In an interview with a reporter from the China News Network recently, the CEO of Germany’s largest long-distance bus operator, FlixBus, said that the first European-only pure-electric long-distance passenger transport line launched by the company was put into trial operation this month. The Chinese-made pure electric buses are in good condition.
Jochen Engelt made the above remarks to the reporter of the China New Network during the media dialogue held by the German Foreign Press Association (VAP) at the Berlin branch of FlixBus on the 4th.
FlixBus, headquartered in Munich, Germany, was founded in 2013 and has grown to be the largest long-distance bus operator in Europe. It operates approximately 250,000 long-distance passenger coaches between 1,400 destinations in 27 countries in Europe. In 2017, FlixBus transported 40 million passengers.
In March of this year, FlixBus announced the first passenger line to use all electric passenger cars in Europe. This line connecting Paris and Amiens in France uses electric cars produced in China, which has caused European media attention.
When asked why the Chinese brands Yutong and BYD were selected, Jochen Engelter told the China News Network reporter that the first reason is that in the field of pure electric buses, there is no comparable product in Europe: 'Chinese companies have very strong technical input in this area and have accumulated a lot of experience in urban public transport. This allows us to have the full will to cooperate with them.'
According to reports, FlixBus has been placed in the French market and will be placed in the German market this summer, two Chinese-made electric buses are Yutong's ICe12 and BYD's C9.
'The current route in France is working well.' Jochen Engelt said that for European passengers, the most important thing is not which country the brand is from. The actual ride and travel experience is the most crucial. The current test run line The distance is only 150-160 km, but the operation effect is already very good. He said that the company is also exploring with partners including Chinese companies the possibility of more cooperation in the future, including increasing the operating distance of pure electric passenger lines.
According to the person in charge of the FlixBus media, the company will also hold a press conference in Germany this year to introduce its products to the market using China's pure electric buses.