After a successful trial run in December 2009 the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen AG (SSB) has now put three Mercedes-Benz Citaro G BlueTec® Hybrid buses into service, with two additional buses to be added by the end of the year. During a week-long test last year the environmentally friendly hybrid bus received an outstanding response from passengers and demonstrated significant fuel savings on the most demanding of the city bus lines, number 42, which also has the greatest differences in elevation along its route.

Today Hartmut Schick, Head of Daimler Buses, presented the three articulated hybrid buses to Wolfgang Arnold, member of the Board of Management of Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen in the presence of Dr. Wolfgang Schuster, Lord Mayor of Stuttgart, and Andreas Renschler, the member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG who is responsible for Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses. "With these new hybrid buses Stuttgart is taking another big step forward on the path to sustainable urban mobility. I am pleased that we are once again taking a leading role in this area. Stuttgart was truly made to serve as a test area for new forms of mobility and new technology: anything that proves its worth here is destined to become a success in other places. I am grateful to Daimler AG for your open view toward the future and your creativity, but above all for your work on making Stuttgart a site for mobility," remarked Dr. Wolfgang Schuster.

At the official presentation of the vehicles Andreas Renschler commented: "We are delighted that our long-standing customer of the SSB will be operating the cutting-edge hybrid buses from Mercedes-Benz here in Stuttgart, which will make these buses the first of their kind to run in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. For decades now SSB’s bus strategy has been geared towards testing or using new technology. All the more reason why we are pleased to be assisting the SSB in this venture."

The Citaro G BlueTEC® Hybrid is currently the only hybrid bus available that can cover sections of its route using electric power alone, i.e. without its diesel engine, and that drives nearly noiselessly up to bus stops. And it continues on its route after each stop without the usual loud engine sound associated with buses. The drive system comprises four electric wheel hub motors that source electricity from one of the largest lithium-ion batteries ever used in mobile applications. Electricity is generated through braking when the bus is driving downhill, for example. If required, it can also be produced using a generator driven by a diesel engine that is relatively small for the Citaro’s vehicle category. Experts call this type of system a series hybrid drive.

Hartmut Schick is convinced that Mercedes-Benz hybrid buses will enjoy many years of success: "I expect that by 2015 ten to 15 percent of the new orders in urban buses will be for this kind with hybrid drive. As always, the SSB is a pioneer in this field.“