Hungarian bus builder Ikarus and Yutong, the world’s largest bus manufacturer, have formed a consortium to participate in a trolleybus tender in Hungary for solo and articulated vehicles issued by BKK (Budapesti Közlekedési Központ Zrt) in Hungary (up to 160 units).

Ikarus has already in force a cooperation with Chinese CRRC in the electric bus segment, while Yutong hasn’t been present in the European trolleybus market so far (but has delivered some 130 vehicles in Mexico City – picture above).

Ikarus – Yutong consortium for trolleybuses in Budapest

The open negotiation procurement procedure called “Trolleybus Vehicle Acquisition IV Phase” initiated by the Budapest Transport Center is scheduled from 2025 to 2027, and it includes the purchase of a total of 160 articulated and solo trolleybuses equipped with battery-powered off-wire propulsion capability, Ikarus states.

And adds: “The current consortium partnership allows for effective cooperation between the two bus manufacturers in project implementation, leveraging coordinated resources for successful tendering. While Ikarus has previously manufactured trolleybuses in Hungary, compliance with the BKK tender required an international partner with the necessary trolleybus manufacturing capacity, and Yutong gladly accepted the partnership request”.

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

ATM Milano has inaugurated the extension of Metrotram Line 7

The new section of Metrotranvia 7 in Milan, operated by ATM Milano, connecting the Adriano district to the M1 underground station in Precotto and the M5 underground station in Bicocca, was officially opened in mid October 2025 in the presence of the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, the Councillor for ...