Heuliez Bus is a French

limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...

, former part of Heuliez. It was formed in 1979. It is an

Iveco Iveco S.p.A., an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company with headquarters in Turin, Italy. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy Commercial vehicle, commercial veh ...

subsidiary and specialised in manufacturing buses and coaches.

History

Heuliez Bus has developed many types of

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

vehicles and gained the recognition of

Mercedes-Benz O305 The Mercedes-Benz O305 is a single deck, double deck or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz in Mannheim, West Germany from 1969 until 1988. It was built as either a complete bus or a bus chassis and was the Mercedes-Benz adaptation ...

(rigid) and O305G (

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent coupling in its construction. This coupling works as a large pivot joint, allowing it to bend and turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buse ...

) with other front and rear, badged as Heuliez. Around 600 of each type operated in France between 1975 and 1995. In 1982the company started to build the GX 17, a minibus based on the

Renault Master The Renault Master is a large van produced by the French manufacturer Renault since 1980, now in its third generation. It replaced the earlier Renault Super Goélette light trucks. Opel has sold versions of the second and third series vans as ...

. After that, in the 1980s, collaborated with Renault Bus to develop the GX 107 and GX 187 and built the GX 44, for the public transport authority of

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, which is based on an O305; and the GX 113, specifically for the city of

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. In the 1980s, Heuliez Bus and

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

developed the "Mégabus" (officially the Heuliez GX237) which was a bi-articulated high-floor bus based on the Renault PR180.2. Ten of these buses were built in 1989 for

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

which was used until the

tram system A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include seg ...

opened in 2004. In 1991, Renault and

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

each acquired a 37.5% shareholding in Heuliez Bus. In 1990 Heuliez Bus made the GX 77H

midibus A midibus is a classification of single-decker minibuses which are generally larger than a traditional minibus but smaller than a full-size single decker and can be anywhere between and long. While used in many parts of the world, the mi ...

(The H standing for Heuliez), and in 1994, the

low-floor bus A low-floor bus is a bus or trolleybus that has no steps between the ground and the floor of the bus at one or more entrances, and low floor for part or all of the passenger cabin. A bus with a partial low floor may also be referred to as a l ...

GX 317, built on a Renault chassis. From 1995 to 2001, its collaboration with

led to the design and production of the GX 217 and GX 417. The GX 117 midibus, the successor to the 77H, was launched in 1999. As of 2012, with significant restyling, this is sold as the GX 327. GX 127 and GX 127L are at the planning stage. The newest product, designed for

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

, is the GX 427. Although its

CNG Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in c ...

version was turned down, it is the twin, articulated version of the Irisbus Citelis 18. In France, buses produced by the company have the marques "Heuliez Bus"; elsewhere they are known as "Irisbus". The company manufactured buses between 1985 and 2006. Amongst other things, since 2002 Heuliez Bus has manufactured the Irisbus Civis and Irisbus Cristalis on behalf of the Bus

business unit A strategic business unit (SBU) in business strategic management, is a profit center which focuses on product offering and market segment. SBUs typically have a discrete marketing plan, analysis of competition, and marketing campaign, even thoug ...

Iveco Bus Iveco Bus, formerly Irisbus, is a bus manufacturer with headquarters in Turin. Iveco Bus is now only a brand division of Iveco which is a company incorporated under Dutch law and listed on Borsa Italiana. History Iveco (1975–1999) In 1975 F ...

. In 2008 the company had revenue of €118.1m, employing around 450 employees at its factory in Rorthais. Although the brand survived the creation of the

Irisbus Iveco Bus, formerly Irisbus, is a bus manufacturer with headquarters in Turin. Iveco Bus is now only a brand division of Iveco which is a company incorporated under Dutch law and listed on Borsa Italiana. History Iveco (1975–1999) In 1975 ...

and reintroduction of the

brands, it's now only available on francophone markets. The GX 337 and GX 447 models are branded as Iveco E-Way ''by Heuliez'' on other markets.

Gallery

Mercedes O305 G Heuliez.jpg, Heuliez O305G Heuliez GX 57 Réseau 67 n°155 Strasbourg Baggersee.jpg, Heuliez GX 57 GX77H.jpg, Heuliez GX 77H Heuliez GX 87 n°372 Réseau 67 Strasbourg Rotonde.jpg, Heuliez GX 87 Heuliez GX 107 n°337 Mendès France - Zéphir Bus.JPG, Heuliez GX 107 Heuliez GX117 reseau Alto.JPG, Heuliez GX 117 Heuliez GX 127 n°032 (Ligne 21) - 04-09-2023.jpg, Heuliez GX 127 Heuliez GX 137 n°040 (Ligne 7) - 01-09-2023.jpg, Heuliez GX 137 Heuliez GX 137 L Électrique n°056 (Ligne 22) - 31-07-2023.jpg, Electric Heuliez GX 137 L Heuliez_GX_187_Evreux.JPG, Heuliez GX 187 GX 217 GNV sur le réseau Ligne d'azur.JPG, Heuliez GX 217 CNG GX 237 Heuliez Bus.jpg, Heuliez GX 237 GX317Broch.JPG, Heuliez GX 317 HeuliezBusGX327-121Brest.jpg, Heuliez GX 327 Heuliez GX 327 BHNS n°413 (Ligne 35) - 04-09-2023.jpg, Heuliez GX 327 BHLS Heuliez GX 337 n°358 (Palm Impérial - Ligne 8) - 02-09-2023.jpg, Heuliez GX 337 Heuliez GX 337 BHNS n°425 (Palm Impérial - Ligne 8) - 01-09-2023.jpg, Heuliez GX 337 BHLS Heuliez GX 337 Linium n°436 (Ligne 1) - 01-09-2023.jpg, Heuliez GX 337 Linium Heuliez GX 337 E, Busworld Europe 2023, Brussels (P1140211).jpg, Heuliez E-Way GX 337 E Heuliez GX 417 STAN Nancy.jpg, Heuliez GX 417 Bus ligne 10.JPG, Heuliez GX 427 StadsbusQbuzz4814.jpg, Heuliez GX 437 Heuliez GX 437 Linium n°801 (Ligne A) - 04-09-2023.jpg, Heuliez GX 437 Linium Heuliez GX 437 Hybride n°4410 (RATP - Ligne PC) - (Paris XVI, FR75) - 10-05-2024.jpg, Heuliez GX 437 HYB

History

Gallery

Notes and references

External links