The contract stipulates a firm order for 75 ‘Xcelsior’ hybrid electric buses (40 feet in length) and 25 ‘Xcelsior Charge NG’ battery electric buses (35 feet in length).

Chinese automaker continues global roll-out.

T&BB spoke with BAE Systems, who have thirty years of proven experience delivering hybrid electric drivetrains. They are proposing its parallel hybrid technology to help truck OEMs meet their emissions obligations on both sides of the Atlantic.

According to its trials so far, the hybrid system helps extend the range of the Hiace by 20%, increasing it to 250 km compared with models powered solely by a hydrogen engine.

Set to be launched in 2027, the system integrates the Cummins B-Series engine with Allison's eGen Flex electric hybrid propulsion technology, meeting the EPA's Phase 3 greenhouse gas emissions standards.

At last year’s Busworld, Voith Turbo celebrated the 70th anniversary of its ‘DIWA’ line of automatic transmissions for urban and suburban buses. The German manufacturer had just brought out the latest addition to the DIWA range, the ‘DIWA NXT’. This reimagining of the city bus transmission, incorporating a mild hybrid system (optional), appeared on the scene when it still seemed that fully electric was the only way to go. Markus Bischoff – who is responsible for the DIWA product line – believes the company made a “brave decision” in supporting the development of the mild-hybrid transmission; today, he feels vindicated by the resurgence of interest in hybrids. “The main request we get from our customers,” Bischoff told Truck & Bus Builder, “is affordability.”

Modine says that, since 2023, Gillig has deployed over one hundred hybrid buses installed with Modine’s EVantage system.

New Flyer’s ‘Xcelsior Hybrid’ will be offered with a new BAE powertrain, adding a ‘GPM’ direct drive motor and a ‘Modular Power Control System’ (MPCS), alongside other components which were in previous models.

The upgraded fuel tank isolation valve (FTIV) is 27% lighter, 39% smaller and contains 24% fewer components than the previous generation. Eaton has said that it has agreements in place to supply this product to two global automotive customers.

The companies are set to integrate Hexagon’s NG/RNG systems with Brudeli’s plug-in PowerHybrid technology to allow fleet operators the ability to maintain diesel ICE duty cycles while providing fuel cost savings and complying with Near Zero Emission Vehicles. Targeting the class 7 and 8 North American truck market, the partnership also aims to help OEMs achieve their various decarbonisation goals.

Production is slated to begin in 2025 at the Iveco bus plant in Vysoké Myto, Czech Republic. Available in three lengths (10.7,  12, 13 metres, pop and LINE versions), the bus is compatible with XTL (X-To-Liquid) renewable fuels.

The total value of the orders, including 10-year service contracts, amounts to EUR200m, making it one of the largest in the company’s history, according to Solaris.