Stuttgart – Daimler Buses has secured a follow-up contract from Uzbekistan for the delivery of an additional 200 Mercedes-Benz Conecto buses to Tashkent’s state-run public transport authority. The contract includes the first Mercedes-Benz bus with a Euro 4-compliant engine to operate in the region. This follow-up contract is the third order for EvoBus GmbH in Tashkent, following previous deliveries in 2003 and 2008. EvoBus, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler Buses, already delivered a fleet of 200 Mercedes-Benz Conecto vehicles to Uzbekistan last year.
Hartmut Schick, head of Daimler Buses: "We are delighted that we were able to secure this large-scale order from Uzbekistan and extend our reach in this region. This again underlines the appeal of our high-quality and reliable city buses."

The Mercedes-Benz Conecto to be delivered to Tashkent will be a 12 m version with three doors and seating for a total of 33 passengers. The low-floor Mercedes-Benz Conecto city bus is manufactured at the Turkish plant in Hoşdere, near Istanbul. Hoşdere is one of the world’s most modern production plants for buses and coaches. The 200 buses will be driven in convoy about 4800 kilometres from Turkey to Uzbekistan. Delivery will start in July.

The Tashkent public transport authority already has a fleet of 1400 buses, including 800 Mercedes-Benz brand vehicles, and operates both city and rural bus services. Last year, buses accounted for 75 per cent of passenger transportation in a city with 2.1 million inhabitants.

Mercedes-Benz Buses and Coaches has enjoyed a long association with Tashkent. 280 city buses (model 0 405) were delivered to the Uzbekistan capital as early as 1993. The buses have now been in operation for 12 years and some of them have already covered more than 1.5 kilometres. These vehicles will operate as rural-service buses in the country regions of Uzbekistan after the arrival of the 200 new Mercedes-Benz Conecto vehicles.