Nantes Métropole (France) has awarded the contract for the acquisition of 70 battery-electric buses to Iveco Bus France. The 70 new buses are to replace end-of-life buses and support the development of the regional Naolib network. Semitan, a semi-public company, has been mandated by Nantes Métropole to lead this acquisition project, which is financed by Nantes Métropole. The budget is 62 million euros excluding tax.
The selected vehicle models are the Heuliez GX 337 ELEC (12 meters) and the Heuliez GX 437 ELEC (18 meters). The first thirty standard buses will be put into service between late 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. The GX ELEC buses are equipped with the latest NMC battery technology from FPT Industrial, with a unit capacity of 69.3 kWh and a 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. 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." 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 and 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 and covering in 2023 29.8 million kilometres in 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 employs 2,200 people, including 1,400 drivers.