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Zenobē announces strategic agreement with Grupo Julià, the business’ first project in Spain

A red double-decker Barcelona City Tour electric bus parked next to a Zenobē-branded charging station inside a bus depot in Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona. The image highlights Grupo Julià’s transition to a sustainable electric fleet as part of its collaboration with Zenobē.

The agreement, with an initial investment of 42 million euros, underscores Zenobē and Grupo Julià’s commitment to the sustainable transition.

21st November 2024 – Grupo Julià, a Spanish business leading in global tourism and mobility services, and the London-headquartered company Zenobē, a leader electrification of large transport fleets, have signed an agreement that marks the beginning of the sustainable transition of the coach fleet of the Group based in Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona) to zero emissions.

The agreement, with an estimated initial investment of 42 million euros, includes Zenobē financing the coaches that Grupo Julià will use to operate their tourist bus services.

The agreement includes two contracts: the coach rental which includes monthly payments and an option to purchase the vehicles at the end of the contract, and on the other hand, the battery rental which ensures the batteries in the vehicles will always meet route requirements and covers all the associated maintenance.

In addition, Zenobē will build, maintain and operate the infrastructure required for the operation of the new electric fleet including new substation, solar panels, electric chargers, and 150 kW hoses for electric vehicles. These will be implemented in two phases to ensure Grupo Julià can continue with normal operations. Zenobē’s software will enable smart vehicle charging and optimisation, providing key consumption and charging parameters.

This end-to-end solution will position Grupo Julià as a leader in sustainable passenger transportation within the tourism sector of Spain. This is Zenobē’s first large fleet electrification project in Spain, with the company already supporting over 2,000 electric vehicles in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

Grupo Julià CEO standing in front of a red electric double-decker bus with “100% Electric Zero Emissions” branding, next to a Zenobē charging station inside the Hospitalet de Llobregat depot in Barcelona. The image highlights the partnership between Grupo Julià and Zenobē to electrify the city tour fleet.

José Francisco Adell, CEO of Grupo Julià said: “this operation positions Barcelona as the city with the most sustainable tourist bus service in the world and sets the course for the company’s future fleet investment strategy from now on”.

Meanwhile, Martín Navarro, EV Business Director of Zenobē in Spain, emphasized that: “the collaboration with Grupo Julià represents an excellent starting point for Zenobē to bring its global experience supporting over 120 bus depots to the Spanish market.”

 

About Grupo Julià

Grupo Julià is one of the leading Spanish business groups specialised in global tourism and mobility services. With a presence in 20 cities in 8 countries (Spain, UK, Italy, USA, Argentina, Mexico, Andorra and Morocco) it has more than 12 million customers internationally. The company has a fleet of more than 450 vehicles.

Grupo Julià is organized into three main divisions:

  • Tourism Division: through the brands Julià Travel, Julià Tours, This is Med, City Sailing and Julià Tours & Tickets- covers the main tourism services, such as tour operating and incoming tourism services, among others.
  • City Tour Worldwide Division: City Tour brand, has positioned itself as one of the main international tour bus operators, with a total annual passenger traffic of more than 4 million annually passengers in the main international touristic capitals (Barcelona, Madrid, London, Rome, Mexico DF, etc.).
  • Transport Division: through the brands Autocares Julià, Autocares Nadal, Direct Bus and Julià Premium, is specialized in discretionary and regular service, regular service for special use and luxury coaches. Its revenue in 2023 reached 272 million euros.

Visit https://grupojulia.com

 

Peter Smith

Head of Product

Pete leads Zenobē’s growing team of Product specialists across all areas of the business. His team oversee our R&D as well as product development in both hardware and software.

 

He has been working in the European E-Mobility sector from over ten years, specialising in the design, build and delivery of software systems for EV Charging.