Following a consultation started in 2010 by the RATP, PVI - Division GEPEBUS was selected to supply OREOS 2X electric minibuses to the Paris transport operator. This decision strengthens the historic links between GEPEBUS and the RATP, since the electric OREOS 55 in regular use for over 10 years on the Montmatrobus service, now transports nearly a million passengers each year, including local residents and tourists. This unrivalled experience helped the RATP when choosing the technologies developed by PVI and implemented in its electric industrial vehicles.

The OREOS 2X minibus is a 22-seat city-centre shuttle built from standard mechanical and bodywork parts, thus conferring on it outstanding qualities of reliability and comfort.

Environmentally friendly, silent, comfortable and pleasant to use, these new vehicles have a service range averaging 120 kilometres between intermediate charging or battery exchange, a considerable improvement on the performance of previous generation electric buses. OREOS electric buses can also be quite sprightly with speeds in excess of 70 km/h, to bring them more into line with urban services or for extending their services to suburban areas. Operating a bus route using OREOS 2X buses means preventing over 100 tonnes of CO2 being discharged into the atmosphere each year.

The whole electric powertrain used in the OREOS range uses the latest technological innovations developed by PVI: an electric management module that offers better transmission performance and optimal electrical energy recovery on deceleration and braking, and the integration of an robotized gearbox giving acceleration and a top speed identical to the best conventional vehicles. PVI technology also makes the vehicle exceptionally comfortable and safe to drive on slopes, thanks to the start-up restraint system installed as standard. The vehicles are equipped with Lithium-ion battery packs featuring technologies used by the major operators in the automobile industry.

PVI specialises in the development and small to medium run production of industrial vehicles for use in transport and work in an urban environment. The company has acquired over 20 years of unique know-how and a solid reputation in the area of alternative energies and electric traction as applied to industrial vehicles: lorries used for cleansing and waste collection, delivery and utility vehicles and buses. This experience is further enhanced by feedback from the hundreds of electric vehicles in everyday use in France and Europe. Based on its technological and industrial experience, PVI also offers electric traction solutions for industrial vehicles to OEM manufacturers and partners in Europe and throughout the World.

RATP 2011 Press Release