Surprisingly perhaps,
Poland is one of the largest electric bus producing countries in Europe, and
getting bigger. Germany's MAN Truck & Bus recently launched production in
Poland, following Spain's CAF in 2018.
A laggard for some in
meeting its EU environmental obligations, Poland is not dragging its feet when
it comes to electric bus production. Europe's third-largest electric bus manufacturer,
Solaris, is being joined by MAN Truck & Bus, whose first customer vehicles
started rolling off the production line at Starachowice in southern Poland in
October.
The Polish unit of the
Volkswagen Group aims to deliver its first 17 electric buses to
Verkehrsbetriebe Hamburg-Holstein public transport company (VHH) by the end of
the year. Nobina Sverige, the largest Swedish bus operator, has a further 22
units ordered, and other orders are pending, the company said in a statement.
MAN's move is seen by
some as a genuine feather in the cap for the EU member. "MAN's new
investment strongly enhances Poland's position in the zero-emissions public
transport segment," Jan Wisniewski, from the Polish Association of
Alternative Fuels (PSPA), told DW.
Poland has a long
tradition of making buses
Rafako, a Polish firm
recently taken over the state-owned Industrial Development Agency (ARP), is
also planning to start electric bus production in 2021. Michal Mackowiak,
deputy CEO, told DW. "We are now preparing for mass production, to a level
as high or even more than MAN."
Meanwhile, Volvo's
site in Wroclaw is the only production facility operated by the company in
Europe, which manufactures electric buses. The plant recently won orders for
over 850 such vehicles. Skania also produces electric buses in the northern
Polish city of Slupsk.
It is estimated that
about a third of all electric buses in Europe are manufactured in Poland, led
by Solaris Bus & Coach, since 2018 owned by Spanish CAF. Solaris had the
biggest share of newly registered buses with electric motors in western Europe
in the first three quarters of 2020. In the period, 242 of its Urbino electric
buses rolled out onto the streets of European cities, Wisniewski said.
Of the 1,000 electric
buses newly registered from January to September 2020, nearly a quarter were
produced by Solaris. In Poland, 96% of the 114 newly registered electric buses
bear the Solaris logo. Solaris's share of newly delivered electric buses
amounted to 83% in the Italian, and 43% in the German market. The company has a
market share of about 18% across Europe.
Solaris's Mateusz
Figaszewski told DW that MAN's move into Poland and the electric bus sector was
not a great surprise. "It is great that Poland is being seen as a sophisticated
place to make such products and will for sure help the supply chain in the
country, but we have a much more international outlook than others, so it
doesn't affect us much." Solaris, he added, is also looking closely at
expanding its hydrogen-powered electric bus production, having already seen 69
roll off the production line.
Source: DW