The 600 Movano Trabus models have been converted to carry 16 passengers by a local supplier, providing 9,600 children with transport to school from the rural areas where they live.

Romania’s Prime Minister, Victor Ponta, plus other government officials and media representatives, met the mayors and school bus drivers from the first 100 villages that will be using the Opel Movanos to transport the schoolchildren.

The local Opel network delivered the buses in staggered phases to ensure a smooth start to the school year.

The 2.3CDTI Movano Trabus, which features air conditioning and has been homologated according to European safety standards, has also been speed limited to 90 km/h at the request of the fleet customer. The vehicle comes with a five-year warranty and the backup of Opel‘s professional aftersales partners’ network across the country.

At the same time, Opel has just announced a series of model year 2015 enhancements to the Movano, which includes a brand new engine line-up. This comprises five turbo diesels, including two of Opel’s latest state-of-the-art 2.3-liter BiTurbo units which significantly reduce fuel consumption, emissions and operating costs.

Like its Vivaro stablemate, the Movano has also been upgraded with new safety features including Electronic Stability Control fitted as standard, together with a range of driving aids such as Hill Start Assist and the Trailer Stability Programme, and a blind-spot mirror in the passenger sun visor for greater all-round visibility.

The Movano range now boasts three wheelbases, three panel van roof heights, four body lengths and 10 body styles, all of which combined add up to a total of 188 variants on offer across the model line-up.

Movano has also seen a series of cost-saving initiatives including two year/40,000km service intervals, reduced maintenance costs, cheaper parts and tyre prices and lower fuel costs, which when combined have produced class-leading Total Costs of Ownership,

‘The new Movano boasts fuel consumption reduced by up to 1.5 litres per 100 kilometres coupled with more power, and lower operating costs,’ said Ian Hucker, Opel’s director of European fleet.

‘In addition, it has a range of safety and comfort features which have previously only been available, if at all, as optional extras, to make it the complete, all-round panel van package,’ he added.