There is a winner, and it is BYD. On April 4, 2025, news emerged about the tender issued by the Municipality of Taranto for six 12-metre electric buses, including three charging points, intended for Kyma Mobilità. Now, ten months later, the Municipality of Taranto has published the official award decision on its website.
BYD Europe narrowly came out on top, by just 0.37 points: the European division of the Chinese manufacturer scored 85.54 points, compared with 85.17 for KMobility, the Italian dealer of Karsan. Third place went to Pagliani Service with 82.84 points, fourth to Menarini Spa (whose offer, however, was not deemed “adequate”), and fifth and last to Iveco Spa with 61.75 points.
Compared to the total contract value for the supplies (€3.6 million for the six e-buses and €210,000 for the three charging infrastructures), set at €3,810,000.00, BYD submitted an offer of €3,122,250.00, proposing its BYD eBus B12.b model.
It should be recalled that the tender called for Class I battery-electric buses with a length between 11.70 and 13.50 metres, a total capacity of at least 80 passengers, three access doors (front inward-swinging sliding door, central and rear sliding doors), a regenerative braking system, and two Combo2 plug-in charging sockets. In addition, the expected annual mileage was 80,000 km per vehicle.
