Work starts on a new EvoBus GmbH bus and coach service centre in Prague

New service address for Mercedes-Benz and Setra buses and coaches

Around 4 million euros invested

EvoBus presence in the Czech Republic to be expanded

Stuttgart/Prague, Apr 20, 2006 The ground-breaking ceremony for a new EvoBus GmbH service centre will be held in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, on 20 April 2006. Construction work will start immediately after this. Based on a total investment volume of 4 million euros, EvoBus Bohemia s.r.o., a subsidiary of EvoBus GmbH, will build a central service outlet (on a 13,000 m² site) for Mercedes-Benz and Setra buses and coaches covering the entire Czech Republic.

This new service address will be a key source of professional and active support for buses and coaches of both brands from all over Europe on this important transit route. It will provide servicing and repairs and supply original bus and coach parts.

The new workshop building is to accommodate repair stations for 14 buses and coaches. Standing on an area of approximately 3000 m2, the also includes sales and service sections for Mercedes-Benz and Setra buses and coaches, as well the bus and coach parts depot for the Czech Republic.

The new EvoBus service centre in Prague will enter into operation in August 2006. At the ground-breaking ceremony Wolfgang Diez, President and CEO of EvoBus GmbH, emphasised the importance the company’s activities in the Czech Republic: „The new sales and service centre in Prague complements our successful involvement ion the production facility in Holưšov and represents the cornerstone for a long-term increase in our market share in the Czech Republic. Diez went on to say „Today we are a major bus and coach manufacturer at both global and local levels, and our aim is to play a bigger role in the local market.“

The new service centre in Prague will be the 40th EvoBus service in Europe. With these 40 company-owned service centres and more than 500 service partners and bus/coach service points in the DaimlerChrysler network, EvoBus GmbH, which is responsible for the European bus and coach market within the DaimlerChrysler Group, has the most extensive bus/coach-specific service network in the whole of Europe. The service spectrum at the EvoBus service centre ranges from general repairs, accident repairs, servicing and maintenance right up to the acquisition of original Omniplus replacement parts and painting work.

Founded in April 1998, EvoBus Bohemia s.r.o. is one of 18 EvoBus GmbH subsidiaries in Europe. EvoBus Bohemia initially focused on sales and service for Mercedes-Benz and Setra buses and coaches in the Czech Republic. Shortly after this it added the production of bus/coach bodyshell segments: in May 1999, it started to manufacture segments and purchased parts at the production plant in Holưšov (Western Bohemia).

As part of the European EvoBus production network, these parts were then sent to the bodyshell centre at the Mannheim bus and coach plant.December 2001 signalled the start of the redevelopment of the Holưšov plant and this has been expanded on an ongoing basis to encompass leading-edge production facilities, including a state-of-the-art laser system for material cutting. Since the start of 2005, front and rear-end segments for the Mercedes-Benz Citaro have also been manufactured in Holưšov. EvoBus is investing a total of 25 million euros at the Holưšov location. At present EvoBus Bohemia s.r.o. employs a workforce of nearly 500 people.