SODERTALJE, Sweden, July 27, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- In stiff competition, Scania has landed its largest city bus order to date in Italy by selling 52 buses of the Scania OmniCity type to the local public transport company Actv in Venice.
"This is a prestigious order that further strengthens our position in the Italian city bus market," said Henry Jonsson, Managing Director of Scania Bus Italy.
Actv, which has a fleet of 600 urban buses, chose the Scania OmniCity for its high reliability combined with its aluminium body and attractive design. Aside from bus traffic serving Lido as well as connecting the mainland portions of greater Venice with the centre of the island city, the company is also responsible for a portion of the boat traffic on the Venetian canals.
"Four years ago, we began a successful breakthrough in the Italian city bus market with the OmniCity low-floor bus," Mr. Jonsson said. "Since then we have sold more than 300."
Scania also has a strong position in the intercity bus and tourist coach segments. Today Scania is the largest imported bus and coach make in Italy, with a market share of more than 16 percent.
Last year Italy, which is Europe's fourth largest bus and coach market, was also Scania's fourth largest such market with 310 buses sold.
The buses for Venice will be delivered during the autumn of 2004.
Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With 29,100 employees and production facilities in Europe and Latin America, Scania is one of the most profitable companies in its sector. In 2003, sales totalled SEK 50.5 billion and income after financial items was SEK 4.6 billion. Scania products are marketed in about 100 countries worldwide and some 95 percent of Scania's vehicles are sold outside Sweden.
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