Daimler Buses has announced that it plans to bring both the battery-electric Citaro E-CELL and the hydrogen-powered Citaro F-CELL to production standard and into service by 2018.

The two models are based on a joint E-Mobility platform that includes charging systems with plug-in technology as well as current collector systems on the roof of the vehicle. The idea is to create an urban bus that can be customized with different powertrains according to customer demand. According to Daimler, a modular approach reduces both purchase and maintenance costs.

The upcoming Citaro F-CELL incorporates the experience Daimler gained from its present third generation of 27 fuel cell buses, which were introduced in 2011 and have now completed the testing and validation phase.

Daimler’s fourth-generation fuel cell bus will achieve hydrogen consumption of less than 10 kg/100 km, and availability of more than 90%.

Source: Daimler