Brussels, April 27, IRNA - Scania, the leading Swedish manufacturer of heavy trucks and buses, is to start delivery of passenger buses to Iran this year.

Cecillia Edstroem, senior vice president, corporate relations, of Scania told IRNA in Brussels Thursday that the buses are meant for transport in the cities.

"The buses have latest technology, but they are run on traditional diesel fuel," she said.

Scania was founded in 1891. Since then, the company has built and delivered more than 1,000,000 trucks and buses for heavy transport work.

It is a global company with operations in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Australia.

"We have done some deals with Iran in the past, but it has not been a major market for us. "Now we are working with a local enterprise," said Edstroem.

She could not give the precise number of the buses to be delivered to Iran but said it was a few hundred.

Meanwhile, Scania organized an event in Brussels Thursday on "focus on the driver for Road Safety" on the occasion of the European Road Safety Day, and within the framework of the First United nations Global World Road Safety Week.

Edstroem told journalists that 1.2 million people die and between 20-50 million are injured in road accidents all over the world every year.

In the EU 40,000 people fall victim to traffic fatalities annually.

A Scania Road Safety Truck, equipped with the most up-to-date safety technology was on display, while a young 22-year-old girl driver explained how the technology of the bus functions.

... Payvand News - 4/27/07 ... --