CaetanoBus and Toyota will co-brand the City Gold range of zero-emission buses produced by the Portuguese manufacturer. The change captures both the battery-electric e.City Gold and the hydrogen fuel cell-electric H2.City Gold, for which Toyota Motor Europe (TME) provides the fuel cell technology.
At the centre of the co-branding approach is a change to vehicle badging, which will now include the Toyota logo to complement the existing Caetano motif. That acknowledges Toyota’s strong brand recognition in the European market, the two parties say.
Since 2019, TME has integrated Toyota hydrogen fuel cell technology into the H2.City Gold, including fuel cell stacks, hydrogen tanks and other key compartments. In December 2020, Toyota Caetano Portugal became the direct shareholder of CaetanoBus to support its expansion into zero-emission.
Abellio London operates 34 e.City Gold buses and CaetanoBus has shown a right-hand drive H2.City Gold demonstrator in the UK and Ireland. The manufacturer has also sold its zero-emission products into various other markets in Europe.
Says CaetanoBus President José Ramos: “With this co-branding, we reinforce the longstanding partnership with Toyota to the whole zero-emission buses business. This allows us to demonstrate both technical capability and complementary technology, and a true alignment towards decarbonisation.”
Adds Matt Harrison, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe: “The co-branding of CaetanoBus zero-emission buses shows the confidence that we have in our latest investment and our longstanding partnership with Caetano. It also underlines the importance that Toyota places on developing zero-emission mobility beyond cars, on our path to carbon neutrality.”
