The new Mercedes-Benz Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid appeared for the first time today at its future operating location in Hamburg. Producing no pollutant emissions and running virtually noise-free, this latest-generation fuel-cell hybrid bus boasts outstanding environmental compatibility. The Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid is ideally suited to operation in busy inner cities and other metropolitan areas. Daimler Buses will be supplying around 30 vehicles to European transport authorities. Ten of these vehicles will go to the Hamburger Hochbahn AG from next year. The Hamburg traffic authority will also receive 20 Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-CELL vehicles, which are also based on fuel-cell drive systems, from 2010.

Daimler will operate the Citaro FuelCELL Hybrid as part of a large-scale fleet trial, which is set to be implemented in Hamburg and a number of other European cities. This is a continuation of the successful CUTE and HyFLEET:CUTE projects, which were initiated by the European Union between 2003 and 2009. As part of the HyFLEET:CUTE project, a total of 36 Mercedes-Benz Citaro vehicles with second-generation fuel-cell drive have been implemented successfully in twelve transport systems on three continents (including the Hamburger Hochbahn AG). Covering more than 2.2 million kilometres in over 140,000 operating hours, Mercedes-Benz buses equipped with environmentally compatible fuel-cell drive systems have demonstrated to great effect their suitability for everyday operation.