Industrial, with a unit capacity of 69.3 kWh and designed to meet the most demanding missions in terms of daily range and passenger capacity.
They are equipped with the SIEMENS Elfa III electric motor, which offers a maximum power of 310 kW (3000 Nm) on the standard version and 375 kW (4000 Nm) on the articulated version.
For improved thermal comfort, the GX ELEC buses feature a CO2 heat pump and a new air distribution system.
About Semitan
Semitan is a semi-public company (société d’économie mixte) with 65% public capital (Nantes Métropole) and 35% private capital (Transdev, banks, associations).
Bound by a public service contract with Nantes Métropole, Semitan operates the Naolib public transport network in the Nantes metropolitan area.
It is also mandated to build, renovate, and secure the network. It is also responsible for coordinating all mobility services in the metropolitan area.
This network (tram, Busway, Chronobus, and buses) serves the 678,000 inhabitants of the 24 municipalities.
In 2023, it covered 29.8 million kilometers and carried out 146.4 million journeys. Its fleet comprises 543 vehicles, including 153 standard buses, 263 articulated buses, and 36 minibuses. 94% of this fleet runs on natural gas, and 6% is electric. Semitan currently employs 2,200 people, including 1,400 drivers.
Read more: In third place with 904 units: How is France aiming to increase eTruck numbers?
