The forthcoming VDL Futura 3 coach will be built in right-hand drive for the UK market, the builder has confirmed. A spokesperson for VDL Group has told routeone that sales of the new model are expected to begin in 2026 “so we can start delivering from 2027 onwards.”
That position ends uncertainty over whether the coach will come here. During a first look at what was then termed the Vision Futura project in September 2023, senior VDL Bus and Coach representatives would not be drawn on whether the model was to be forthcoming in right-hand drive.
Since then, VDL confirmed a future for many members of the Van Hool T coach range in its overall line-up following purchase of parts of the former Van Hool coach and bus business, but details of right-hand drive plans for the Futura 3 gives certainty that both products will be part of the longer-term UK marketplace.
The Futura 3 in left-hand drive configuration is set to make its global debut at Busworld Brussels in early October.
Extensive testing of the model has been underway for some time since the first prototype was seen over two years ago. That includes hot- and cold-weather evaluation work in both climates and a wind tunnel in Vienna that can simulate ambient temperatures of between -25 and +45 degrees centigrade.
In announcing the Futura 3 reveal at Busworld, VDL said that the model will deliver an up to 15% cut in fuel consumption compared to the existing Futura 2. The newcomer also promises modular driveline architecture to ready for what the manufacturer calls “future powertrains.”
The Futura 3 will follow its predecessor in being built in Valkenswaard in the Netherlands. Its debut at Busworld will coincide with integration of the VDL Bus and Coach and VDL Van Hool business units under a single VDL Bus Group operation.
