Irizar e-mobility has delivered its 1000th electric bus, a significant number, considering the Basque company was created barely eight years ago.
Irizar e-mobility has become a European leader in turn-key mobility projects. Large cities have relied on their electromobility solutions, and there are hundreds of electric Irizar buses driving around their streets and neighbourhoods. Furthermore, the company has recently entered the international market. In Mexico, for example, 32 ie trams are already in operation.
In the words of Iñigo Etxeberria, the General Director of Irizar e-mobility, “1000 vehicles are more than a number for us. It means effort, teamwork, and commitment by all the people who are part of this great company. We’re a medium-sized company with local production that competes in an international market with major brands. That figure drives us and motivates us to keep growing and evolving in the sector”.
The Irizar e-mobility portfolio has two kinds of vehicles: The Irizar ie bus and the Irizar ie tram in different lengths, both products have found a place on the electric bus market. However, the Irizar ie tram is doubtlessly the company’s star product. Its futuristic design calls attention to itself wherever it goes, and it’s an icon of urban electromobility. You can see it on the streets of London, Barcelona or Madrid, etc. Its design fits perfectly into modern cities that strive for more liveable and environmentally friendly environments.
The company also has its own battery plant. The batteries used in its electric vehicles are developed and manufactured at that plant.
The company has already started delivering its new generation of electric buses to the first clients. The new generation has improvements in safety and security and follows the new GSR2 ADAS regulations that also include vehicle cybersecurity. It also has a renewed generation of batteries with lower consumption and a longer range that improves the energy available at BOL and EOL by 30%. The new drive system, with a lighter and more compact design, reduces weight up to 26% and also includes a new digital HMI that allows maximum personalisation.
A Little History
Irizar e-mobility was born in late 2016, although its strategic catalyst came in 2011 when, in anticipation of the movements in the sector, the Irizar Group created the electromobility business area. Irizar built its first electric bus, which was 12 metres long, in 2013. In 2014, it became the first European manufacturer in the sector to deliver two vehicles to the city of Barcelona as part of the European ZeEUS project. And the first electric bus was presented in San Sebastián the same year.
At that time, its intense journey to provide complete mobility systems to cities began, including 100% electric buses and charging, drive and energy storage infrastructures. All of which are designed and manufactured with Irizar Group technology. In 2016, it won a contract to operate the first French urban electromobility line, in Marseille, with six units. The Irizar ie tram was launched on the market a year later. In parallel, its bus models win awards, like “Bus of the Year in Spain” and “Ecological Industrial Vehicle in Spain”.
In 2018, the Irizar e-mobility facilities were opened, which was the first European electromobility plant exclusively dedicated to manufacturing short range 100% zero-emissions electric buses, charging infrastructures and its own batteries.
Firmly committed to sustainability, and to further minimise its environmental impact, the company invested in the largest photovoltaic solar farm in the Basque Country, which gives it a green energy plant qualification. Additionally, Irizar e-mobility gives its batteries a second life, which lets them be reused as energy storage devices.
