The Asian firm made its way with trolleybuses and will now supply the first 50 electric units to the fleet of the capital's state company. The consulting firm Mordor Intelligence predicts that the market will grow by double digits by 2029 and its value will exceed US$ 1 billion.

Electromobility, the million-dollar business that is underway. Clearly, the Chinese manufacturer Yutong is beginning to lead the growing electric bus market in Mexico, which during 2024 has a market value of around US$280 million and is estimated to have an annual growth rate of 31.6% in the next five years, so in 2029 it will exceed US$ 1 billion, according to Mordor Intelligence.

Their Chinese peers Zhongtong, BYD, King Long, Sunlong or Sunwin, as well as Volvo and Daimler are strong competitors. Due to their interest, units of some of these brands are currently circulating in different cities in test programs.

Last Thursday, Yutong de México once again won a tender in Mexico City, obtaining a contract to sell the first 50 new electric buses to the Public Transportation Network (RTP) and adapt a loading area for the units, which implies an investment of “more than 408 million pesos (US$ 24.5 million), before VAT,” according to what was said by the agency.

“In order to advance towards electromobility, the RTP reports that, after an international, transparent bidding process, technically supported by global institutions and in which three companies presented proposals to provide this organization with 50 electric buses, Yutong de México "It was selected for complying with the established bases, as well as for offering the best offer between quality and price," it was explained.

In the statement, released on Saturday, it was not explained that the company's offer was for a total amount of US$28.5 million, 0.02% less than the estimate in the investment project registered with the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), as the newspaper published last week.

The other two participants that submitted proposals in the tender and failed to meet all the technical requirements were: Zhongtong México and LOIALT.

Green units

To justify the purchase of the buses, the RTP specified that it seeks to offer the population an efficient, effective and ecological public transport alternative that reduces travel times and improves the mobility of users, contributing to the improvement of the quality of the bus. air of the Metropolitan Zone of the Valley of Mexico with actions that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions into the environment and their effects on the population, in addition to reducing maintenance costs.

The units, which must be delivered no later than September, before the end of the administration of the Head of Government, Martí Batres, will be incorporated into the routes: Metro Balderas-Centro Comercial Santa Fe and Toreo-Metro Constitución de 1917.

In the bidding process, the RTP was questioned by other companies because one of the requirements was to have 1,000 buses in public transport systems in operation globally during the last two years, which, it was said, could only meet one company, the one that finally won.

Prior to this triumph, Yutong had sold articulated buses for the Metrobús and trolleybuses to the Government of Mexico City.

And in December 2022, through the Electric Transport Service (STE), it won a contract to sell 102 articulated trolleybuses for US$ 84.9 million. This process presented a disagreement on the part of Zhongtong, to which it was admitted by the Secretariat of Public Administration, although in the end the result did not change.

For now, the RTP highlighted that, with the new buses, users will have access to a better transportation alternative, free of polluting emissions and noise, in addition to being accessible for the population with some type of disability since they will have kneeling system, low entrance at sidewalk level, ramp for people in wheelchairs and dedicated spaces for them, as well as service animals, and braille signage for users with visual impairment.

Thus, there is a “technological leap” in Mexico City, the same that will occur in the following years throughout the country and one of the wishes of the manufacturers is for there to be a level playing field in the tenders of the state operating companies, with the idea that they are public and transparent.