EOS – Myn Transport Blog

Van Hool
Van Hool
Type	Private
Industry	Automotive manufacture Automotive engineering
Founded	1947
Headquarters	Koningshooikt, Belgium
Key people	Bernard Van Hool (founder) Filip Van Hool (CEO)
Products	Bus Coach semi-trailers
Subsidiaries	Van Hool USA
Website	vanhool.com

Van Hool Astromega TD927 coach for the Oxford Tube

Van Hool Alizée HE-II body on a ScaniaK113CRB coach for New Enterprise Coaches

A British spec double deck Van Hool coach.

A bi-articulated Van Hool AGG300

Front view of AGG300.

A Van Hool single articulated bus with North American specifications north of Toronto, Canada.

Van Hool NV is a Belgian family-owned coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, coaches, trolleybuses, and trailers.

The company was founded in 1947 by Bernard Van Hool in Koningshooikt, near to Lier, Belgium. In the early years, the company introduced serial production and exported their products all over Europe. Since the mid-1980s, the company has also been active on the North American market, where it has become an important player.

On February 15, 1957, Van Hool signed a commercial agreement with Fiat; Van Hool would incorporate Fiat engines and other mechanical components (gearboxes, axles, steering) in its vehicles. It developed from a coachbuilder to a Belgian manufacturer of integral buses and coaches, known as Van Hool-Fiat. Alongside these activities, the company continued as a renowned coachbuilder, enabling further expansion.

The Van Hool-Fiat co-operation was immediately a great success: a year and a half after the agreement was signed, in August 1958, the 100th Van Hool-Fiat was delivered, and by July 1961, the figure had exceeded 500. The co-operation agreement with Fiat was terminated in 1981.

In 1990, Van Hool purchased the coachbuilding business of LAG Manufacturing and continued producing their EOS models for about ten years.

Most of the buses and coaches are built totally by Van Hool, with engines and axles sourced from Caterpillar, Cummins, DAF and MAN and gearboxes from ZF or Voith, with some of their production still consisting of building bus and coach bodies on separate bus chassis from manufacturers such as Volvo and Scania.

Worldwide, Van Hool employs 4,500 people and manufactures over 1,700 buses and coaches (bodyworks and complete vehicles combined) and 5,000 trailers each year. It sells an average of 600 coaches, annually, in the US.

Product range (Europe)

In Europe, Van Hool has the broadest range of coaches of all manufacturers on the market, though all designs share similar looks and are based on the same platform, the T9. The same philosophy is used on the transit bus range, the A-series. Many different versions are available, all sharing the same looks. In recent years, the company has been focussing on new propulsion technologies, introducing fuel-cell hybrid buses as well as diesel-electric hybrids.

Discontinued products

T8 series touring coach

The T8 platform was introduced in 1979. The body was based on the Alizee bodywork that had been launched the previous year. Over the course of several years, a large range of touring coaches were developed based on this platform, each distinguished by a number and a name, following a clear naming convention. For example, in ‘TD824 Astromega’:

T = Touringcar (touring coach)
D = Dubbeldek (double deck)
8 = Part of the T8 series
24 = theoretical maximum number of seat rows
Astromega = name of the double deck integrals

In 1991, an updated ‘T8 New Look’ was introduced. But this was called the T9 in its North American version. Production was ended in the late 1990s, following the introduction of the new (European) T9 platform.

A-series transit bus

In the 1980s, European countries started to move away from standard bus designs, leaving the design of transit buses to the manufacturers. Van Hool’s response was the development of the A-series transit buses. The first member, the A500, was introduced in 1985. A complete family would follow, again following a clear naming convention. For example, in ‘AG500’:

A = Autobus (transit bus)
G = Geleed (articulated)
500 = height of the floor, in millimeters

Production of the A-series continued into the early 21st century, when it was replaced by the newA-series.

Current products

T9 series touring coaches

The new T9 series (not to be confused with the US T9 series, which corresponds with the European T8 New Look) was launched in 1995. It included a completely new body design, as well as many other improvements. The same philosophy as with the T8 was applied: one platform, many different versions. Also, the naming convention was retained. Over the years, many new variants have been developed, making the T9-series the most extensive series of motorcoaches available today. Different models (all available in at least 2 lengths, see ‘products’ below) include the Atlino and Atlon, so-called double earners, with different floor heights, the Alicron, Acron and Astron, standard touring coaches with different heights and thus different luggage space, the Altano, which has an underfloor cockpit, the Astronef, which features a sloping theatre-style floor, and the double deck Astromega.

Additionally, the T9 body is also available on chassis by Scania, Volvo and VDL, though only in Sweden and on the British Isles. These motorcoaches are referred to as Alizee (single deck) and Astrobel (double deck).

TX series touring coaches

A Megabus Van Hool TDX27 Astromega at Buchanan Bus Station

At Busworld 2011 in Kortrijk, Belgium, Van Hool presented the successor to the T9 series. The new series is called TX.

newA series transit buses

In 2001, Van Hool introduced the newA series transit buses, replacing the A series. It featured a new body design and many other improvements. A complete family was developed, with different length and configurations.

ExquiCity BRT solution

In April 2011 Van Hool launched a new Multi Propulsion Platform called ExquiCity, aimed specifically at the BRT market. The bus has the styling and comfort of a tram, with the flexibility and cost of a bus. The ExquiCity was launched in two lengths, the single-articulated ExquiCity 18 and the double-articulated ExquiCity 24. Both are available as trolley buses, diesel-electric hybrids, fuel-cell hybrids or full-electric buses. First orders were placed by the Italian city of Parma (ExquiCity 18 trolley) and the French city of Metz (ExquiCity 24 diesel electric hybrid). A mock-up was presented at the UITP Congress in Dubai.

EX series touring coaches

A Van Hool EX16M produced in Macedonia. Shown at the IAA 2014

At the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung 2014 in Hanover, Germany, Van Hool presented a new series of touring coaches for the European market. This new line is called EX. It is produced in the Van Hool factory in Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. Macedonia is considered to be alow-wage country where production costs are much lower than in Belgium.

Product range (North America)

Due to American Federal Safety requirements and other unique factors, only highway touring coaches were introduced in the US initially. Transit coaches by Van Hool were not introduced until 2002. Currently, Van Hool has four separate product lines for sale: the T21-series deluxe touring coaches, the C20-series touring coaches, the

Van Hool TD925 double-decker coach

TD925 double-decker coach, and the A-series transit buses. Van Hool’s exclusive dealer in the US is ABC Companies.