Golden Dragon has announced the delivery of 462 buses to the Tunisian Public Transport Company.
The order represents the largest government procurement of public vehicles in the country’s history, as well as Golden Dragon’s first major contract in the North African market.
A delivery ceremony for the initial vehicles was held at the Yuanhai Terminal in Haicang, Xiamen.
The order marks one of the first instances of a Chinese company delivering buses to Tunisia, a country which, until now, had relied heavily on European buses – either utilising their chassis for local assembly or importing used vehicles.
Tunisia placed its first order for a batch of Chinese buses in 2o24 and awarded its second – and largest – procurement order to Golden Dragon.
In order to secure the tender; Golden Dragon carried out intensive testing on 25,000 kilometres of road, including 18,000 kilometres on washboard roads, to ensure the reliability of both the body structure and drivetrain of the chosen vehicles. The manufacturer’s engineering team also collected local road data in order to calibrate engines and transmissions and meet customer fuel efficiency requirements.
Ms. Lamia Ayadi, Procurement Manager and Chair of the Tender Committee at Tunisia's national bus company SNTRI, said:We witnessed Golden Dragon's utmost sincerity throughout the prototype modification process. This cooperation marks a new beginning for both sides.
Delivered buses thus far consist of a mix of 12-metre and 18-metre models, with the first batch expected to arrive at Tunisian ports in early February 2026 before being deployed across 15 bus companies in 14 cities.
The order process, from contract signing to first shipment, was conducted over the course of five months.
