Toyota and CaetanoBus have established a partnership with a leading Italian bus manufacturer. In 2024, Industria Italiana Autobus will start production of a new electric city bus powered by Toyota hydrogen fuel cells.
In Europe, a new model of a city bus with an electric drive on hydrogen will be created. CaetanoBus, which manufactures the H2.City Gold hydrogen city bus in collaboration with Toyota, has signed an agreement with Industria Italiana Autobus (IIA) to launch production and distribution of H2.City Gold city buses in Italy.
New Model Hydrogen City Bus
According to the agreement, in 2024, Industria Italiana Autobus, together with CaetanoBus, will begin production of the H2 City Power electric bus model based on Toyota fuel cells. The car will be designed for the Italian and international markets. The partners also agreed that at the end of 2022, IIA will introduce the Toyota CaetanoBus H2.City Gold model made in Portugal to the Italian market.
Toyota’s first hydrogen technology bus
The H2.City Gold bus is the first European-made vehicle to be equipped with Toyota’s hydrogen technology. The 12-meter car seats 87 passengers and has no harmful emissions, and water is the only by-product of the fuel cells. Cells with a capacity of 60 kW receive hydrogen from five 312-liter composite tanks with a total capacity of 37.5 kg of hydrogen at a pressure of 350 bar. As a result of the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen, electricity is generated, which feeds the 245 hp power plant. The car consumes about 6 kg per 100 km, has an average range of 400 km, and refueling takes 9 minutes. The bus is used, including on intercity routes in Spain, as well as in urban transport in Barcelona and suburban transport in the suburbs of Madrid. The vehicle has also attracted interest from the UK’s Peak District National Park authorities, who have included it in a zero-emission public transport pilot program in the region.
Toyota Collaboration with European Bus Manufacturers
As we read in a press release, Toyota and CaetanoBus see the partnership with Industria Italiana Autobus as an important step in the development of emission-free public transport in Europe and an opportunity to enter another major market in the region.
Powerful companies allied with the Japanese
CaetanoBus is a Portuguese bus manufacturer based in Vila Nova de Gaia. It also includes the COBUS brand, the world leader in airport buses. The company has been engaged in electrified transport since 1980. In December 2020, CaetanoBus and Toyota solidified their strategic alliance when Toyota Caetano Portugal became a direct shareholder of the Portuguese bus manufacturer.
Industria Italiana Bus (IIA) is the leading Italian bus manufacturer and owner of the Menarinibus brand. The company’s headquarters is located in Bologna, and the largest manufacturing plant is the Flumeri factory. The company is engaged in the design, manufacture, sale and service of a wide range of vehicles from 8 to 18 meters. The main shareholders of IIS are the state-owned National Agency for Investment Promotion and Entrepreneurship Development Invitalia (42.76% of shares) and Leonardo (28.65% of shares).
Source: Wprost
