CATP prepares unprecedented framework agreement for the procurement of bi-articulated electric buses

The French Centrale d’Achat du Transport Public (CATP) is preparing a procurement structure of unprecedented scale on Europe’s bi-articulated electric bus market: the organisation has launched a public procurement procedure for two framework agreements covering new battery-electric bi-articulated vehicles, with a total estimated value of €2.496 billion net. The first framework, worth €1.056 billion, concerns buses to be procured without charging systems, while the second structure, estimated at €1.44 billion, includes not only the vehicles but also the associated on-route “flash” rapid-charging system. The agreements may remain in force for up to eight years: the initial two-year term may be extended by CATP up to six times, each time by a further year.

CATP is the central purchasing body for the French public transport sector. Through public procurement procedures carried out in advance and the framework agreements resulting from them, it enables eligible local authorities and transport stakeholders to purchase vehicles, equipment and services without having to launch a full tender of their own. Organisations qualifying as contracting authorities or entities – including municipalities, transport authorities and certain public transport operators – may join CATP; membership is free of charge and does not in itself entail any obligation to buy. Beneficiaries can then access the framework agreements previously tendered by CATP and, under the pre-defined conditions, place orders against them for items including buses.

In addition to urban, suburban, interurban and coach categories, the system covers practically all propulsion technologies commonly found on the European bus market: from conventional diesel types to natural gas and biogas-powered, hybrid, battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell buses, all the way to trolleybuses. The structure reduces both the administrative burden and the time required for individual procurements, while the aggregation of potential demand from several customers can create significant procurement volumes. At the same time, it is important to note that CATP does not replace conventional public procurement in every case even in France, and use of the system is subject to the conditions set out in the relevant framework agreement.

From the manufacturers’ side, however, gaining access to the system is far from straightforward, as CATP selects suppliers for the individual vehicle categories and propulsion technologies through public procurement procedures, meaning that companies must first perform successfully in these tenders in order to be included in the catalogue. Accordingly, the offering includes many major European manufacturers and manufacturers active in Europe, among them Solaris, MAN, Daimler Buses, Iveco Bus, Irizar, Hess, Volvo Buses, Scania, Otokar, Isuzu, Karsan, CaetanoBus, Safra and Bluebus.

The current procedure, announced by CATP earlier this year at the end of January, fits into this system, but its scale is unusually large even by the standards of the significant volumes handled by the organisation. Although the €2.496 billion specified in the notice is only an estimated value and does not represent a guaranteed order of that amount, the scale is well illustrated by the fact that the price of a 24–25-metre battery-electric bi-articulated bus currently ranges roughly between €1.3 million and €2.2 million, depending on equipment level and technical configuration. In other words, even taking into account the multi-year framework nature of the agreement and the uncertainty surrounding actual call-offs, this is a volume that goes far beyond a few individual urban fleet renewals.

The procurement itself is being conducted as a negotiated procedure and consists of two successive stages. First, CATP assesses the suitability of the manufacturers applying to take part, after which the shortlisted participants may submit their bids, followed if necessary by one or more negotiation rounds. The deadline for submitting requests to participate expired on 9 February, so the procedure has already passed the public application stage. A bidder was able to apply for both lots and may even win both framework agreements.

The first lot specifically concerns battery-electric bi-articulated buses, without the procurement of associated charging infrastructure. Its estimated value is €1.056 billion net. By contrast, the second lot covers not only the vehicles themselves but also their associated on-route “flash” rapid-charging system; CATP has estimated this at €1.44 billion net. Both lots are single-supplier framework agreements from which CATP’s eligible beneficiaries may call off vehicles throughout the full duration of the agreement, and in the case of the second lot the related charging system as well, without a new competitive procedure.

For the time being, however, the pool of potential suppliers is rather narrow. With Van Hool’s exit in 2024, in Europe today essentially only Solaris and Hess have active product programmes and references that can realistically be considered in this vehicle category. In principle, Turkey’s Bozankaya could also be a contender, as its zero-emission bus family includes a bi-articulated vehicle in both battery-electric and trolleybus versions. In the longer term, however, it is not so much the emergence of further European manufacturers that appears likely, but rather the arrival of Chinese players. One reason for this is that the bi-articulated bus remains a niche product: developing an entirely new type requires significant investment and engineering capacity, while the available order volume is far smaller than for conventional solo and articulated models. From a manufacturing perspective, the category is not necessarily attractive either, since assembling a 24–25-metre vehicle on the production line can tie up capacity that might otherwise be used to build several solo buses.

At the same time, Chinese manufacturers are already showing visible interest in this size class. In their case, the economic risk of developing such a niche product can be viewed differently, as the substantial domestic market, high production volumes and the state industrial policy that has long supported China’s vehicle industry may provide greater room to finance new types and market segments. Higer already has a bi-articulated city bus, while Yutong’s entry also appears an increasingly realistic possibility. The latter has won a framework agreement in Zurich that, in addition to solo and articulated trolleybuses, also allows for the optional call-off of bi-articulated vehicles. All this suggests that in the 24–25-metre segment, currently still covered predominantly by European manufacturers, the arrival of Chinese players will have to be taken increasingly seriously in the coming years.

The unprecedented volume of the framework agreement may be explained in part by its unusually broad geographical scope. Although several high-capacity BRT developments and bi-articulated vehicle procurements are on the agenda in the French market, the currently known French requirements alone would hardly justify a framework providing financial cover for a vehicle quantity on the scale of several hundred units. The notice, for both lots, does not identify France alone as the place of performance: alongside metropolitan France, the overseas departments and regions, the overseas collectivities and New Caledonia, the list also includes Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Andorra, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria.

This is also noteworthy because CATP is fundamentally a French central purchasing body which, according to its own presentation, has more than 600 beneficiaries, including France’s twenty largest urban areas. The appearance of a foreign customer would not, however, be without precedent in the organisation’s history: CATP carried out its first procurement outside France in 2020, when the Swiss Transports de la région Morges Bière Cossonay (MBC) purchased Lumiplan Heurès’ transport planning and operations control software through it. According to the information provided at the time, this was made possible by the fact that the products and services in CATP’s offering may be accessible not only to contracting authorities in European Union member states, but also to those in countries that have joined the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA/AMP). Switzerland is such a country, and MBC was therefore able to make use of the structure previously tendered by CATP.

The geographical scope of the current procedure and its estimated value of almost €2.5 billion therefore raise the possibility that the framework was sized from the outset with a potential customer base broader than French demand in mind. However, the procurement notice does not provide a clear explanation for this, and the list of countries naturally does not in itself mean that actual orders will be placed from them.