The GB Kite range was launched in September 2021, following the launch of the double-deckWright StreetDeck Electroliner and Hydroliner range earlier in the year.[3] The Electroliner BEV has a maximum range of 250 miles (400 km) with the top option of a 567kwh battery, charged through conventional DC charging or pantograph charging. The Hydroliner FCEV has a maximum range of 640 miles (1,030 km), powered with either a 70 or 100kwh fuel cell system produced by Ballard Power Systems in combination with a 35 kg (77 lb) or 50 kg (110 lb) hydrogen tank.[4] Regular production of both GB Kite variants was fully underway by December 2022.[5]
The first orders for GB Kites was placed in November 2021, with Metrobus ordering 20 Hydroliner FCEV vehicles for use on the Fastway network.[6][7] The first buses from this order, also being the first production Hydroliner FCEVs, began entering service with Metrobus on the Fastway network in April 2023, with the order for 20 completed later in June.[8][9] By 2024, however, up to two thirds of the Fastway Hydroliner fleet were not being used in regular service due to the Health and Safety Executive not signing off on a liquid hydrogen fuelling system at Metrobus' Crawley depot.[10][11] Despite this, a further order for 23 Kite Hydroliner FCEVs is to be delivered in late 2024 for both Fastway and conventional Metrobus services in Surrey.[12]
The GB Kite Hydroliner FCEV has proven most popular in Germany, with export orders for 146 in left-hand drive configuration placed as of April 2024. A first batch of 31 Hydroliner FCEVs were delivered to Cologne municipal operator Regionalverkehr Köln [de] during 2024, Wrightbus' first European order since the bus builder was rescued from bankruptcy,[13] with an additional 29 due for delivery in 2025.[14] Twelve were ordered by WestVerkehr [de] in October 2023 for service in Geilenkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia,[15] followed by an order for 28 Hydroliner FCEVs by Saarbahn in February 2024 for service in Saarbrücken,[16][17] and 46 for Cottbus municipal Cottbusverkehr [de].[18]
In May 2022, Wrightbus entered a deal to supply the Australian bodybuilder Volgren with two GB Kite Hydroliner FCEV chassis for the company to body. These two buses are scheduled to enter service with Transdev Queensland for hydrogen fuel-cell trial services in Brisbane.[19][20][21]
Electroliner BEV
First Leicester Wright GB Kite Electroliner BEV in August 2023
The FirstGroup ordered 173 GB Kite Electroliner BEVs in August 2022 for five of the group's subsidiaries as part of an order which also included 20 StreetDeck Electroliner BEVs. The first buses from an initial order of 68 GB Kite Electroliner BEVs began entering service with First Leicester in May 2023,[22] followed by deliveries of 24 GB Kite Electroliner BEVs to First York beginning in late August 2023,[23] 32 to First West Yorkshire's Bramley depot between January and March 2024 for service in Leeds,[24] and the first of 61 for First Hampshire & Dorset's Portsmouth services from March 2024.[25] Further orders for GB Kite Electroliner BEVs have been made by First Eastern Counties for services in Norwich,[26][27] while 18 more are also due for delivery to First Leicester in 2024.[28][29]
28 GB Kite Electroliner BEVs were delivered for Translink's Foyle Metro operation in Derry in May 2023.[30][31] These buses began entering service in the city in August 2023 after the installation of charging infrastructure and training of staff at the Foyle Metro depot.[32] 21 more GB Kite Electroliner BEVs began to be delivered to Translink from May 2024, with four being delivered for the Foyle Metro operation, 14 being delivered to Ulsterbus for services in Derry, Coleraine and Craigavon,[33][34] and three delivered Metro in Belfast for use on an express service to George Best Belfast City Airport.[35]
The Oxford Bus Company received five GB Kite Electroliner BEVs as part of a 104-vehicle order for zero-emission Wrightbus buses,[36] while Abellio London, the first Transport for London operator to order GB Kites, ordered 12 GB Kite Electroliner BEVs for service on route E7 featuring a redesigned front end to comply with TfL's Bus Safety Standard,[37] with the first of a further 24 delivered to Abellio's successor Transport UK London Bus from May 2024.[38]Arriva London, meanwhile, announced in February 2024 that it had placed orders for 11 GB Kite Electroliner BEVs.[39]
In October 2024, the Go-Ahead Group signed a £500 million three-year deal for Wrightbus to supply of over 1,200 electric buses to its subsidiaries; all apart from 43 of these buses will be from the Electroliner range.[40][41] The first Go-Ahead operator to announce they were receiving vehicles from this deal was Pulhams Coaches, who will take delivery of nine GB Kite Electroliners during 2025.[42]
^Halford, Paul (27 March 2023). "LTA partnerships are crucial, says First Bus MD". routeone. Retrieved 27 March 2023. The unveiling of the Wrightbus GB Kite Electroliner single-decker at First Leicester's depot last week was a significant step as 18 more were also put on order to add to the 86 already on their way.
^Lidstone, John G.; et al. (19 April 2023). "In Fleet News this month". Buses. No. 818. Stamford: Key Publishing. Retrieved 22 August 2023. Electric single-deckers on order are 13 Switch Metrocity for route E5 and 12 Wright GB Kite Electroliners for route E7.
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