A Coveted Blue Angel: Citaro

Starting in November 2007, Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses, whose diesel engine complies with the Euro 5 exhaust emission standards or the even stricter EEV (for Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicle) variant, can apply for this seal to the issuing entity — the RAL Association — and the  Federal Environmental Agency in Berlin.

But the remarkably low emissions of the Citaro engines aren’t the only quality criterion that earned it the Blue Angel. This city bus also scored points for its very low interior and exterior noise levels, the low greenhouse potential of the coolants used in it, and a paint finish that’s devoid of heavy metals and requires less than 130 grams of solvent per square meter of painted surface. Such a paint job is available in Citaro buses with a monochrome finish, on which external color effects are achieved using plastic film.