File photo shows the electric bus Yutong U12 from China is seen transporting passengers in Athens, Greece, Oct. 21, 2020. (Photo/Marios Lolos, Xinhua)

Athens - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis welcomed on Monday the first batch of China-made electric buses which hit the streets of port city Thessaloniki in northern Greece.

"Their arrival signals the advent of a new Greece, which has left behind difficult times," Mitsotakis said in a press statement after inspecting the bus fleet.

The first 46 electric buses manufactured by China's Yutong started circulating in Athens on Saturday while 17 such buses came into service in Thessaloniki on Monday.

Under a purchase agreement, the total 250 electricity-powered buses will join the bus fleet in Athens and Thessaloniki by the end of June.

The electric buses, which are environmentally friendly and exceptionally quiet, and equipped with ramps for disabled passengers and charging ports for mobile phones, will gradually replace part of the existing aged fleet.