Italian authorities get funding to procure Rampini buses
Italy’s bus maker Rampini has won a tender from the procurement agency Consip to supply up to 280 zero-emission buses. The contract will come into force this June, allowing public administrations to buy a Rampini e-bus with or without specific adaptations.
Specifically, this concerns the Ramoni Eltron model, an 8-metre battery-electric bus. Configurations include two or three doors and space for up to 48 passengers. The 230 kW electric motor and 280 kWh battery enable real-world ranges of over 200 kilometres, according to Rampini.
The company unveiled the Eltron in late 2022 as a development building on the E80, its first electric bus. The Eltron also mirrors the company’s fuel cell electric model called Hydron, although the latter offers a range of 450 kilometres.
Rampini turned into a ZEV-focussed business in 2017 and already, at the time, won a contract from Austria, as reported. In 2019, the company and CaetanoBus agreed to include each other’s models in their respective ranges. In 2020, Genoa’s public transport operator AMT chose the E80 from Rampini because the vehicles were the only electric buses in Europe that were agile enough for use in the city’s historic centre. The order was fulfilled with charging infrastructure by Siemens.
“A few years ago, we made a precise and, for the time, counter-cultural choice: not to build diesel buses anymore,” said Fabio Magnoni, general manager of Rampini S.p.A.
Rampini describes the Eltron as the only mini-electric bus made in Italy. The vehicles for the Consip tender will be made at the Rampini plant in Passignano sul Trasimeno (PG).
“Today, we are reaping the rewards of the investments we have made over the years to modernize production and become a driving force and an opportunity to reactivate the Italian industrial fabric”, said President Engineer Franco Rampini.
Public Administrations in Italy may purchase the buses with or without specific customizations from June. Customization can include colours, liveries, additional driver seat and passenger compartment equipment, onboard and passenger safety devices, driving assistance systems, and full-service maintenance.
Consip and Rampini have not disclosed further details on funding.
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