Solaris demonstrates new midibus at Busworld 2025 – CleanTechnica

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Increases range and reduces maintenance for urban EV fleets

Brussels, Belgium — Polish bus manufacturer Solaris Bus & Coach premiered the Solaris Urbino 10.5 electric. The 10.5 meter vehicle, positioned as an all-electric mid-range city bus, is designed for high maneuverability in confined city centres. The 10.5 electric’s focus on maximizing passenger capacity within its compact dimensions was immediately recognized as it won the Sustainable Bus Award 2026 in the “Urban” category on the day of its debut.

The new bus, along with the other models on display, features a modular drive system, a design approach designed to standardize key components across the Urbino family to simplify maintenance and reduce complexity for fleet operators.

Showcase with zero emissions

The centerpiece of the Solaris exhibition at Busworld 2025 was to underline its commitment to zero-emission public transport, to officially launch the Urbino 10.5 and to present two of its award-winning electric and hydrogen vehicles.

Solaris’ booth in Hall 5 also featured two established flagships of its zero-emissions portfolio:

• The Solaris Urbino 18 hydrogen, articulated fuel cell electric bus that has been named The international bus of 2025 international jury of commercial vehicle journalists. The awards ceremony took place in September 2024 at the IAA Transportation trade fair in Hannover. It was a historic win as it was the first hydrogen-powered vehicle to win the industry’s highest award.
• Solaris Urbino 12 electric, won the Sustainable Bus Award 2025 with its modular drive system in the “Urban” category at the same prices. The award was announced in October 2024.

International strategy

In addition to showcasing its products, Solaris detailed its ongoing international expansion efforts with a particular focus on the North American market. The company cited its recent major orders in the United States and Canada as key indicators of its broader global growth strategy.

Solaris ranked second in Europe’s zero-emission bus deliveries in 2024 and is a dominant player in the fast-growing hydrogen segment. However, its electric buses solve the most persistent problems facing fleet managers: energy consumption in extreme weather and the complexity of maintaining electric drives.

Advanced thermal management extends operating range

In cold and temperate climates, heating and cooling can eat up a significant portion of an electric bus’s battery capacity, a phenomenon that raises long-range concerns for transportation planners. The Urbino 10.5 electric meets this challenge with an advanced air conditioning system with a CO2 heat pump that fundamentally changes the energy equation. Unlike conventional electric heating, which draws much of its energy from battery reserves, the CO2 heat pump uses thermodynamic principles to extract heat directly from the surrounding air, requiring much less stored energy.

This natural refrigerant solution can reduce heating-related energy consumption by more than 50 percent compared to traditional resistance heating, which directly results in a range extension of up to 30 percent in real-world conditions. For transport authorities, this increase in efficiency means maximizing the daily operating hours of serviceability and potentially reducing the total number of vehicles needed to service existing routes.

Operating costs drive every procurement decision, and Solaris has addressed this reality with an efficient, modular approach to powertrains.

Distributed component architecture

The Urbino 10.5 electric uses a distributed component architecture that significantly eliminates the traditional engine tower, a bulky structure that complicates access and consumes valuable passenger space. This modularity allows maintenance technicians to reach key powertrain components directly from the ground, eliminating the need for specialized equipment and lengthy vehicle disassembly procedures.

The Midibus shares core systems and components with the larger, award-winning Urbino 12 electric model, reducing inventory complexity and training costs for operators managing mixed fleets. This standardization represents a powerful, if understated, lever for reducing long-term maintenance costs and improving vehicle availability.

With a capacity of up to 85 passengers, the new midibus provides an exceptional capacity-to-size ratio, making it particularly suitable for congested city centers and access routes where maneuverability is important. This launch reinforces Solaris’ strategic position as an all-in-one provider across the zero-emissions spectrum, offering solutions spanning battery, electric fuel cell and trolleybus technologies.

As cities in Europe (mostly) accelerate efforts to decarbonize their vehicle fleets, vehicles that balance passenger capacity, urban agility and sophisticated energy efficiency will prove essential to meeting aggressive climate commitments while maintaining the reliability of service required by public transport.