Stuttgart / Tel Aviv (Israel). Daimler Buses has received one of its largest orders ever. The bus division of Daimler Truck AG has put in a successful bid for a large tender in Israel and has won the order for a total of 415 city and inter-city buses. The vehicles will go to Egged, the largest private bus company in Israel. The order is the result of a successful collaboration between Daimler Buses and Colmobil, which as a general distributor is responsible for both the sale and service of Mercedes-Benz buses.

Till Oberwörder, Head of Daimler Buses said about the sales success: "We are delighted that Egged has chosen the city and inter-city buses of the
Mercedes-Benz brand due to their high level of reliability and great mileage. The order for 415 buses is one of the largest in the history of our company. Also it is the first time in over 15 years that Daimler Buses has won the bid in the highly competitive city-bus segment in Israel."

The large order comprises 156 units of the OC 500 RF 1939 inter-city chassis and 259 units of the OC 500 LE 1830 city-bus chassis. The city buses are low-entry models that allow passengers to board more easily. The chassis are being produced in Daimler Buses' Spanish bus plant in Sámano, the bus bodies produced by the Israeli bodybuilders Haargaz and Merkavim will be fitted on site. The vehicles will be delivered this year and through into next year and Egged will operate them on its city and inter-city routes throughout the whole of Israel.

With a fleet of more than 4000 vehicles, Egged transports just short of a million passengers every day and is responsible for the operation of almost half of the public transport in Israel. This includes 945 inter-city and city bus routes on which their vehicles cover more than 700,000 kilometers daily.