These will be modern electric buses with a length of 8,5 and 12 meters, equipped with batteries with a capacity of 282 and 422 kWh. Their range is limited to 250 and 300 km, respectively.
It must be said that before the collapse of the Union, buses of this brand were the basis of urban public transport fleets in most Soviet cities. Deliveries amounted to almost 200 copies. In Baku, their share reached 000%, at least until 90.
Then the Hungarian enterprise experienced difficult times, and, as a result, in 2003 it was closed due to unprofitability. Now the brand rights have been purchased, and they plan to “reanimate” Ikarus. The company's owners consider the new tender as the first step towards the revival of the company and its entry into the ranks of global manufacturers.
At this stage, Ikarus’s plans are not limited to supplies; they plan to open their own plant in Azerbaijan within three years, the annual production volume of which will reach 600 units of equipment. Here's what Russian car owners say about this:
The electric Ikarus is not at all the same bus that I used to go to training. In the Ikarus of my childhood it was very cold in winter and always stank of diesel fuel. So there definitely won’t be any parallels here, they’re just using a popular name to break into the market.
- Evgeny Zhdanovsky from Tver begins the conversation
My favorite place was in the “accordion” at the junction - I always ran away from my parents to this place. I still remember the smell of rubber! And the buses were excellent, a lot of people got on!
- recalls Nikolai Vasilyevich from Volgodonsk
The power reserve is very modest - for 4-5 runs along the route, and then into the sump to charge. Although, if you put charging stations at the end points, it might be enough for a day. But this is additional infrastructure, who will want to bear the costs? Bus buyers are unlikely to agree.
— says Oleg from Makeevka
For Baku, 50 new buses is very modest, and the plant will not be ready soon. I wonder where else the new Ikarus are being supplied? In Hungary itself, are they on at least one route? And somehow they don’t talk much about the price. The first step was to cover the financial issue, but this only aroused curiosity. If Ikaruses appeared on our roads again, I would park the car and at least on weekends, I would gladly drive one. As in childhood…
— Georgy Svintitsky from Saratov asks questions and shares his dreams
We are unlikely to be interested in Hungarian buses - now our factories create excellent equipment, and we can cope on our own, city fleets are updated in a timely manner, and I, as a regular user, have no desire to ride electric Ikarus.
— sums up Ruslan Nefedov from Taganrog.
