Industria Italiana Autobus and the Portuguese CaetanoBus have reached an agreement to construct and market hydrogen city buses in Italy using Toyota Fuel Cell technology and a system known as the H2 City Power Kit that was created by the same Lusitanian firm.
According to the agreement, Industria Italiana Autobus will be allowed to start selling the cars produced under the dual-brand name CaetanoBus with Toyota as early as the end of 2022. On the other hand, it will begin direct manufacturing of buses outfitted with the H2 kit City Power in 2024 for the Italian and foreign markets.
According to President and CEO Antonio Liguori, Industria Italiana Autobus preserves the rich history of the Italian communal transportation sector. a heritage that extends back to 1919 and has always been distinguished by consideration of the requirements of the nation and advancement in technology.
The group is led by Invitalia, which holds 42.76% of the capital, and is flanked by Leonardo, who owns 28.65%. It consists of two factories: the former Irisbus in Avellino and the former BredaMenarini in Bologna. This agreement is a crucial step for CaetanoBus in expanding into another European area where the use of environmentally friendly modes of transportation is expanding rapidly.
“In terms of mobility, Italy is a country that has endeavored to embrace measures aimed at decarbonizing the economy, with special emphasis on cities, in accordance with current trends aimed at environmental sustainability,” Vasconcelos continued. IIA is the right partner since we both have the same ambition for using our shared innovation to create a world with no emissions.
The Italian firm recently received a 50 million euro loan from a group of financial institutions that included Banco Bpm acting as agent bank and mandated leader arranger, Bper Banca and UniCredit acting as mandated leader arrangers. The 36-month loan will be used to fund the manufacturing of buses powered by natural gas and electricity that are intended for urban transportation.
