| Industry | Engineering |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1989; 37 years ago (1989) |
| Fate | Defunct 2015[citation needed] |
| Successor | Industria Italiana Autobus |
| Headquarters | Bologna, Italy |
| Products | Buses Trolleybuses] |
| Website | [1] |
BredaMenarinibus S.p.A. was a bus manufacturer based inBologna, Italy. The company was established in 1989 through the merger ofBredabus, the bus and coach divisions ofBreda Costruzioni Ferroviarie, heir of the consortiumInbus (Industrie Autobus), andCarrozzeria Menarini, established in 1919 in Bologna, anticipating those processes of industrial aggregation that would characterize the bus sector as well as that of industrial vehicles.[2]
Menarini was established 1919 by Ettore Menarini in Bologna which main activity was the construction ofhorsebuses, an artisan work that required time and precision. The company began in the 1920s, in collaboration withFIAT, the production ofcoachwork for collective transport and industrial uses as workshop wagons, ambulances, special vans and buses. During thebombing of Bologna in World War II the factory went destroyed; only in 1946 Menarini restarted the activity producing buses only; with 230 workers produced eight vehicles a month. In the half of the 1950s the production was transferred in a new factory, still in use, in a suburban area; the new plant was built to meet the modern processing needs.
At the beginning of the 1960s was projected and built thecoach SDM (Sintesi del Meglio) a milestone in styling and construction techniques. A successful range of buses were built in the 1970s: theMonocar 201 was fit for urban and suburban services, whileMonocar 110,Monocar 120 for intercity scheduled services. In the 1980s the company developed and projected low-floor urban buses building theMonocar 220. Due to financial problems the company sold some shares to Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie whose contribution would have served to modernise the company, later some disagreements with the new management led to the exit of the Menarini family from the new company.[3]
Bredabus was formed in 1987 when the consortium Inbus, established in 1977, closed. The new company was formed byBreda Costruzioni Ferroviarie (45%) ofPistoia andSofer (20%) ofNaples both of theEFIM group.[4]
Bredabus continued to build some Inbus models until 1993 with the inscription Bredabus mod.Inbus. The new consortium projected and built three new models,Bredabus 2001 andBredabus 3001 (urban),Bredabus 4001 (trolleybus),Bredabus 5001 (suburban), characterized by a modern style designed byPininfarina made ofaluminium alloy or steel.
The new company, that chose a red horse as trademark, passed under the control ofFinmeccanica acquiring the necessary resources to develop a range of new buses. BredaMenarinibus produced models in the urban segment such asMonocar 221,Monocar 230,Monocar 321,Monocar 340 while in 1997 began the production oflow-floor bus asMonocar 231 andMonocar 240 featuring high technical and design solutions.[3] Particular attention was taken to development of alow-emission vehicle, producing a modern style electric minibus, namedZEUS (Zero Emission Urban System), suitable for the historic centre and sold to some European countries asFrance,Germany,The Netherlands,Switzerland andSpain.[5]
On 20 November 2014, an agreement was signed at theMinistry of Economic Development between Finmeccanica andKing Long Italia for the sale of BredaMenarinibus toIndustria Italiana Autobus (IIA), owned by King Long Italia (80%) and by Finmeccanica (20%)[3][6] rebranding the new company with the historical nameMenarinibus acquiring the formerIrisbus production plant inFlumeri. On 24 January 2018, the first twenty Menarinibus Citymood buses, equipped with the newEuro 6 engines, were delivered toTPER of Bologna.[7]
In 2024, the Italian government announced that it would fully withdraw from the company, transferring 71.4% of the shares to Seri Industria SpA.[8]
Below is a summary of BredaMenarinibus production:[9]
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