Sunsundegui was a

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

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 * Coac ...

manufacturer based in Alsasua,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

History

The company namesake is businessman José Sunsundegui, who founded the company in the Basque Country town of

Irún Irun (, ) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. History It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as a Ancient Rome, Roma ...

in 1944. Sunsundegui initially started out as a rolling stock repair workshop for

Renfe Renfe (, ), officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company. It was created in 2005 upon the split of the former Spanish National Railway Network (RENFE) into the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias ( ...

, 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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

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 Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...

Go-Ahead Ireland Go-Ahead Transport Services (Dublin) Limited, trading as Go-Ahead Ireland, is a bus operator in Dublin that commenced trading in September 2018. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History With the aim of improving efficiency, in 2015 t ...

and

Ulsterbus Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink (Northern Ireland), Translink, the brand name for the subsidiary operating companies of the Northern Ireland Transpor ...

for intercity bus services on the island of Ireland;

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

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 p ...

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 ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

in May 2022, after struggling through the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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.In 2025, the company went into liquidation.https://carrilbus.com/sunsundegui-podria-entrar-en-liquidacion-en-dos-semanas

Models

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

At the time of closure

*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.

*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 The Universal Exhibition of Seville 1992 – Expo '92 (officially: ) was a universal exhibition held from Monday 20 April to Monday 12 October 1992, at the , in Seville, Spain. The theme for the expo was "The Age of Discoveries", celebrating the ...

References

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

History

Models

At the time of closure

Previous

References