Sunsundegui is a

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

manufacturer based in Alsasua, Spain.

History

The company namesake is businessman José Sunsundegui, who founded the company in the

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

town of

Irún Irun ( es, Irún, eu, Irun) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. History It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Roman-Vasconic town. During the Span ...

in 1944. Sunsundegui initially started out as a rolling stock repair workshop for Renfe, the Spanish state railway company. This practice continued until the 1980s, when Renfe began to open their own engineering workshops and ceased to use Sunsundegui's services; the company changed focus as a result, launching their first production

, the Sunsundegui Korinto, in 1987. In 2017, Sunsundegui moved into a €5.5 million new factory in Alsasua. The first model to see significant export success was the Sunsundegui Sideral, which was exported to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland in large numbers in the early to mid-2000s. In the late 2010s and early 2020s, the Sunsundegui SB3 and SC5 were ordered in large numbers by

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidia ...

, Go-Ahead Ireland and

Ulsterbus Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink, the brand name for the subsidiary operating companies of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, which also ...

for intercity bus services on the island of Ireland; Israel also emerged as another strong export market for the company. Translink Ulsterbus ordered 30 tri-axle Sunsundegui SC5-bodied

Volvo B11R The Volvo B11R is a 10.8-litre engined coach chassis available as both two- and tri-axle from Volvo since 2011. It was introduced as the second of the Volvo BXXR series, replacing the rest of the B12B range in 2011, and later its fellow BXXR pl ...

coaches for intercity routes in September 2019, followed by a further 30 identical vehicles in September 2020 for Goldline services. Sunsundegui produced 462 buses and coaches in 2019; by 2022, exports to other countries made up 86% of Sunsundegui's total production. Sunsundegui received a loan of €8.9 million from the provincial government of

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

in May 2022, after struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic due to a reduced demand for new vehicles. Prior to the pandemic, Sunsundegui employed 550 people; this reduced to 250 employees by March 2022, although plans were in place to begin new recruitments. After being granted the loan, Sunsundegui announced their intention to commence construction of electric vehicles from 2024.

Models

Sunsundegui have predominantly produced high-floor coaches throughout their history, diversifying into low-floor city bus models in the late 2010s.

Current

*SB3 – intercity bus, available in low entry and high floor versions, available in several chassis. Replaced the Astral. *SB3 Go – new version of the SB3, only available in high floor with Volvo B8R chassis. *SC5 – coach available in different chassis and lengths. Replaced the Sideral. *SC7 – luxury and higher version of the SC5, also available in different chassis and lengths.

Former

*Astral – replacement for the Interstylo introduced in 2004. It was available in low entry, and articulated versions. *Astral Via - low floor version of the Astral. It was only available with Volvo B9L chassis and MAN A22-nl283f. *Interstylo – intercity bus. Also available in articulated and low entry. *Citystylo - low floor version of the Interstylo. Available with MB O405N2, Volvo B10L and MAN NL202F (only in EMT Madrid). *Korinto – the first Sunsundegui

, launched in 1987. *Sideral – touring coach that replaced the Vardino, launched in 2000. *Stylo – touring coach that replaced the Korinto. *Vardi – articulated version of the Vardino. *Vardino – touring coach introduced at Seville Expo '92.

References

{{Automotive industry in Spain Bus manufacturers of Spain Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1944 Companies based in Navarre Spanish brands