After having bagged an order for 500 new low-floor Urban city buses from the Ivory Coast, Tata Motors recently handed over the first lot of 117 buses to SOTRA Abidjan Transport Company in Côte d’Ivoire’s economic capital, Abidjan. The buses are being financed under the EXIM Bank of India for operation by SOTRA Abidjan Transport Company.
Built on Tata Motors’ next-generation HCV bus platform (LPO 1924 RESLF), the bus for Abidjan has been developed with inputs from SOTRA, with a high degree of customisation using feedback gathered through city trials over the past couple of months. Present at the delivery the buses in Abidjan was Noel Tata, MD of Tata International and chairman of Trent, along with Mukul Manish, regional manager (North & West Africa).
Commenting on the new order, Rudrarup Maitra, Head – International Business (Commercial Vehicles), Tata Motors said, “Tata Motors has worked very closely with SOTRA to give Abidjan a truly world-class solution through a tried-and-tested partnership meant to bring about change in the transport system in Cote D’Ivoire. With a dedicated team of Tata Motors engineers, having worked with SOTRA on-ground over the last 12 months, we have probably achieved one of the highest levels of customisation in public transportation in the region, to deliver more passenger comfort, safety and efficiency to Abidjan’s bus service.”