With the new Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid the future is becoming the present. The first fuel cell hybrid bus from Mercedes-Benz – which made its debut on the occasion of the UITP Congress in 2009 – has an innovative vehicle concept which combines elements from the tried-and-tested Mercedes-Benz fuel cell buses, the diesel-electric BlueTec Hybrid Citaro G and other technical enhancements, resulting in a new pioneering drive concept. Citaro provides the platform.

The Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid produces no emissions during operation and is virtually noise-free. It is therefore ideally suited for use in busy inner cities and other metropolitan areas. As has already been announced, the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid is the next logical step towards zero-emissions local public transport and is therefore a key component of mobility in the future.

The Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid is not a futuristic study; it is reality. Together with the Hamburger Hochbahn the Mercedes-Benz Bus and Coach unit will subject the bus to stringent practical service testing in the coming year. A small series of ten buses was produced for this purpose. This plan is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs.

A further objective beyond this is Europe-wide large-scale testing in a number of cities. These trials should be modelled on the extremely successful European CUTE (Clean Urban Transport for Europe) project. Within the framework of CUTE, its continuation project HyFLEET:CUTE, and other affiliated projects, 36 Mercedes-Benz Citaro vehicles have been implemented successfully in twelve transport systems between Iceland and Australia on three continents since 2003. The buses covered more than two million kilometres in around 135,000 operating hours. With availability levels of between 90 and 95 percent, the environmentally friendly fuel-cell drives demonstrated to great effect their suitability for city bus operation. The new Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL hybrid will successfully continue this trend.