Wrightbus to launch a H2 coach in 2026

Jean-Marc Gales, Wrightbus CEO, is quoted by Bus & Coach Buyer as saying that "The concept is ready, the predevelopment work has been done, so we are confident we can launch it in 2026". It's not yet clear if the vehicles will be in-house built or realized in cooperation with bodybuilder partners.

By Editorial Staff

Wrightbus is on track to develop a hydrogen-powered fuel cell coach with launch planned for 2026. The news is reported on UK trade media Bus & Coach Buyer.

The Northern Ireland-based manufacturer placed (surprisingly!) fourth in the European BEV bus market 2023, with 469 units registered.

Wrightbus hydrogen coach coming

Jean-Marc Gales, Wrightbus CEO, is quoted by Bus & Coach Buyer as saying that “The concept is ready, the predevelopment work has been done, so we are confident we can launch it in 2026“. It’s not yet clear if the vehicles will be in-house built or realized in cooperation with bodybuilder partners.

According to the information reported on the media, the manufacturer’s CEO said that the “If you build a hydrogen coach, it’s a technical tour de force. Coach operators require six to ten cubic metres of luggage space. You need at least 50 to 60 seats and disability access and enough packaging space to put the tanks and the hydrogen cooling system and the fuel cells in. But we can do it, we have the technical expertise with fuel cells; we have the best engineers on the market for fuel cell buses. We have millions of miles with electrical and fuel cell vehicles in service since we launched them”.

Highlights

Depot-first autonomy for European smartbuses

For more than a decade, autonomous buses have been “almost ready.” Demonstrations with safety drivers began around 2015, and ten years later, this is still largely what we see. The reason is not a lack of ambition – it is physics, safety, and economics. Autonomous buses on city streets a...

Related articles

MAN delivers largest single e-bus order in Austria to ÖBB Postbus

Austrian operator ÖBB Postbus has placed 63 MAN Lion’s City E buses into regular service across the Austrian federal state of Vorarlberg. The delivery represents the largest single electric bus order for MAN Truck & Bus in Austria. The vehicles, comprising 27 MAN Lion’s City 12 E and 36 articula...

Hess acquires Kiepe’s trolleybus activities

Kiepe announces it has completed the carve-out of its trolleybus electrical systems business, transferring the activities to Swiss manufacturer Hess. Kiepe, headquartered in Düsseldorf, has finalized the separation of its trolleybus-related electrical systems operations as part of a broader corporat...