Hyundai subsidiary and Kaiwo to build 224 H2 buses for Guangzhou

The order for 224 hydrogen buses was placed with HTWO Guangzhou, the Chinese subsidiary of Hyundai’s hydrogen brand HTWO, in collaboration with Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturer Kaiwo Group. Both companies will jointly deliver the 244 hydrogen buses. In total, the state-owned Guangzhou Public Transport Group is procuring around 450 hydrogen buses. The HTWO/Kaiwo vehicles will thus account for half of the tendered buses.

Financial details of the deal remain undisclosed, according to Korean media reports. The vehicles themselves are 8.5-metre midibuses developed by HTWO Guangzhou and Kaiwo Group. According to the manufacturer, they feature a 90 kW fuel cell system with an efficiency of 64%, offer a range of 576 kilometres, and can be refuelled in five minutes. The buses also include a low-floor design with a short rear overhang of under 1.1 metres.

The centrepiece of the vehicles, the fuel cell powertrain, is produced at HTWO Guangzhou’s facility in the city. The factory, completed in 2023, is Hyundai’s first overseas production site for hydrogen fuel cells. In a company statement, HTWO said: “We will continue to work with our local partners to showcase hydrogen fuel cell technology and position hydrogen as a leading clean transportation.”

In a separate tender last month, HTWO and Kaiwo also secured an additional order for 25 of 50 hydrogen buses. In total, the two companies will deliver 249 hydrogen buses to the Guangzhou Public Transport Group.

koreaherald.com, en.yna.co.kr, biz.chosun.com

This article was first published by Cora Werwitzke for electrive’s German edition.