In total, it is about over 300 emails that SVT has seen between a KLT official and the two companies that were responsible for the conversions of the Fiat Ducat minibuses between 2018 and 2024.
The emails from 2018 and 2019, when the traffic procurement was still ongoing (see fact box), show that the rebuilding was limited by time pressure and difficulties in reducing the weight of the vehicle.
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The transport companies in Kalmar county, which at that time had already submitted tenders in the procurement, had bought the pig in the sack and written in their tenders that they would drive with converted Fiat Ducatos – even though the vehicle had not yet been produced.
Wanted to cancel the procurement
At one point, a KLT official raises the question of whether the procurement should be canceled and redone – and then to replace the requirement for biogas with HVO (biodiesel):
“This vehicle has become one big compromise, which I feel does not benefit our customers in Kalmar county. The capacity, the pursuit of kilos that lead to less comfort for travelers and the uncertainty surrounding the original weight of the Fiat Ducato are the basis for my comment,” writes the official on New Year’s Eve 2018.
Nevertheless, work continued to finish building the vehicle with the requirement for biogas, even after the procurement was completed.
Gas companies had to rebuild one car per day
The goal was for the buses to be in service by January 1, 2020 at the latest. But even that turned out to be stressful.
In an internal email from September 30, 2019, KLT’s official writes about information he just received from the company that is to replace all gas tanks:
“NN announces that he will start replacing composite tanks on the vehicles the day after tomorrow, Wednesday. This means that he has to rebuild at least one vehicle per day – compared to two vehicles per week that he previously planned for”.
SVT has sought a comment from the two companies that were responsible for the conversion and from the Fiat dealers, but all have declined.