The revival of Hungarian bus manufacturing is on the verge. It is now the responsibility of the decision-makers whether they support it as part of the resurgence of the Hungarian manufacturing industry, whether they support the revitalization of the economy, the creation of new jobs, and the stimulation of R&D efforts and productive investments. The metal body M 108d and the composite body C 86e Modulo buses have already proven themselves.

Soon we will find out whether there’s a need for domestic bus manufacturing and for an order of 150 of the acclaimed Modulo M 168d articulated bus to be used as a metro substitute. MABI-BUS Ltd., which was founded by Hungarian bus manufacturers, is completing another integration with Ikarus Egyedi Ltd. The name of the company is an acronym of the words “Hungarian”, “bus” and “innovation”. The company has a diverse product portfolio. Over a year after restarting manufacturing, dozens of vehicles prove that Hungary has a new chance to reach international acclaim again, worthy of what Ikarus had before. For this we need the greatest co-operation – now! The manufacturers and suppliers made their first step. The next step is up to the operators, the local governments and the state. We have received help from them already, but more is needed. And of course, it is also important for every Hungarian citizen to understand that modern domestic bus production may also have an impact on the economy and on the country’s self-esteem. And last, but not least, it can also create a lot of new jobs and increase tax revenue. An achievement is being born that also takes into account the environmental, energy saving and technical requirements of the 21st century. Therefore, in principle, everything has converged to make Modulo OUR BUS. Just like the Ikarus was for many decades. Electric-powered Modulo C 68e buses have been in service since the beginning of May. The TÜV-certified consumption data based on UITP SORT 2 is 0.61 kWh / km and this has been confirmed by the buses at BKV, too. On several occasions the buses have ended their shifts on the streets of Budapest with a lower consumption than what was achieved by the vehicle that traveled 1570 km to Paris with an average consumption of 0.487 kWh / km. This is barely more than twice the consumption of an electric car. Calculating with nighttime electrical pricing it costs less than 10 HUF for a bus to travel 1 km. The metal body, PKD delivered solo Modulo M 108d buses which were shipped in 2015 have already completed over 30,000 km and have proven to be extremely safe. The new, 18.75 m long articulated bus is built on the same base, and the public will be able to try it out by the end of June. Soon we will know whether the decision-makers opt for the Hungarian product during the 2017-2018 renovation of Metro Line #3, or whether they opt for the rival Polish product in a completely different public procurement, which costs 4 million HUF less, but has much higher component prices. The articulated buses, which are delivered in a PKD construction, can also be obtained at a much more favorable price (EUR 290,000 for a bundle) than buses from other manufacturers whose prices are in the range of EUR 310-380 thousand at various tenders in the region. Ordering Hungarian buses is also a matter of national economic interest as, besides the more favorable component prices, the production of 150 articulated buses will create 250-300 jobs, and indirectly it will provide employment for more than 1,600 people. 70% of the total expenditure will be returned to the economy, and for a bus that costs HUF 80 million, HUF 26 million goes back to the Hungarian State in the form of taxes and contributions – a total of HUF 3.9 billion for an order of 150 buses. For an imported product all this revenue would go abroad. The domestic supplier ratio of this model is 53%, thus increasing R&D volume in addition to job creation, and it would also encourage further domestic investment. And the traveling public could be proud of these modern, Hungarian-made vehicles. Based on the above we can state that our bus is also in the national interest of Hungary.